August 2011
Contact: , 402-856-2097;
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…
… Get the latest updates by “Liking” MyBeefCheckoff on Facebook.
… Three new round cuts have been added to the Slice n' Save program, which allows consumers to enjoy budget-friendly beef.
… Have you completed your survey? Producer input is being sought to strengthen the measurement of quality-based practices implemented on farms and ranches that support consumer confidence in beef products and production systems.
BQA Online Training
The checkoff’s online Beef Quality Assurance online training program was developed to educate English- and Spanish-speaking beef and dairy producers, animal transporters, livestock auction market employees and bovine veterinarians. Web-based audiovisual training modules in English and Spanish feature topics such as animal husbandry, animal welfare, environmental stewardship and food safety practices.
The online program is easy to use and gives the flexibility to become BQA-certified from any computer with Internet access and at a self-set pace. Click here to reach the online training program and click on your state.
Visiting With Japanese Meat Buyers
A visiting team of 19 Japanese meat buyers representing Hannan Foods Group and its top customers recently met with the beef checkoff’s foreign marketing team in Denver to receive an update about the U.S. red meat industry.
The visit was part of the group’s week-long tour of meat production facilities, retail outlets and hotel/ restaurant/ institutional facilities. The tour was funded by Hannan, which annually purchases about 681 million pounds of meat and has sales in excess of $2.1 billion.
Hannan representatives also expressed appreciation for the checkoff’s help with the Japan Relief and Recovery Effort, which has served more than 100,000 hot meals containing U.S. beef and pork thus far. Hannan is one of the many corporations and organizations in Japan to process and deliver the food to displaced families across northern Japan.
Click here to learn more about your investment in foreign marketing programs.
Signals for beef cow herd rebuilding
CattleFax
The U.S. beef cow inventory totaled 30.9 million head on Jan. 1, 2011, marking a decline for 13 of the past 15 years. The combination of record high cull cow prices and intensifying drought across the Southern Plains states continues to support an elevated rate of beef cow slaughter this year. Reduced cull cow slaughter rates and increased heifer retention rates by cow-calf producers provide the initial indications that size of the beef cow herd has stabilized and/or started to expand.
Stabilization, and subsequent expansion, of the beef cow herd will require a sustained reduction in beef cow slaughter levels and further reductions in heifer placements into feedyards, back into the 30 to 33 percent range for a prolonged period of time. Look for these trends to develop over the next year or two.
Click here to sign up for the checkoff-funded Beef Issues Quarterly e-newsletter and read the full text.
Why We Get Fat
Science writer Gary Taubes, who has published several articles and a detailed book about the role that carbohydrate-restricted diets may play in reducing obesity, has released a new book, Why We Get Fat and What to do About It.
The book provides an explanation of insulin’s role in fat deposition and how the introduction of carbohydrates, especially those that are easily digested such as refined flour, fruit juice and sodas, and starches, contribute to insulin production and subsequently weight gain.
Taubes also corrects several misconceptions about the fat profile of foods from animal sources and asserts that the common advice to lower fat intake as a means to prevent heart disease has no merit based on scientific literature.
Why We Get Fat may serve as a discussion platform for the beef industry to correct common misconceptions about beef’s role in a healthful diet.
Click here to read the full Beef Issues Quarterly text from Holly Foster.
Many Ways to Celebrate Beef in August
Farmer’s Market week is Aug. 1-6: One of the best things about visiting a Farmer’s Market is seeing the freshest, in-season produce. You can be swept away with the flavor of heirloom tomatoes or the color of potato varieties. Your mind begins to wander and your taste buds salivate as you sample sweet corn and squash. You may even find a new kind of cheese or homemade salsa to pair with your beef entree. Coming home with your bundle, you try to piece together a meal or two. Now for the protein! Visit the checkoff-funded Beef. It’s What’s For Dinner. website for meal inspiration.
August is Sandwich Month: club, corned beef, Reuben, roast beef. That’s right, we’re talking sandwiches! August is National Sandwich Month, and boy does the checkoff have some great options for your enjoyment.
Filet Mignon Day is August 13: This is the day dedicated to the Tenderloin, aka Filet Mignon. To honor the most tender cut (and lean) around, why not try one of our tasty recipes?
National Apple Week: Celebrate National Apple Week from August 8-12 with some beefy recipes that make the most of the in-season fruit we love so much.
And of course, August means back to school. In a pinch for an evening meal? The checkoff has a recipe for you.
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.
SOCIAL MEDIA