Beef Federation Earmarks $940,000 For New International, National Beef Demand-Building Efforts

Nov 03, 2016

Facing low cattle prices and increasing supplies of beef, and with strong encouragement from its state beef council partners, the Federation of State Beef Councils at the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association will invest nearly $1 million of reserve funds in international and national beef promotions to increase demand for beef.

The Federation Executive Committee voted for this additional spending at an NCBA Executive Committee meeting Nov. 1. The $940,000 investment, from Federation reserves, will be spent in the following areas:

-         $260,000 to the U.S. Meat Export Federation for a promotion with national retail chains in Japan. The promotion is expected to move an additional 6.9 million pounds of beef;

-         $140,000 to the U.S. Meat Export Federation for regional retail promotion campaigns in Japan. The promotion could move another 2.75 million pounds of beef;

-         $200,000 to the U.S. Meat Export Federation for a Korean beef promotion with national retail and second tier discount chains. The effort is expected to incrementally move about 5.8 million pounds of beef;

-         $40,000 to the U.S. Meat Export Federation for an Asian island promotion targeting a quickly-growing tourist destination which has growth opportunities for beef; and

-         $300,000 to NCBA, for an Ibotta promotion that targets millennials in larger cities and encourages greater beef purchases in retail stores. Ibotta is a smartphone app that shares beef information with consumers, then allows them to obtain cash rebates based on their retail beef purchases.

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Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.