Beef Checkoff Questions And Answers
About ‘Developing Export Markets’
1) A few years ago we lost many of our export markets because of BSE here in the United States. Is the checkoff doing anything about getting these markets back?
While we can’t use checkoff dollars to lobby to solve access issues, checkoff dollars are leveraged with USDA Foreign Agricultural Service market development funds to help rebuild consumer confidence and promote U.S. beef in more than 80 countries. In fiscal Year 2009, beef and beef variety meat exports totaled nearly 2.2 billion pounds valued at $3.14 billion. This still leaves us short of what we exported in 2003, when all markets were open, but we continue to make good progress.
2) How do I know that my checkoff dollars are promoting U.S. beef in other countries?
Both the Cattlemen's Beef Board and USDA Foreign Agricultural Service insist their funding promote U.S. beef in foreign markets and evaluate every program they invest in to assure that is happening.
Funded by the Beef Checkoff.