The Beef Checkoff Program returned about $5.55 in value to beef producers for every dollar they invested into it between 2003 and 2008. That’s the overall conclusion of a new economic study completed by Dr. Ron Ward, professor emeritus for the Food and Resource Economics Department of the University of Florida. Ward’s research addresses beef consumption patterns, estimation of the impact of the checkoff on market penetration or the probability of consuming beef within a defined period, and the impact on the level of consumption among beef consumers. The end product is the determination of the rate-of-return from beef producers’ and importers’ national checkoff investments…tape
Cut #1 :41 O.C...”was actually consumed”
But what would the impact on beef demand be if there were no checkoff at all?…tape
Cut #2 :32 O.C...”increase in demand”
Dave Bateman, immediate past Cattlemen’s Beef Board chairman and producer from Illinois, says the checkoff can’t singlehandedly turn around a bad market, but farmers and ranchers have to stop and imagine if our checkoff dollars are returning $5.55 for every dollar we invest, just where we might be without the checkoff programs we have in place. This study is telling us that because of our checkoff programs – even when times are bad for our industry – we are significantly better off than we would be without those programs. Dr. Ward gives us the bottom line…tape.
Cut #3 :13 O.C...”but gross revenues”
To read the full report and for more information about checkoff-funded programs, visit www dot my beef checkoff dot com (www.MyBeefCheckoff.com).
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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.