Beef Checkoff Study Results

Beef Checkoff Posting Return Of $5.55
By Cattle Network

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.

“Is the beef checkoff a demand driver? This was the most fundamental question of the entire study, and the answer is an overwhelming ‘yes,’ the generic promotion of beef has shifted beef demand,” Ward noted in his research conclusions. “The marginal rate-of-return is large enough to provide overwhelming evidence that the programs are achieving positive impacts (on) the U.S. demand for beef,” he said.

“The Beef Checkoff Programs and Their Impact on U.S. Beef Demand” evaluates the effectiveness of checkoff-funded programs in reaching their overarching goal of growing beef demand. To complete this, Ward employs statistical models that measure the effects of major beef demand drivers overall, then specifically, of the Beef Checkoff Program itself as a demand driver. It is a comprehensive study that is peer-reviewed by respected economists versed in commodity promotions and the beef industry, and is a follow-up to similar beef checkoff evaluations conducted regularly since 1989. Read More

While it’s always great to hear that the beef checkoff is returning a healthy margin, I think we also have to look at one of the other benefits it has. In today’s world, there aren’t a line of people breaking down our industry’s doors looking for opportunities to show consumers that eating beef is good for you. We have many vocal critics of meat in general that are trying to tell the public that they should be vegetarians, and then list a variety of misleading reasons. There a wide margin of our consumers that just want to be reassured that beef is a safe, wholesome and nutritious product. And that is something that the beef checkoff does very well.