Understanding Your Beef

Checkoff Program

2

Beef Checkoff History

Beef checkoff programs in the U.S.

date back to 1922 … when the

assessment rate was 5¢ a carload

3

Today’s Beef Checkoff Program

Established as part of 1985 Farm Bill

Became mandatory via national referendum vote by producers in 1988

Cattlemen’s Beef Board administers program, subject to USDA approval

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106 members

Nominated by producer organizations

Appointed by U.S. Secretary of Agriculture

Beef Board Structure

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Cow-Calf 51%

Dairy 13%

Feeder 12%

Stocker 8%

Importer 5%

Backgrounder 5%

Purebred 1%Market Operator 1%

Dealer 1%

Seedstock 3%

By industry segment2011 CBB Representation

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The Checkoff Starts In Your State

All producers and importers pay the equivalent of $1 per head every time a bovine animal is sold

Qualified State Beef Council (QSBC) collects the dollar and sends 50 cents of each dollar to the Cattlemen’s Beef Board for investment into national checkoff programs

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Basic Tenets Of The Checkoff

U.S. Customs collects $1-per-head or equivalent on all imported live cattle, beef and beef products and forwards the full dollar to the Beef Board

QSBCs can invest their 50 cents into state programs and/or invest an additional portion into national programs through the Federation of State Beef Councils or the Beef Board

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Basic Tenets of Checkoff

All national checkoff-funded programs are budgeted and evaluated by the Cattlemen’s Beef Board, comprising 106 checkoff-paying producer volunteers

Beef Board producer members are nominated by producer organizations in their states and appointed by the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture

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Total Checkoff Collections 2003-2011

2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 20110

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

Total Assessments Collected Total Assessments to CBB

Total Checkoff Collections 2003-2011

(In millions)

Projected

Projected

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2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 20110

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

50

55

60

2.80 2.81 2.62 2.65 2.62 2.63 2.68 2.76

4.981.66 1.46 1.59 2.43 2.30 3.36 3.33

2.03

2.12 2.42 2.55 2.27 1.801.80 1.69

4.205.50 5.08 4.83 5.25 5.44

5.52 5.70

5.996.15 5.96 6.66 6.28 4.94

4.75 4.61

6.246.72 7.44 7.15 7.41

6.106.44 6.66

27.9825.53 27.03 27.86

22.79

18.4919.28 18.07

LegendPromoResearch

Cons InfoForeign Mktg

Producer CommIndustry Info

Admin & Other

CBB Amended Budget by Program Area

Administration and Other includes Evaluation, Program Development, USDA Oversight and Administration Budgets

54.23

50.50 52.0053.28

49.05

41.743.8

42.8

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Cow-Calf 51%

Dairy 13%

Feeder 12%

Stocker 8%

Importer 5%

Backgrounder 5%

Purebred 1%Market Operator 1%

Dealer 1%

Seedstock 3%

By industry segment2011 CBB Representation

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Where Checkoff Dollars Come From

$1 per head invested by about 900,000 beef, dairy & veal producers – $71.4 million

$1-per-head equivalent invested by importers – $6.4 million

$1 per head invested by producers in five states without beef councils – $37,000

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PromotingResearching

EducatingSafeguarding

StateBeef

Councils

Cattlemen’s Beef Board

Dairy, Beef, Veal ProducersPay $1/head

ImportersPay $1/head or equivalent

FederationState Beef Councils Operating

Committee

50¢

50¢

10

10

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What CAN The Checkoff Do?

• Checkoff is a catalyst for change

• Designed to stimulate the supply chain

to sell more beef and consumers to buy

more beef

• Accomplished through a series of state

and national initiatives in 6 program areas

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Program Definitions

Promotion

Research

Consumer Information

Industry Information

Foreign Marketing

Producer Communications

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What CAN’T The Checkoff Do?

By law, checkoff funds cannot be used:

• To influence government policy or action,

including lobbying

• For any unfair or deceptive practices

• To reference any particular brand or trade

name without prior approval by CBB and USDA

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Do Packers Pay?

• Any packer who owns cattle for more

than 10 days prior to harvest must pay

the dollar-per-head checkoff on those

cattle

• There are no packer seats on the

Beef Board

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Key Checkoff Accomplishments

• Promoting high-quality U.S. beef in foreign

countries

• Working to continue growth in beef demand

• Funding product-enhancement and beef-safety

research programs to address safety and quality

issues

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Key Checkoff Accomplishments

• Investing an average of $4 million annually

on beef-safety and product-technology

research

• Delivering beef enjoyment and nutrition

messages to consumers through the

checkoff-funded “Beef. It’s What’s for Dinner

campaign

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Key Checkoff Accomplishments

• Funding Beef Quality Assurance programs for

beef and dairy producers to strengthen

consumer confidence in the quality and

consistency of U.S. beef products

• Introducing new beef products to the

marketplace – more than 2,500 since 1998.

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