19 February 2009

2 minute read

North America

Beef demand. What is it, and how can the Beef Checkoff Program influence changes in demand? These are questions that a recent checkoff-funded “U.S. Beef Demand Drivers and Enhancement Opportunities: A Research Study” tried to answer.

Every 10 years, the beef industry takes an introspective look at the activities completed and what lies ahead. The 2008 study, completed by Drs. James Mintert and Ted Schroeder, professors in the Department of Agricultural Economics at Kansas State University along with Dr. Glynn Tonsor from Michigan State University, intended to quantify key factors leading to beef demand shifts over time and use that knowledge to guide future decision-making.

So where does the beef industry currently stand? Asks the Beef Checkoff.

First, it’s important to keep in mind that increasing beef demand doesn’t just happen at the shelves of the grocery store. It requires a joint effort by all vertical segments of the beef production, processing and marketing chain or, as is commonly said, from pasture to plate. This offers plenty of opportunities for checkoff programs to make an impact on beef demand.

“We have our work cut out for us,” says Cattlemen’s Beef Board (CBB) Chairman Lucinda Williams, a dairy producer from Hatfield, Mass. “We had no way of foretelling the future and the economic struggles we’re all faced with as producers and consumers. In spite of all this, we remain grounded and committed to making the best decisions we can to fund the right programs that have the potential to increase producer profitability along the way.

“We need to focus on the things we can have some impact on,” Williams continues. “We can’t impact the economy; there is no secret recipe. We have to react to the economy, make wise program choices, and therefore influence beef demand through our beef checkoff dollars.”

Further Reading

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