CBB Recap: Cattlemen’s Beef Board releases annual 2022 report
The Cattlemen’s Beef Promotion and Research Board, more commonly referred to as the Cattlemen’s Beef Board (CBB), recently released its 2022 Annual Report, which looks back on work the board has done and accomplishments achieved over the past year.
According to the report, CBB is an all-volunteer program, currently comprised of 101 producers and importers from around the country. The composition of the board fluctuates based on U.S. cattle population numbers.
Through CBB, these board members oversee the Beef Checkoff and are responsible for approving the annual budget for checkoff-funded programs.
Additionally, CBB works to increase demand for beef and beef products through promotion and advertising, research, marketing, product innovation and education.
CBB’s annual report highlights these checkoff-funded projects, focused on promotion, research, consumer information, industry information, foreign marketing and producer communications.
Promotion
The report begins by highlighting CBB’s promotion efforts.
Contracted through the North American Meat Institute (NAMI) and subcontracted through the New York Beef Council, CBB awarded $356,230 to veal promotion efforts through a partnership with Homemade, a virtual cooking class company, to produce veal-centered culinary instruction for consumers and a Discover the Farm video campaign to educate consumers about veal production.
An additional $9.2 million was awarded to the “Beef. It’s What’s for Dinner.” promotion, contracted by the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA).
These dollars went toward the Tony Romo summer grilling campaign and a partnership with celebrity Chefs Jordan Andino, Dawn Burrell, Tim Hollingsworth and Stephanie Izard to showcase recipes for beef leftovers.
Research
According to the report, checkoff dollars funded five research projects throughout the year.
During the annual Meat Industry Food Safety Conference, checkoff-funded research related to post-harvest beef safety was presented, including Salmonella classification and the use of clean-label antimicrobials in product formulations.
Additionally, CBB developed and issued a targeted request for proposals to solicit projects to develop a Salmonella baseline in ground beef.
These two projects were contracted by the Foundation for Meat and Poultry Research and Education and awarded $500,000 under the post-harvest beef safety program area.
CBB awarded over $8.1 million to NCBA under the pre-harvest safety and foundational research program area for the 20th Anniversary of the Beef Industry Safety Summit, held in Denver.
They also used these dollars to commission an annual demand-driver analysis to track trends, monitor issues and survey the general landscape for agricultural impacts.
Lastly, CBB awarded $210,000 to the U.S. Cattlemen’s Association and Kansas State University (KSU).
With this money, researchers at KSU engineered a study to gain insight on the distribution of long-chain fatty acids in beef carcasses and evaluate the potential for altering fat composition through feeding strategies aimed at increasing proportions of omega-3 fatty acids in beef.
Consumer information
According to the report, over $7.6 million went toward consumer information projects last year.
In the northeast consumer and supply chain engagement project area, contracted by the Meat Import Council of America and subcontracted by the Northeast Beef Promotion Initiative, CBB used $494,760 for three partnerships, including the Seton Hall University Athletic partnership, the Homemade partnership and the 2060 Digital partnership.
Contracted by the American Farm Bureau for Agriculture, $926,000 was awarded to On The Farm STEM, an annual immersion event to bring educators to real farms.
CBB also awarded over $6.2 million to the Food, Culinary and Ag Thought Leader Summer Grilling Campaign and a partnership with the third-party delivery DoorDash app to complete a co-branded campaign with McDonald’s and “Beef. It’s What’s for Dinner.”
These projects were contracted by NCBA.
Industry information
Seven projects split between three contractors were awarded over $2.6 million for industry information programs.
NAMI contracted two projects under the Veal Quality Assurance (VQA) program area, which were awarded $74,210. These programs included the Veal Summit, held in April 2022 and the VQA Outreach and Engagement Program.
The National Institute for Animal Agriculture (NIAA) was awarded $79,160 for the 11th Annual NIAA Antibiotic Symposium and the continued partnership with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Under the issues and crisis management, beef advocacy and beef quality assurance program areas, NCBA was awarded over $2.4 million for the launch of the inaugural Trailblazers advocacy program, the 24/7 Digital Command Center and the launch of the Calf Care and Quality Assurance Program, in collaboration with the Dairy Calf and Heifer Association, VQA and the Dairy FARM Program.
Foreign marketing
“Through international marketing efforts, the Beef Checkoff maximizes U.S.-produced beef’s access to foreign markets by expanding market penetration in existing locations, entering new and emerging markets and improving global consumers’ perceptions and trust in the product,” notes the report.
“Despite lingering pandemic-related challenges, which continue to impact global foodservice, cause general economic headwinds and create persistent shipping and logistics obstacles, U.S. beef exports have been outstanding throughout 2022,” the report continues. “Demand continues to be tremendous, and international buyers in all channels remain committed to the quality and consistency delivered by U.S.-produced beef.”
The report further notes the U.S. Meat Export Federation was awarded $8.4 million for international market development and access to leading export customers.
This project included an in-dining campaign at two Korean stores; a social media campaign and Meet and Greet Tour in Mexico; e-commerce, livestream and indirect sales marketing in China and a nationwide, spring retail campaign in Japan.
Producer communications
The last focus area for CBB, as outlined in the report, is producer communications.
Three projects, all contracted by CBB, were awarded over $1.8 million.
These include the Drive in Five online video series, a CBB-hosted general session during the Livestock Marketing Association’s Convention in Shipshewana, Ind. in June and the launch of the producer insights platform, which is used to successfully reach producers with information from the Beef Checkoff.
“Producer communications work establishes a direct and ongoing line of communication with the producers and importers who pay the Beef Checkoff. It reports how their checkoff dollars are invested, shares program successes and results and builds understanding about checkoff roles, responsibilities and processes,” the report concludes.
Hannah Bugas is the managing editor for the Wyoming Livvesotck Roundup. Send comments on this article to roundup@wylr.net.
