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| Beef Checkoff Program Celebrates 20th Anniversary
Beef Board Chair Reflects on the Past and Future of the Beef Checkoff Press Release - For Immediate Release |
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| Halley's Comet paid a visit, the Soviet Union's Chernobyl accident shocked the world and President Ronald Reagan approved sweeping revisions of the U.S. tax code. The year was 1986, and among the news that directly affected beef producers was implementation of a $1-per-head assessment on cattle sold to fund a nationwide effort to increase demand for beef. Assessments under the current Beef Checkoff Program began Oct. 1, 1986, establishing a framework for a coordinated state and national plan in research, information and promotion. During its 20-year history, the beef checkoff has been viewed as a model for mandatory commodity assessments. Established as part of the 1985 Farm Bill, the checkoff assesses $1 per head on the sale of live domestic and imported cattle, as well as a comparable assessment on imported beef and beef products. It became mandatory when the program was approved by 79 percent of producers in a 1988 national referendum. The national Beef Checkoff Program is administered by the Cattlemen's Beef Promotion and Research Board (Beef Board), with oversight provided by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Qualified State Beef Councils collect the dollar and retain control of 50 cents for use in-state and for programs identified as critical by producers in those states. The other 50 cents is remitted to the Beef Board, which contracts with national non-profit cattle organizations to implement demand-building national and international programs. Not without its share of controversy, the Beef Checkoff Program survived a challenge that went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. Meanwhile, it created innovative and memorable consumer advertising, produced thousands of mouthwatering and nutritious recipes, and drove research that helped make beef safer. "Our accomplishments are legendary and viewed by many others in agriculture as standards by which to measure success," says Cattlemen's Beef Board Chairman Jay O'Brien, a cattleman from Amarillo, Texas. "At the same time, we're a stronger program as a result of the challenges we've been through." O'Brien points to the "Beef. It's What's For Dinner®" campaign as evidence of the checkoff program's far-reaching triumphs. The campaign started in 1992 and will reach 94 percent of adult consumers an average of 14 times in 2006. Studies on advertising effectiveness showed that 79 percent of those seeing the ads said that, "Beef is a food I would have a hard time giving up." Research also has been critical to the accomplishments of the checkoff, according to O'Brien. The number of positive E. coli O157:H7 ground beef samples was reduced 80 percent between 2000 and 2005, he says, partially due to checkoff-funded research in harvest facilities. And information programs that addressed the great, naturally nutrient-rich qualities of beef and its safety made consumers more confident in their beef purchases, he added. |
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