March Beef Briefs
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Look for Beef Briefs to be delivered the first of each month -- your snapshot of beef checkoff news affecting the dairy and beef industries. Editor’s note: please feel free to use these beef “blurbs” as space allows in your publication or online content. If you would like to expand on a certain topic, please e-mail Melissa Slagle at mslagle@beefboard.org.
In case you missed it…
… CattleFax representative Kevin Good, DVM, owner of DairyWorks consulting Tom Fuhrmann, and dairy producer/recent BQA award winner Jim Docheff from Longmont, Colo., recently discussed the economics of the current dairy beef industry, animal welfare and what dairy producers can do to add value to their market cows. Listen and read more here.
… A checkoff-funded research summary on U.S. Beef Demand Drivers and Enhancement Opportunities was recently published. Click here for the full report.
… The Cattlemen’s Beef Board seated new board members and elected officers and representatives to its 2009 Executive Committee and the Beef Promotion Operating Committee during its annual meeting in Phoenix on Jan. 31.
Checkoff Improvements Approved for Secretary
The recommendations for improvements to the beef checkoff are the result of almost a year of collecting suggestions from beef industry organizations and individuals, followed by thorough review and discussion in the CBB Administration Subcommittee. That subcommittee then submitted recommendations for checkoff improvements to the CBB Executive Committee, which further reviewed and developed a final set of recommendations to the full Board. In Phoenix, the review by the full Board included impassioned discussion about the direction of the beef industry and the checkoff’s role in it.
By a final vote of 70 to 18, the Beef Board approved sending a set of recommended improvements to the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture. The final approved document and commentary, including the section (A) of improvements that would require a change to the Beef Act and Order can be viewed here.
Beef Exports up in 2008
The U.S. Meat Export Federation reports that U.S. beef exports increased 10.8 percent in volume and 16.5 percent in value in December versus one year ago. For all of 2008, export volumes increased 28 percent to nearly 2.2 billion pounds, while values jumped 38 percent to $3.6 billion.
Some export facts:
- Nearly 12 percent of U.S. beef production (including variety meat) in 2008 was exported.
- The value of exports per head slaughtered equated to $133.84.
- Canada and Mexico were the top two destinations for U.S. beef, accounting for 56 percent of the volume and 58.4 percent of the value of all U.S. beef exports in 2008.
Complete export statistics, by country, for U.S. beef, pork and lamb are in the statistics section of www.USMEF.org.
Phoenix a Success
The official attendance count for the Annual Cattle Industry Convention in Phoenix tallies in at over 5,300. It was a week of discussion about tightening checkoff budgets for the remainder of 2009 and likely 2010, and many critical decisions were made that will affect checkoff investments. For more information about the week, click here or contact Melissa Slagle.
The Beef Story
Three new checkoff-funded videos highlight beef producers’ care for the environment. The videos are posted to the popular YouTube Web site. They feature a variety of beef producers doing their daily work and are focused on the areas of cattle feeding, handling and health. The videos leverage existing checkoff footage, as well as new footage taken on National Beef Quality Assurance (BQA) Award Winners’ operations, to portray accurately these issues that are so often misrepresented. The new videos add to a growing library of beef videos on the YouTube channel BeefPastureToPlate, where one video has so far been viewed more than 4,700 times. Click here to see the new videos.
The Beef Checkoff Program was established as part of the 1985 Farm Bill. The checkoff assesses $1 per head on the sale of live domestic and imported cattle, in addition to a comparable assessment on imported beef and beef products. States retain up to 50 cents on the dollar and forward the other 50 cents per head to the Cattlemen’s Beef Promotion and Research Board, which administers the national checkoff program, subject to USDA approval.
Funded by the Beef Checkoff.
SOCIAL MEDIA