A recent independent, third-party ROI study found that every dollar invested in the national Beef Checkoff program's demand-driving activities created a total financial benefit of $13.41 for producers and importers. While this study can give producers more confidence in the Checkoff, it also provides data that can help inform future Checkoff programs designed to continue improving the beef industry.
DENVER, Sept. 6, 2024 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- The Cattlemen's Beef Board (CBB), the 99-member organization that administers the national $1-per-head Beef Checkoff program, has released the results of an independent return-on-investment (ROI) study intended to evaluate the Checkoff's effectiveness.
The ROI study, conducted by Dr. Harry Kaiser of Cornell University, found that each dollar invested in national Beef Checkoff demand-driving activities from 2019 to 2023 positively impacted domestic beef demand and U.S. beef exports. In fact, it created a total financial benefit of $13.41 for producers and importers who paid into the program. According to Ryan Moorhouse of Amarillo, Texas, the CBB's 2024 vice chair, beef producers often ask him about the Checkoff and its value to the industry.
"In my work on the CBB, I try to help represent all phases of the industry, from cow-calf to cattle feeder, using my experience to help promote beef," said Ryan Moorhouse, CBB 2024 vice chair. "Lately, when I talk with producers from all over the country – generational or new to the business – I refer them to the results of this latest ROI study."
Dr. Kaiser's analysis also examined what beef demand would have been over the past five years without investments in the national Beef Checkoff. The study found that total domestic beef demand would have been 8.5% lower per year, steer prices would have been 7.8% lower per year and U.S. export beef demand would have been 11.5% lower. All in all, the national Beef Checkoff added an incremental $3.3 billion to the beef industry in 2023 alone. That $3.3 billion also had positive indirect effects by adding $4.1 billion to the U.S. economy and generating a nearly $9.5 billion increase in the U.S. GDP (Gross Domestic Product).
"We ask producers to invest their hard-earned money to advance the entire beef industry, so many of them want to share their opinions about the Checkoff and its value," Moorhouse said. "I completely understand their perspective, and that's a big reason why this ROI study is so important. You wouldn't invest money without expecting – and deserving – updates on your investment's performance. Checkoff investments should be no different."
The CBB's hope is that the study's findings will give more producers confidence in the Beef Checkoff and help them trust that their money is being spent wisely. By investing their national Checkoff dollars into bigger and better demand-driving promotional, research and educational Beef Checkoff programs, the CBB is creating opportunities to increase overall revenue for those who pay into the program. In turn, these investments can lead to greater financial benefits for everyone involved over time.
However, the value of the ROI study doesn't end there. The CBB takes this data very seriously, and while a return of $13.41 sounds great, they want to do even better. This month, the CBB will begin allocating national Beef Checkoff program funds for FY 2025, which begins October 1. The ROI study's data will be a tool to help the CBB make the best possible decisions on behalf of beef producers and importers – with the goal that those decisions will continue to propel the industry forward.
"The ROI study isn't simply a platform for the CBB and the national Beef Checkoff to rest upon," Moorhouse said. "It gives us information that we can use, in coordination with organizational long-term goals and the strategic initiatives of the Beef Industry Long Range Plan (LRP), to help shape current and future national Beef Checkoff programs."
Media Contact
Lynette VonMinden, Swanson Russell, 1 402-437-6457, [email protected], www.swansonrussell.com
Sarah Metzler, Cattlemen's Beef Board, 1 303-220-9890, [email protected], www.drivingdemandforbeef.com
SOURCE National Beef Checkoff
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