32 CALF News • April | May 2022 • www.calfnews.net By Patti Wilson Contributing Editor Each year brings new challenges to the Cattlemen’s Beef Board (CBB), the entity that takes on beef promotion and education in the United States. CBB Vice Chair Jimmy Taylor sat down for a visit with CALF News to apprise us of the latest developments and challenges their team is undertaking. Who Is Jimmy Taylor? Taylor and his wife, Tracy, run a commercial Angus herd near Cheyenne, Okla. His CBB website biography reveals their herd as 600 females on 12,000 acres. Their ranching efforts earned them the 2011 Certified Angus Beef Commitment to Excellence Award and 2013 Oklahoma Angus Association Commercial Breeder of the Year. The use of artificial insemination, proper nutrition, genomics and other technologies play a role in obtaining the ranch’s goal: to create a good eating experience for the consumer. Taylor has been active on other local and state boards, as well. He is slated to step up to the office of CBB chairman next year. What Has CBB Been Doing? Taylor explains one of the group’s more recent promotions, sponsorship of the Daytona 300. Known as the “Beef. It’s what’s For Dinner 300,” it is held at Daytona Speedway the day before the Daytona 500. The Beef Checkoff had a presence for three days at this prestigious event, and the “Beef. It’s What’s For Dinner 300” generated a remarkable 5.2 billion impressions that week alone. That means individuals were exposed to the popular beef industry brand 5.2 billion times. This is a “big magnitude” reach for CBB, according to Taylor, who adds that they also ran beef ads on the Hallmark Channel and its “Countdown to Christmas.” The “Countdown to Christmas” includes all those holiday Hallmark movies that are aired every year. The Authorization Request Taylor emphasizes the importance of the CBB Authorization Request (AR). It’s a request for the money authorized to fund various activities throughout the year, deemed most important to promotion and education of beef to our consumers. These requests come from organizations that want to be contractors to the Beef Checkoff. The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association or U.S. Cattlemen’s Association are two examples of the nine checkoff contractors. They will provide a plan and budget designed to help the checkoff in one or more of its program areas: promotion, research, producer communications, foreign marketing, consumer information and industry information. The CBB reviews those ARs and awards contracts and budgets accordingly. For instance, a competent team of watchdogs monitors activities influencing beef-related news, propaganda or misinformation 24/7. They make sure media reporting is factual and accurate. Misinformation is often caught early and responded to promptly so damage to our industry is stopped or minimized. Taylor describes this as “getting ahead of the news with facts.” Another AR example is the allocation of promotional money to maximize effectiveness and efficiency. Running beef ads in a large beef-producing state may not be the wisest way to spend Checkoff dollars. These populations are already likely to have a taste for beef on their plate. Therefore, money may be redirected to the northeastern U.S., where people outnumber cattle 14-to1. Diverting promotional money from beef-producing states to the millions of people residing where cattle are scarce makes common economic sense. Another important AR is helping to fund the U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF). Taylor says the world is “on fire” for high-quality U.S. beef. USMEF keeps 19 offices serving 80 nations worldwide, providing market access and development for U.S. beef. In the past year, our country’s beef exports have skyrocketed. Currently, the top three U.S. beef importers are Japan, South Korea and China. In 2021, $10.576 billion worth of beef was sold worldwide to foreign countries. Don’t have a beautiful steak sitting on a Japanese plate pictured in your mind, folks. Much of this product is offal. Livers, tongues, tripe and other products seldom used in America are considered delicacies in foreign countries and add more than $400 in value to every head of beef harvested here at home. Peru, for example, is particularly fond of liver and its nutritional benefits. They are eager buyers of a product many here just don’t care for. Although livers and other offal popular in foreign countries are consumed in a smaller amount in the U.S., people here are unwilling to pay much for the product. By exporting them, we are able to get more money out of a single carcass. Changes? Taylor explains that CBB’s goals don’t change, they continue to thrive for the growth of our product. CBB is always looking for new ideas. Requests (ARs) are looked over by committee and evaluated for their potential effect on beef demand. He says one of the biggest challenges that has faced CBB for the past several decades is a shrinking cow herd, onethird of which has been lost since the 1970s. A devalued dollar and inflation make them evaluate every program and project for efficiency and impact. It is easy to see the stress facing the guardian of our industry. It is clearly a labor of love for Vice Chair Taylor and the Cattlemen’s Beef Board. Be sure to thank them when you have the opportunity. Cattlemen's Beef Board Forges Ahead
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