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May Elevates Beef to Consumers Everywhere

By Mark Russell, Executive Director Missouri Beef Industry Council

May is a month beef producers like to shine!

Spring calving season is winding up, hay harvesting is in full swing and crop planting has started. Farmers and ranchers throughout Missouri and the U.S. are doing what they enjoy doing – raising food for a growing consumer population.

Historically, May is recognized in many states with a focus on the beef industry. The Missouri Beef Industry Council has many local, state, and national activities that move the message of more beef, more often to consumers.

Nationally, the Consumer Marketing team at NCBA is developing new content for the Summer Grilling Season 2021 that will launch in May. This campaign will keep beef top of mind this summer grilling season. Included with this campaign will be new and updated beef and lifestyle photography and video footage that will be used as the basis for the campaign. Static display and social media ads for Beef Month, as well as a “Celebrate Beef Month” text overlay will complement state and local efforts.

In Missouri, the Governor of Missouri, Mike Parson, has been invited to proclaim May is Beef Month and is scheduled to do that on May 20th at the St. Louis Science Center in St. Louis. Along with recognizing the industry, he will also recognize the importance of food service and retailers highlighting beef to consumers.

Several retailers and restaurants in Missouri have made a move to highlight beef as well. Hy-Vee supermarkets, Dierbergs Markets, Imo’s Pizza and others have campaigns launching in May. In the Dierbergs campaign, shoppers buying ground beef will have organizations matching their purchases to contribute ground beef to Operation Food Search in St. Louis, a non-profit group assisting food insecure families in the St. Louis metro area.

Broadcast (radio and television) campaigns running in May include KY3/Harter House in Springfield with a contest to win prizes and beef. KOMU8 in mid-Missouri will be running a similar campaign with giveaways on their television and social media assets. Alpha Media Radio with stations in Moberly, Lebanon, Farmington, Cameron and Bethany promote beef through radio contests, advertisements and interviews with checkoff leaders in the state. TV cooking segments on KY3 and KSDK will highlight May is Beef Month and share recipes to inspire families to celebrate at home.

Media kits sent to all county cattlemen’s groups help local producers push the message to rural communities and consumers. If you would like to receive a media kit please contact Samantha Riley, Director of Marketing and Communications at samantha@mobeef.com. Media kits include print ads, radio ads, social media content and more!

County and local promotions for 2021 in May include the St. Clair County Cattlemen. This group continues to move the Beef. It’s What’s for Dinner. message in many ways. This year includes an education effort in their county at local schools including Appleton City, Lakeland, Osceola and Roscoe. Parents and students will benefit from the support of local FFA chapters and the cattlemen to share and educate students about where their food comes from and the importance of agriculture and beef in their lives. Educational and

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nutritional materials will be distributed to an estimated 500 families and beef sticks will be distributed to the Food for America program. This is the fourth year of participating with the program which impacts positively the students, parents, and community. St. Clair County Cattlemen also participate in parades and cooking events in their county. This year, May 1 kicks off their summer schedule of going to communities to promote beef to local attendees.

The St. Charles County Cattlemen host a special event on May 24 this year to promote beef. This event focuses on motorcycle riders from across the western U.S. that are participating in the “Run for the Wall” that will end in Washington D.C. on Memorial Day. The estimated crowd of more than 400 will enjoy steaks grilled by the cattlemen from their “beef messaged” wrapped trailer. The on-site grilling will also be utilized to hand out grilling recipes and answer any questions.

Cole County Cattlemen will launch a special event on May 1 in Jefferson City to recognize the month. Parking lot banners and advertising will bring customers into the event on the Schulte’s Fresh Foods parking lot.

In Clark County, the Cattlemen’s Association will host a special event/ promotion at Mac’s Super Saver parking lot on May 28. Advertising locally will target shoppers to stop by the store and get a free hamburger, along with recipes and promotional materials about beef.

Also, the Climax Springs FFA chapter will coordinate a schoolwide event on May 6, where chapter members will design and implement a beef education program in the elementary classes to showcase the nutritional importance of beef products. The students will demonstrate various methods in which ground beef can be prepared to create healthy and delicious meals. The goal is for younger school-aged students to gain a better understanding of the source of their food and the steps necessary to procure food from farm to plate. The Missouri Beef Industry Council will be hosting a photo contest on Instagram during the month of May. Use the hashtag #MayIsBeefMonth and tag @ mobeefcouncil in your posts about beef recipes and meals for a chance to win some beef swag! You will see a new “May is Beef Month” frame on Facebook for your profile pictures starting May 1. We will also be hosting another installment of our Virtual Beef Cooking Club on May 4 featuring the Carolina BBQ Burger and plenty of tips to build your best burger to celebrate the month! To sign up visit www.mobeef.org/cooking/ virtual-cooking-club.

Source: Greg Hanes, CEO, Cattlemen’s Beef Board

Beef. It seems like the kind of commodity that would be simple, straightforward, easy to understand. Except…it’s not. The industry’s long history of organizational splits, reinventions, mergers and aliases — along with the fact that many association names sound similar — is enough to make anybody’s head spin. Even folks from other commodities agree that the beef world is complex, and so is its Checkoff.

For three and a half decades, the Beef Checkoff has existed to promote beef, but unless you are actively engaged in the program, you may not fully understand its management and oversight. Those duties are clearly assigned to the Cattlemen’s Beef Promotion & Research Board (aka, Cattlemen’s Beef Board/CBB) by the Beef Promotion and Research Act. Even with completely separate boards, staffs and offices, two common misperceptions remain: the belief that the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) oversees the Checkoff — and that CBB and NCBA are one and the same. Nothing could be further from the truth.

BACKGROUND

The 1985 Farm Bill created the CBB to administer the Beef Checkoff program. Through the dollar-ahead assessment on the sale of all cattle and equivalent amount on imported beef and beef products, each year the CBB funds promotion, research and education proposals presented to the Beef Promotion Operating Committee (BPOC) by established, national, non-profit beef or cattle industry-governed organizations. Once a proposal is approved by the BPOC, the organization becomes a Checkoff “contractor” and conducts the work according to guidelines and program evaluations that ensure proposal objectives are met.

ANSWERING THE BIG QUESTION

By law, absolutely no Checkoff funds can be used for policy or lobbying efforts. That said, the Beef Checkoff’s largest contractor, NCBA, does have a policy division. So, how does that work? Through closely monitored processes and a “firewall” that keeps policy work and Checkoff-funded work separate.

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As a trade association representing U.S. cattle producers, NCBA is like a coin with two sides. One side, the Policy Division, works to advance the political interests of its members. Any discussion of NCBA and policy is valid, but that’s NCBA’s Policy Division at play and has nothing to do with the CBB or Checkoff.

The other side of NCBA is qualified to contract with the BPOC to conduct Checkoff promotion, research and education work as an established, national, nonprofit beef or cattle industry governed organization. To be clear, it is not the organization’s policy side that competes in this arena.

Just like any other Checkoff contractor, NCBA must adhere to all rules and processes, and its contract work is managed by the CBB. Each year, it must submit Authorization Requests (program proposals) that fully outline the project work it wants to do. It must file progress reports, quarterly oversight evaluations and regular reviews. It can only receive Checkoff dollars on a cost-recovery basis, which means it pays expenses up front and is only reimbursed after the CBB reviews invoices and documentation proving the money was spent appropriately and within the parameters of the Authorization Request. A dedicated compliance officer ensures all provisions of the Act and the Order are followed, that the “firewall” is maintained and that no Checkoff funds are used for policy or lobbying.

For the current fiscal year, the Beef Checkoff has nine contractors: • American Farm Bureau Foundation for Agriculture (AFBFA)* • Cattlemen’s Beef Board, which manages the Producer

Communications program • Foundation for Meat & Poultry Research and

Education (FMPRE) • Meat Importers Council of America (MICA) • National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA)* • National Institute for Animal Agriculture (NIAA) • North American Meat Institute (NAMI)* • U.S. Cattlemen’s Association (USCA)* • U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF)

So, in a nutshell, the CBB oversees operation of the Beef Checkoff and its contractors, including NCBA. The “beef world” is definitely not uncomplicated, but each organization that does Beef Checkoff-funded work on behalf of producers has a unique area of expertise. In the end, it all contributes to a great big, coordinated effort to drive demand for beef.

*Denotes organization with separate policy division; however, no Beef Checkoff funds support policy or lobbying efforts.

ABOUT THE BEEF CHECKOFF:

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 may 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.

Missouri Beef Industry Council Director Election Legal Notice

Notice is hereby given that the Director of Agriculture will be conducting an election to fill three positions on the Missouri Beef Industry Council Board of Directors. One regional council member is to be elected in each of Regions 1, 2 and 3. Terms of office are three years.

Any cattle producer within the specified regions of the State of Missouri who is producing cattle for market and the legal owner of one or more head of cattle becomes eligible to vote in the election by registering at his/her respective Farm Service Agency (FSA), or electronically at http://mda.mo.gov/councils/ prior to July 20, 2021. Cattle producers who have voted in any of the previous three (3) elections are not required to register unless their address has changed. The Missouri Department of Agriculture will mail ballots to registered producers on August 13, 2021. Ballots must be postmarked no later than August 31, 2021 to be valid.

Any qualified producer may be nominated and have his/her name placed on the ballot provided the independent nomination is accompanied by petition of not fewer than 100 producers in the nominee’s region and written permission of the candidate. Petitions must be delivered to the Director of Agriculture on or before July 20, 2021. Petition forms are available from the Missouri Department of Agriculture by calling 573-751-5019.