April 2011
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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 news items 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…
… Checkoff-funded MBA program highlighted in Wall Street Journal article.
… New producer testimonials have been posted on the MyBeefCheckoff YouTube channel.
… Celebrate Earth Day with a steak.
Beef Checkoff Helping Out In Japan
Among checkoff-funded promotion efforts worldwide is the “Trust” campaign in Japan. Since the devastating earthquake and tsunamis there, a multi-meat campaign has been organized to help feed consumers in Japan who were injured, misplaced and left hungry and homeless by the devastation there
The Pork Board has already contributed to the effort through its checkoff, and the U.S. Meat Export recently approached the Beef Checkoff Program to join in the effort. At the Beef Promotion Operating Committee meeting March 24, Beef Board Chairman Tom Jones, who also chairs the Operating Committee, and Federation Chairman David Dick brought a motion before the Operating Committee to ask the U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF), contractor to the Beef Checkoff Program, to present an amendment to their checkoff authorization for Fiscal Year 2011 to include a $100,000 contribution from the Beef Board’s program budget. Dick said the Federation would also contribute a matching $100,000 from its budget, for a total of $200,000 in beef checkoff support.
With unanimous committee support for that motion, USMEF returned with a proposed amendment for consideration regarding the CBB contribution. This week, the Operating Committee approved that amended funding proposal.
The funding for the CBB portion will come from funds released from Fiscal Year 2010 projects completed under-budget. USDA representative Craig Shackelford assured the measure would is in line with the Beef Act and Order, as long as it remains tied to the existing approved promotion program in Japan. For an update about repercussions of the situation in Japan, visit Devastation in Japan.
A Beef Safety Summit at its Peak
A successful Beef Industry Safety Summit in Dallas, Texas, leaves us with one question: How will we top it for next year’s event in Tampa, Fla.?
Top industry leaders were willing to candidly share safety issues in their operations and discuss ways the industry can learn from them. Government officials at the highest levels demonstrated their support for the industry as it aggressively seeks ways to maximize beef safety. Informative programs on emerging pathogens and important new sampling and testing techniques were well attended. It short, this event, funded in part by the beef checkoff, was just what was needed at a critical stage in the nation’s food safety efforts.
Food safety is an industry goal, not a competitive advantage. As a result of this collaborative approach of all industry sectors, over the past 15 years, the industry has made unprecedented advances in beef safety. Checkoff funding has given the industry the foundation for that progress and shows that it really is a farm-to-fork effort. Beef producers can be proud of what their dollars have helped accomplish in food safety.
Click here to learn more about the Safety Summit.
Gear up for grilling as the beef checkoff announces its signature I Heart Beef recipe for Cinco De Mayo: Lime Cilantro Marinated Flank Steak with Stuffed Poblano Peppers. The I Heart Beef program has helped consumers focus on ways to increase their skills in the kitchen and make it easy to cook with beef, shared ways to lighten up the work load when preparing a great beef meal, passed along simple tips on making the perfect beef meal quickly and cost-effectively and explained how to play up beef at center of healthy plate with new spring vegetables. Now, it’s almost time for spring/summer grilling. For more great tips, visit the checkoff-funded Beef. It’s What’s For Dinner. website.
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.
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