Annual report recaps state and national beef checkoff programs

Source: Texas Beef Council
The Texas Beef Council (TBC) recently published its 2015 Annual Report highlighting key state and national programs in the areas of promotion, research and education. Included in the report is an overview of revenues and expenditures for fiscal 2015.
“I’m proud to announce the release of our annual report which includes financials and program highlights from the first year of the state beef checkoff program as well as the national beef checkoff program,” said Austin Brown III, rancher from Beeville and chairman of the TBC board of directors. “The annual report is a great source of information that gives Texas beef producers an opportunity to learn more about how both checkoff program dollars are being invested in demand-building programs throughout the year.”
TBC conducts the $1 per head national checkoff program for Texas beef producers and is also a contractor for the Beef Promotion Research Council of Texas (BPRCT), which administers the $1 per head Texas state checkoff program.
The national beef checkoff program was established as part of the 1985 Farm Bill and assesses $1-per-head on the sale of live domestic and imported cattle, and the equivalent on imported beef and beef products. Under the law that guides the checkoff, 50 cents of each Texas checkoff dollar must go to the Cattlemen’s Beef Board for national programs. The TBC board of directors, consisting entirely of Texas cattlemen and women, invests the other half dollar in programs conducted in Texas as well as additional national and international beef marketing programs.
Texas beef producers voted in June 2014 to establish a state-level beef checkoff program which was approved and began collections Oct. 1, 2014. The program is funded through a refundable $1 per head assessment on cattle at each point of ownership transfer in Texas. The funds are managed in accordance with Texas law by the BPRCT.
The BPRCT consists of 20 Texas cattlemen and women appointed by the Texas commissioner of agriculture. Unlike the national checkoff program, the BPRCT oversees the entire $1 checkoff assessment and can choose to invest state dollars in the areas of promotion, research and education in Texas, the U.S., and international markets.
The report presents the combined financial results of TBC and BPRCT and includes a chart indicating the percentage breakdown of investments in each program area. The chart also shows TBC’s voluntary investment in the Federation of State Beef Councils and combined voluntary investment in U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF). Some of the programs highlighted in the report include health influencers, social media, retail education, beef quality assurance, international marketing, BEEF team, public relations, issues management and retail promotion.
The report’s reverse side summarizes similar information on national programs approved by the Cattlemen’s Beef Board and contracted through organizations such as the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association and the USMEF.
To request a copy of the annual report summary or a more detailed audited financial report, please email [email protected] or call toll-free 1-800-846-4113. The annual report can also be viewed online at TexasBeefCheckoff.com.