"Beef. It's What's For Dinner." Digital Advertising Efforts in Full Swing

2015 marks the second year since the beef checkoff's "Beef. It's What's For Dinner." brand made the shift from traditional advertising to an all-digital approach, using an integrated digital media plan to reach consumers in a new and highly engaging way.


"The checkoff's advertising efforts are instrumental in helping to educate millions of Americans on beef's superior taste, nutritional package, ease-of-use and versatility by providing them with the beef-related information they need, when they need it," says Terri Carstensen, Chair of the Domestic Consumer Preference committee, and beef producer from Odebolt, Iowa. "Through the checkoff's digital advertising campaigns, consumers are equipped with the beef tips, techniques and recipes they need to ensure a great beef eating experience, each and every time."


The success of the checkoff's advertising program is the result of a three-pronged approach to digital: 

1.Surface the information consumers are looking for, when they're looking for it through a variety of online advertising tools, such as search, social and banner advertising;


2.Delight consumers with educational and entertaining content, including engaging and inspiring videos and recipes;


3.Make a positive difference in the way consumers feel about beef by showing how easy and versatile beef can be for any day of the week.


While the "Beef. It's What's For Dinner." brand uses advertising strategies like search and social advertising throughout the entire year, the major advertising push is centered around the critical grilling season, which runs May through September. And according to the checkoff-funded Google Consumer Survey conducted in May 2015, nearly half (46.3 percent) of consumers are excited about serving beef this summer grilling season - which is nearly double that of any other protein. Additionally, 42 percent of consumers say they are likely to grill beef burgers (61.4 percent) and steaks (45 percent) over other proteins like chicken and pork. To read more, click here.
  

HPAI- The Largest Animal Health Emergency in This Country's History

2015 has given us the largest animal health emergency in this country's history with nearly 50 million birds depopulated because of the outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza.  The Bird Flu outbreak was the subject of a Senate Ag Committee hearing on Tuesday afternoon- and some of the bullet points that came out of the hearing are incredible- and rather scary.

Dr. Tom Elam of Farm Econ offered staggering numbers- "Based on pre-outbreak wholesale prices, my estimate of producer direct loss arising from destroyed turkey and egg production is about $1.57 billion, $530 million for turkeys and $1.04 billion for layers. By design, these estimated impacts exclude substantial price increases that have occurred since the outbreak hit the
Upper Midwest. That estimated loss does not include cleanup, bird restocking, higher costs to consumers from post-outbreak price increases, or any further production losses past today.

"The economy-wide loss for just destroyed production to date is conservatively estimated at nearly $3.3 billion. This larger number is based on earlier University of Minnesota research. It includes estimated losses past the producer and wholesale level and into retail food stores and the foodservice sector. 

"These are large numbers, but do not begin to capture the impact of local damage done in the affected states."

The lead witness was Deputy Administrator of APHIS, Dr. John Clifford.  Dr. Clifford has been around since the BSE outbreak days when he and other USDA officials helped walk the beef industry through the "cow that stole Christmas."  He is the one who made the statement that forms our headline above- the "Largest Animal Health Emergency in This Country's History."

Dr. Clifford told the Committee (click here for his testimony) that HPAI blew through our biosecurity measures- and resulted in huge losses for the poultry industry. "Our investigation shows that the virus has been introduced into commercial poultry facilities from the environment (i.e., water, soil, animal feces, air) or from farm-to-farm transmission on human sources such as boots or equipment. After conducting an analysis of over 80 commercial poultry farms, APHIS cannot associate transmission of the disease with any single one of those factors, but it seems clear that lateral spread occurred when biosecurity measures that are sufficient in ordinary times were not sufficient in the face of such a large amount of virus in the environment."

Click here for the full list of witnesses from yesterday- all with links to their testimony available.

Jacqui Fatka of Feedstuffs wrote an excellent piece about the hearing- you can read her report by clicking here.  

OCA Creating Awareness for 'Right to Farm' Initiative, State Question 777

Oklahoma is more than a year away from voting on the 'Right to Farm' constitutional amendment, known as State Question 777. Oklahoma's agricultural groups are starting their planning and preparations for the 'Right to Farm' campaign. Oklahomans will vote on the measure in November 2016. Oklahoma Cattlemen's Association Executive Vice President Michael Kelsey said the effort is starting to build some positive momentum with planning, fundraising and creating awareness for the initiative.


"We're all in this together," Kelsey said. "Oklahoma agriculture has a great benefit from this and we want to continue to position Oklahoma agriculture positively in the future and we think this is one great step to do that." 


The first step of the campaign is communicating the purpose of the initiative. Kelsey said OCA will be talking about 'Right to Farm' amendment every chance they get through cattlemen affiliate meetings through their publications, along with speaking engagements with rural civic organizations like Rotary and the Lion's Club. He said he thinks this is building some positive momentum as an agricultural coalition, but he knows the adversaries will show up. Kelsey thinks these groups will show up make their presence known closer to the election, which makes it even more important to gear up early on. 


I featured Kelsey on our latest Beef Buzz, as heard on great radio stations across the southern great plains. Click or tap here to listen to this feature. 

Op-Ed: Outright Repeal of COOL Defies Consumer Sentiment

Policy Pennings by Harwood D. Schaffer is a Research Assistant Professor in the Agricultural Policy Analysis Center, Institute of Agriculture, University of Tennessee. Daryll E. Ray is Emeritus Professor, Institute of Agriculture, University of Tennessee, and is the former Director of the Agricultural Policy Analysis Center (APAC).


The fate of the US COOL (Country of Origin Labeling) program for beef, pork, and poultry hangs in the balance as Congress goes on its Independence Day recess. Given the May 18, 2015 WTO (World Trade Organization) ruling against COOL; the threat of $3 billion in retaliatory tariffs being imposed on US products by Canada and Mexico; and the opposition of meatpackers, food processors, the North American Meat Institute, and prominent cattle and agricultural groups; the House voted 300-131 on June 10, 2015 to repeal COOL.


In advance of the House vote on COOL, "283 farm, rural, faith, environmental, labor, farmworker, manufacturer, and consumer organizations" sent a letter to the House Agricultural Committee Chair and Ranking Member urging them to "reject the repeal of the Country-of-Origin Labeling (COOL) law and support commonsense food labeling" (http://tinyurl.com/o9yfdt3). They argued that polling reveals that 9 out of 10 Americans support COOL.


In the Senate, Pat Roberts sees repeal of COOL as the surest way to protect the US against the retaliatory tariffs. At the same time Roberts indicates that he is willing to look at alternatives. One of those alternatives, voluntary COOL, has been proposed by Senator Stabenow.  Click here to read more.
  

FSA Cotton Transition Assistance Program Enrollment Underway

U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Farm Service Agency Administrator Val Dolcini announced that beginning Monday, July 6th, farmers in eligible counties may enroll in the Cotton Transition Assistance Program (CTAP). The deadline for enrollment is Sept. 30, 2015.


CTAP provides interim payments to cotton producers in counties where the Stacked Income Protection Plan (STAX), a new insurance product administered by the Risk Management Agency, is not yet available. Most cotton-producing counties and cotton producers have STAX available and are not eligible for CTAP.


The Oklahoma counties eligible for CTAP in 2015 include Creek, Hughes, Johnston, Le Flore, Logan McCurtain, McIntosh, Major, Okmulgee, Pittsburg, Sequoyah and Wagoner.  The Texas counties include Angelina, Crockett, Gillespie, Grimes, Hamilton, Harris, Harrison, Hemphill, Jack, Liberty, Mason, Mills, Montague, Palo Pinto, Presidio, Rains, Rusk and Wise.  The Kansas counties include Allen, Anderson, Barton, Chautauqua, Elk, Greenwood, Labette and Montgomery.  Click here for the full list of counties eligible for CTAP in 2015.


"The Cotton Transition Assistance Program is for farms with former cotton base acres that are physically located in a county where the Stacked Income Protection Plan is unavailable," said Dolcini. "To help us provide the best service possible, cotton producers are encouraged to schedule an appointment with their local Farm Service Agency office early in the application period."


Click here to read more about the Cotton Transition Assistance Program and the Stacked Income Protection Plan.

Award winning broadcast journalist Jerry Bohnen has spent years learning and understanding how to cover the energy business here in the southern plains-  Click here to subscribe to his daily update of top Energy News.

Commodity Classic Trade Show Floor Opens to New Exhibitors

Companies with products, services, technology and innovation targeting the nation's leading farmers now have the opportunity to get in front of that coveted audience.   Commodity Classic, the nation's largest farmer-led, farmer-focused convention and trade show, has announced the opening of the trade show floor for the 2016 Commodity Classic in New Orleans, March 3-5, 2016.


"The increased size of the trade show floor in New Orleans provides additional space for new exhibitors and a perfect opportunity for companies who have been wanting to participate in Commodity Classic," said Sam Butler, an Alabama soybean farmer and Commodity Classic Co-Chair. "This is where the nation's top farmers come to learn what's new and become even better at what they do. And it's where the companies that want to reach those farmers come to exhibit."


Commodity Classic is the annual trade show and convention of the American Soybean Association, National Corn Growers Association, National Association of Wheat Growers and National Sorghum Producers. In 2016, Commodity Classic welcomes the Association of Equipment Manufacturers as an affiliate of the event.


"Commodity Classic is an especially great opportunity for new startups to get noticed and get honest feedback from important customers," said Wesley Spurlock, a Texas corn farmer and Commodity Classic Co-Chair. 

Click here to read more about the 2016 Commodity Classic.

This N That - Calendar Items Galore, It's Big Iron Wednesday and the Six Inch Rainfall Update     

We have added several items that are happening over the next few days to our calendar on our Oklahoma Farm Report website.  Items include some mid season management meetings planned by OSU Extension, Noble Foundation events, the Big Three Judging, the Oklahoma Wheat Commission July Board Meeting and lots more. Jump over to our Calendar pages and click on any event that you want to know more about. 

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It's Wednesday- and that means the Big Iron folks will be busy closing out this week's auction items - all 336 items consigned.  Bidding will start at 10 AM central time.                

Click Here for the complete rundown of what is being sold on this no reserve online sale this week.

If you'd like more information on buying and selling with Big Iron, call District Manager Mike Wolfe at 580-320-2718 and he can give you the full scoop.  You can also reach Mike via email by clicking or tapping here.  

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Rainfall is starting to move eastward- but the line of rain is remains impressive- stretching this morning from about San Angelo, Texas northeastward across eastern Oklahoma(just on the edge of Tulsa) and then on up into southeast Kansas and into Missouri and Illinois.  

Rainfall totals in Oklahoma for the two day weather event have been impressive- Ada wins the prize with 6.83 inches of rain as of 5 AM this morning- Ardmore is not far behind at 6.11 inches of rain- and Holdenville is also above six inches of rainfall as well. 

You can click on the graphic of the map to jump over to the actual Mesonet site where you can interactively see which location is which- and get the latest real time update from the statewide network of weather stations.