Tuesday, May 1, 2012 — Blog by Grower Associations
Palmetto Profiles
By: Roy Copelan, Executive Director, SC Beef Council and SC Cattlemen’s Association
We are all reminded of our safety standards as associated with beef production and /or beef procession with the announcement of confirmed case of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE or “Mad Cow Disease”) in California during late April. At that point, all parties (USDA/APHIS, CBB NCBA, state beef council, state affiliate partners, university extensions and etc.) addressed the issues and collaborated across the industry with all key stakeholders. The controlled risk classification recognized that US regulatory controls are effective and that US fresh beef and beef products from cattle of all ages are safe and can be safely traded due to the industry interlocking standards. What great strides from earlier situations!!!
Cattle membership drives are taking place on the local country association levels and at the same time statewide and national. If you know of fellow cattle producers in your communities, who are not members of these three organizations, please encourage them to join today. Your state office has state (SCCA) only $25 person and national (NCBA) minimum of $100 person membership applications available. Also our joint SCBC/SCCA website (sccattle.org) has a pull-down bar for local contacts at the 29 county/regional cattle associations. You can contact these people for membership information as related to county cattle associations.
Two important matters for your constant consideration; the SC Cattlemen’s Foundation has a program in place to receive donations and contribution to honor a special person or in memory of someone special. The SCCF is 501c3 organization with contributions and donations being tax except applications. Contact the state office for additional information or a form. Remember, all dollars of SCCF go only to youth scholarships, beef research and cattle/beef educational activities.
Driving beef demand in our local communities and throughout our state continues to be very important. US beef sales are highest during the week of July 4 followed by Labor Day and Memorial Day. During any of those three highs, Americans buy about $400 million of beef, 25% more than in an average week, with ground beef the top selling item. In SC, we witnessed those facts with our retail and foodservice beef promotions during the recent Memorial Day celebrations. Beef promotion took place at Piggly Wiggly, Kroger, Bi-Lo, IGA, Reids, Arby’s and at Chipotle Mexican Grill. What a packed weekend to meet and greet beef customers. Beef samples as well as beef recipes and literature were distributed to well over 1000 plus people. Now, on to a number of beef promotions during these 90 plus days of our “Summer Grilling Campaign”. Watch for us in your communities, especially July 4th and Labor Day weekend celebration, as well as, the Great American Grillmaster Experience in Charleston, Saturday, June 16 at the North Charleston Sam’s Club. We will be celebrating Father’s Day weekend with a great summer beef grilling that day. Please stop by and visit us.
June is beef month in South Carolina and we will highlight that during all our activities during the month. Join with Mr. Carl Setzler, Chairman SC Beef Council and Mr. Billy Abercrombie, President SC Cattlemen’s Association as we all come together to celebrate cattle and beef opportunities during the entire year, but especially during June.
PROMOTION, as defined in the Beef Promotion & Research Act, means any action, including paid advertising, to advance the image and desirability of beef and beef products with the express intent of improving the competitive position and stimulating sales of beef and beef products in the marketplace. Firing Up for Grilling Season! – The checkoff’s FY12 consumer advertising program is preparing the kick off the Grilling Season with a new crop of print ads, radio spots and online advertising, including two new online video commercials (currently in development). The checkoff’s new magazine ads include popular lean cuts – such as Filet, Flank Steak, Strip Steak and Round Steak – as well as consumer-friendly dishes, like Sliders, beef Stew and even beef for breakfast. Beginning in May, the ads will run throughout summer in a wide variety of magazines, including Food Network Magazine, Men’s Health, Sports Illustrated, Redbook and more.
You can catch up on checkoff-funded beef industry market research at Beef Issues Quarterly – Market Research Reports. The Winter 2012 Beef Issues Quarterly published four new market research reports: Changes in food distribution channels; How to talk to consumers about feedyards; Beef – the premier protein at foodservice; and How Millennials Value Beef. In addition, a complete listing of market research reports published in the Beef Issues Quarterly is provided with direct links to all the reports.
Dr. Mandy Carr along with Dr. David Renter of Kansas State University and Dr. Sam Ives of Cactus Feeders, recently conducted a presentation at the academy of Veterinary Consultants (AVC) on beef safety practices. The AVC is an association of veterinarians involved in beef cattle medicine, herd health programs and consultation with a mission to promote optimum productivity of a safe, high-quality product. Carr showcased the checkoff’s investment in post-harvest safety intervention development and optimization as well as pathogen dynamics specifically in the pre-harvest environment and possible interventions for this sector. With the other speakers, the team provided beef cattle veterinarians and other attendees an update on recent research funded by the beef checkoff and current practices utilized by the production sector of the be3ef industry to produce the safest beef possible.
The beef checkoff strives to help simplify beef for the consumer—from the supermarket to the table. N 9order to do that, the checkoff created a “Confident Cooking with Beef” brochure -- a one-stop, go-to resource for consumers, food writers, health professionals and meat case managers. The brochure illustrates how easy it is to prepare and cook beef, helping Americans learn how to build a healthy diet with beef.
Applications for the fifth annual checkoff-funded National Beef Quality Assurance (BQA) Award are being accepted. The National BQA Awards recognize four winners in the area of beef, dairy, marketing and education: The BQA award winners will be selected by a committee of representatives from universities, state councils and affiliated groups. Nominations can be submitted by an organization, group, or individual on behalf of a U.S. beef producer, marketer or educator. Individuals and families may not nominate themselves, however the nominees are expected to be involved in the preparation of the application. Applications are due via the online submission form by August 10th, 2012. For more information about your beef checkoff investment, visit MyBeefCheckoff.com