Letter from the Chair

What I appreciate about our resilient industry is that we just keep at it, day after day, month after month, raising cattle and providing beef around the world. Yet this year has been rough. No one saw massive fires, floods, and drought, let alone a worldwide pandemic on the radar for 2020, and yet when it was upon us, beef farmers and ranchers continued to do what they do best: work hard to provide a top quality, safe, consistent protein to the center of our plates. We met the challenge toe-to-toe, and didn’t back down.

The Beef Checkoff’s role as a producer-led promotion, research and educational program around all things BEEF – at both the state and national level – helped grow beef to the number one protein this year. Despite packing plant issues at the start of the COVID-19 crisis, consumer demand for beef skyrocketed to levels unseen in recent memory. When faced with a choice of what to choose for dinner at home, beef ruled the day. That sentiment and support for our product is a direct result of the Beef Checkoff’s three-and-a-half decades of hard work building beef demand.

As chair of the Cattlemen’s Beef Board, I have witnessed how our programs had to morph and change this year to meet our new challenges. In-person educator trainings moved to virtual platforms, allowing for thousands to attend. Our beef marketing promotions shifted to at-home recipes and videos to help consumers cook all that beef they purchased at grocery stores. Research refocused on how foodservice and restaurants were changing their business models to deliver high-quality proteins to their customers, even when their front doors were closed.

We are proud of the work done by our volunteer cattlemen and women at the Cattlemen’s Beef Board alongside our Beef Checkoff contractors. Their ability to pivot their programs to continue to meet the needs of beef eaters around the globe shows our true resilience in tough times.