While the dairy industry’s primary business is producing milk, dairy farmers also sell male calves and produce beef from the cows sent to market. In fact, about 21 percent of the beef produced in the U.S. comes from dairy stock.
When the checkoff was first established in the Beef Promotion and Research Act as part of the 1985 Farm Bill, producers wanted to ensure that all those who would benefit from the increased demand as a result of the Beef Checkoff would share in the cost of funding the program. Therefore, with the dairy industry providing a good portion of the beef produced in the U.S., these producers are also a part of the the Beef Checkoff program.
Dairy producers are represented proportionally on state beef council boards and the Cattlemen’s Beef Board.