Beef Briefs: June 2010
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Look for Beef Briefs to be delivered the first of each month -- your snapshot of beef checkoff news affecting the dairy and beef industries. Editor’s note: please feel free to use these news items as space allows in your publication or online content. If you would like to expand on a certain topic, please e-mail Melissa Slagle at mslagle@beefboard.org.
In case you missed it…
… New York Beef Industry Council holds veal tour (audio report)
… Get some answers to beef pricing (audio report)
… Visiting Korean team experiences California beef tour
MBA Enrollment Even Easier
The checkoff-funded Masters of Beef Advocacy (MBA) program just set a single month record adding 254 new graduates in April. The breaks the previous record of 211 set in March. As of early May, the program boasted 1,366 graduates and 1,484 current students (2,850 total participants to date). And, there is an online application to make it easier for new students to enroll.
The program aims to help producers, students, University and industry representatives become actively engaged in reclaiming our legacy as the original stewards of the land, caretakers of animals and producers of safe, wholesome and nutritious beef.
Columbus Day Veal Promotion
The checkoff’s veal retail marketing is gaining vealocity as we move into 2010. The BIG event will center around Columbus Day, Oct. 11, 2010. The strategy is to position veal as the dish for Columbus Day, like turkey is for Thanksgiving. This month-long, Italian-themed promotion includes TV commercials, VealMadeEasy.com Web site promotions, event presence at the Columbus Day Parade in New York City and a consumer sweepstakes to win a trip to Italy. To see promotion details, click here.
Navy Chef Competition
In May, a friendly culinary showdown between Russian and American navy chefs in Vladivostok, Russia, provided the setting as a number of local restaurant chefs, food industry leaders and media in this eastern Russian port city were exposed to high-quality cuts of U.S. pork and beef.
The visit featured many cultural and sporting events, including a cooking competition matching U.S. and Russian navy chefs. Five pairs of chefs participated, with one U.S. chef and one Russian chef competing on each team. While the competition was friendly, the teams’ cooking skills were well-tested - with each having only 15 minutes to prepare culinary masterpieces featuring U.S. beef and pork. Judges included several U.S. and Russian navy officers, U.S. Consulate Officer Dan Sweet, Tatyana Kalenik, director of the Institute of Food Technologies and Commodity Science, and Roman Ivanischev, general director of Russia’s Anons Restaurant Agency and president of the Far Eastern Restaurateur and Hotelier Association.
Support for the competition, which was held at Fabrica, a well-known Vladivostok restaurant, was provided by the Beef Checkoff and Pork Checkoff Programs and the USDA’s Market Access Program (MAP).
New Foodservice Brochure
A new checkoff-funded foodservice brochure titled, Steak. New Menu Frontiers, is now available. Colorful and compelling, it contains recipes featured in the 2010 BEEFlexible ad series, as well as dozens more menu inspirations, tips on how to profit from steak sales, wine pairing, beef nutrition and sustainability and stewardship information. It's a 40-page compendium of beef information for restaurants, hotels, and others in the business of menu'ing and serving steak. For more information, visit BeefFoodservice.com.
Fun Summer Promotions
On May 23, a full-page coupon insert promoting the beef checkoff’s Sutter Home partnership and the $100,000 grand prize for the best burger entry was dropped in 45 million newspapers across the country. Check here to find out if newspapers in your area will carry these coupons, and to see what the coupon insert looks like. On the same day, Chi Chi's dropped a half-page coupon insert in 30 million newspapers. This insert features an image of lean steak fajitas and links to online beef recipes. Click here to see a sample of the FSI. For more information on these or any other summer retail promotions, visit BeefRetail.org.
The Beef Checkoff Program was established as part of the 1985 Farm Bill. The checkoff assesses $1 per head on the sale of live domestic and imported cattle, in addition to a comparable assessment on imported beef and beef products. States retain up to 50 cents on the dollar and forward the other 50 cents per head to the Cattlemen’s Beef Promotion and Research Board, which administers the national checkoff program, subject to USDA approval.
Funded by the Beef Checkoff.
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