OVERVIEW
Overview for Checkoff Investors
When we prepare an annual report for Beef Checkoff Program investors, we focus on compiling
the information that you told us was of most interest to you. And while you want to know just
what is being done with your money, we hear you saying that it is maybe even more important
that we demonstrate the results of your investments.
Thanks to an important econometric study completed in 2014, we can start off by saying that
your beef-checkoff investments are taking less out of your pocket than they are putting back
in it. In fact, that comprehensive Return on Investment study by Dr. Harry Kaiser, a professor of
applied economics at Cornell University, demonstrates that every dollar you invested in CBBfunded programs budgeted between 2006 and 2013 returned about $11.20.
There is little argument that 2014 was a stellar year for the beef industry, with record high prices
for cattle and beef. In fiscal 2014, consumer per-capita expenditures for beef were 14.1 percent
ahead of 2013, and retail beef demand grew nearly 5.9 percent the final quarter of FY2014. That
kind of consumer approval is the key to beef-demand growth, and achieving growth in beef
demand despite the tight markets in 2014 is something that every producer and importer should
take pride in celebrating.
Building consumer trust and demand for beef doesn’t just happen. It takes a coordinated effort
that begins with defining the target markets, then determining what makes them tick and what
they want from your end products — and then figuring out how to provide that to consumers. As
you will see on the following pages, that’s exa