Committee Approves Initiatives for FY2011

The Operating Committee wrapped up tough discussions yesterday with a Fiscal Year 2011 plan of work for national checkoff funding that includes a total of 42 national checkoff programs from a slate of 48 that were proposed.

With an amended budget of $42.8 million, the committee approved funding of promotion, research, consumer information, industry information, foreign marketing and producer communications programs to be managed by the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, U.S. Meat Export Federation, American National CattleWomen, Meat Importers Council of America and the Cattlemen’s Beef Board.  

After sometimes-difficult debate over which programs should take priority, the approved national checkoff programs for Fiscal Year 2011 include:

• About $18.1 million for promotion, including consumer advertising, retail marketing, foodservice marketing, new product and culinary initiatives; a Northeast Beef Promotion Initiative to build demand in densely populated Northeast states, and veal marketing and communications. 
• Nearly $6.7 million for research projects, focusing on a variety of critical issues, including beef safety research, product enhancement research, human nutrition research, and market research. This funding also included $784,400 for a life cycle assessment – or environmental profile – of U.S. beef production
• More than $4.6 million for consumer information programs, including a Northeast public relations initiative, national consumer public relations, preparations for the 2011 national Beef Cook-Off, and nutrition-influencer relations.
• About $3.3 million for industry information projects, comprising the National Beef Ambassador Program, beef and dairy-beef quality assurance programs and dissemination of accurate information about the beef industry to counter misinformation from anti-beef groups and others.
• More than $5.7 million for foreign marketing and education efforts about U.S. beef in the ASEAN region; the Caribbean; Central and South America; the Dominican Republic; Europe; the Middle East; China/Hong Kong; Japan; Mexico; Russia; South Korea; and Taiwan.
• A total of about $1.7 million in Beef Board dollars for producer communications, which includes producer outreach using paid media, earned media and communications through livestock markets.
• In addition to the program budget, other costs to operate the national checkoff program in Fiscal Year 2011 include $240,000 for evaluation of checkoff programs; $160,000 for program development; $263,000 for USDA oversight; and about $2 million for administration, which includes costs for all Board and committee meetings, as well as office rental, supplies and equipment, and salaries – the total of which is limited to not more than 5 percent of projected revenues.

The revised budget and plan of work still must be approved by the full Beef Board as well as USDA.

For more details, go to Press Release.

Day Two

The Operating Committee meeting is settling in again this morning, the day the difficult decisions have to be made. As the discussion moves forward, we’ll let you know what programs the committee members vote to fund with beef checkoff dollars in Fiscal Year 2011, which begins Oct. 1, 2010. Stay tuned.

Long Day, Tall On Ideas

From “Beef. It’s What’s For Dinner” consumer advertising to issues management and public relations efforts to maintain and improve the beef industry’s reputation in the consumer marketplace to foreign marketing promotions aimed at growing U.S. beef exports to producer communications that report back to beef producers and importers about their checkoff investments, the Beef Promotion Operating Committee heard it all today.

Beef industry organizations, including the American National CattleWomen, Cattlemen’s Beef Board, Meat Importers Council of America, National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, and the U.S. Meat Export Federation, presented the committee with a total of 48 proposals to consider for beef checkoff funding in Fiscal Year 2011. Between today and tomorrow, the committee will discuss the pros and cons of each proposal and select those they wish to fund with a national budget of $40.6 million, of which $36.2 million is available for programming. Details of upcoming discussions and decisions will follow tomorrow.

Operating Committee Meeting Under Way

Jim Henger of NCBA presents a retail marketing proposal for checkoff funding in Fiscal Year 2011.

Cattle producers who serve on the Beef Promotion Operating Committee have begun their two-day meeting to identify programs to fund with national checkoff dollars in Fiscal Year 2011, which begins Oct. 1, 2010.

The Operating Committee comprises 10 members of the Cattlemen’s Beef Board and 10 members of the Federation of State Beef Councils, who have gathered in Denver to consider presentations of 48 proposals for funding in the coming year. Out of the gate today, they have listened to presentations for funding of retail and public relations programs for the Northeast Beef Promotion Initiative, represented by the Meat Importers Council of America and state beef councils in the Northeast United States; producer communications efforts represented by the Cattlemen’s Beef Board; and foreign marketing promotion programs represented by the U.S. Meat Export Federation. 

Next on the agenda are presentations from the American National Cattlewomen, with three program proposals — “Telling the BEEF Story,” as well as the National Beef Cook-Off and the National Beef Ambassadors Program. Following that, representatives of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association will present proposals in the areas of promotion, research, consumer information and industry information. Stay tuned.