Celebrating 25 Years of Beef Checkoff Research
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Suggested Lead: From instrument grading and muscle profiling to post-harvest E. coli interventions and the Beef Industry Safety Council, to the benefits of protein for all age groups, your beef checkoff has invested millions of dollars in beef research over the past 25 years.
Today we’re talking with Roger West, cow/calf producer from Gainesville, Fla., and sec/treas of the Cattlemen’s Beef Board, about the historical accomplishments of your checkoff in the research program area. West highlights what he feels to be the top three accomplishments.
West 1: “Well, I think definitely the instrument grading has been very important to the industry and it has helped us eliminate a lot of discussion about whether the carcass grades or not. We’ve made a lot of progress there and we probably would not have gotten it done without beef checkoff dollars. Probably secondly would be all the work that we’ve done on beef safety – working with the industry to ensure that the carcass moves through the processing facility – and that’s been an industry-wide activity. And probably my third would be muscle profiling. We have identified some muscles that can be used as lower-cost steaks, and I think right now with beef being as high as it is, some of those steaks are going to sell very well. In the past, we just put them into roasts or ground them into hamburger, so we’ve increased the value of the total carcass with these different cuts.” (:54 seconds)
West also says that the research program isn’t as visible as some of the other checkoff programs, such as consumer advertising. It’s behind-the-scenes program but no less important when it comes to seeing a return to producer’s pockets.
West 2: “The product continues to sell. Because if we have too many recalls, then we would all have trouble moving our product which is certainly something we don’t want to happen. And the muscle profiling – it has increased the value of the animal (I don’t know the exact figure) but it’s been pretty significant and so as a producer, some of that would come back to me.” (:21 seconds)
West also says that the research program has shown that beef is one of the most naturally nutrient-rich foods and that beef’s package of nutrients, including protein, iron, zinc and many B vitamins, uniquely contributes to good health, from teens to the elderly.
West 3: “The other thing we really haven’t even mentioned is the nutrition research. You know, through the nutrition research, we’ve shown that our product is not nearly as fat as some people used to think and that it is a great source of protein. We have been able to get that information out to the consumer so that helps all of us.” (:21 seconds)
Be sure to tune in again for the next in our 6-part series celebrating 25 years of the beef checkoff. And for more about your beef checkoff investment, visit MyBeefCheckoff.com.
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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