Earlier this month, the National Cattlemen's Beef Association (NCBA) held their 2018 Cattle Industry Convention. NCBA set their policy priorities for the year, discussed trends in the industry and provided additional details on their updated "Beef. It's What's for Dinner." campaign.
NCBA launched the updated campaign in the fall of 2017. At the convention, NCBA presented research conducted on the rebranded campaign with consumer focus groups.
NCGA Corn Board Member Kevin Ross and Market Development Manager Sarah McKay attended the convention to continue building partnerships with the beef industry. "Beef producers are an important end user of corn," Ross said. "It takes approximately 3.46 pounds of corn and 1.42 pounds of DDGs for every pound of beef produced."
In addition to meetings with NCBA, NCGA also met with leaders of the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef (USRSB). This roundtable was formed in 2015 and efforts to date have focused on finalizing metrics by each of the sectors of the beef supply chain. NCGA is engaging with USRSB's corn sustainability efforts to help beef tell their sustainability story.
"Engaging with the livestock industry to grow and build demand for corn is a key priority for NCGA," Ross said. "Being able to connect with so many partners in one location is a great opportunity for NCGA. Not only did we interact with representatives from NCBA and USRSB, but we met with individuals from the U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF)."
To further promote the beef industry and corn usage through meat exported, NCGA's Feed, Food & Industrial Action Team (FFIAT) has also been active with USMEF. Exports account for nearly 13 percent of total U.S. beef production and the top beef export markets are Japan, Mexico and Korea.
NCGA's FFIAT will be sponsoring the Science and Technology on Feed Seminar at the upcoming World Meat Congress May 30-June 1, 2018 in Dallas, Texas, as well as a Global Red Meat Processing Seminar in late 2018, both of which are hosted through USMEF.