Agricultural News
CBB's Jimmy Taylor Says Beef Checkoff Dollars Tell the Beef Story
Thu, 18 Nov 2021 18:25:23 CST
The Cattlemen's Beef Promotion and Research Board, usually referred to as the Cattlemen's Beef Board, consists of 101 members, made up of domestic beef, dairy and veal producers and importers of beef and beef products. The CBB members are responsible for the certification of Qualified State Beef Councils and oversee the collection of $1-per-head on all cattle sold in the U.S. and $1-per-head equivalent on imported cattle, beef and beef products.
Right now, the Annual Convention for the National Association of Farm Broadcasting is going on in Kansas City, Mo. KC Sheperd, associate farm director for the Radio Oklahoma Ag Network, spoke with Jimmy Taylor, Oklahoma cattle producer and secretary-treasurer for the Cattlemen's Beef Board, at the event about what the Beef Checkoff does for cattle producers.
"The beef checkoff does so much with the dollars that are paid into it," Taylor said. "I consider it an investment; it does things that I could not do myself."
For instance, an issues management team is available 24-7 to help manage crises by informing the public while also protecting the beef industry, according to Taylor. Checkoff dollars also tell the beef story, he added.
"One thing that comes to (my) mind is the Northeast Beef Promotion Initiative," Taylor said. "There are 72-million people up there - more people than there are cows. Some of our dollars from Oklahoma go up there to help educate those people (about beef)."
Teaching people about beef keeps it top of mind for consumers, he added. Not all folks in the cattle industry understand or appreciate CBB efforts though. A question Taylor said he often gets is why CBB members do not do anything about the state of cattle markets.
"That gets into policy," Taylor said. "It is against the law for us to participate in that, based on the Beef Promotion and Research Act - our job is to create beef demand; that is our focus and that is what we do with those dollars."
It should go without question that CBB members are doing a great job of promoting beef. Taylor said this year, beef sales are on track to set a new sales record in the ballpark of $10 billion, possibly outdoing the previous record by about $2 billion.
The United Meat Export Federation gets Beef Checkoff dollars to go overseas to promote beef on a global scale on market access, development and education.
"Every country is a little different as far as the red tape goes," Taylor said. "(Consumers eating habits in different nations) are different than what we have here."
Right now, Japan, South Korea and China are the biggest importers of U.S. beef.
Hit the LISTEN BAR below to hear KC Sheperd and Jimmy Taylor talk about the U.S. beef industry and what CBB and Beef Checkoff dollars do for cattle producers.
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