My Beef Checkoff: October
10/12/2009 11:07AM
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Have You Herd…
… Ground beef represents the largest share of beef volume in foodservice but only 32% of foodservice operator dollar purchases. Source: Foodservice Volumetric, 2008
… Ground beef represents close to half of retail beef volume but 37% of retail beef dollar sales. Source: FreshLook
… Ground beef is the most popular beef item for consumers preparing meals at home. Source: National Eating Trends (NET), y/e August, 2008
Beef In Japan Grows In Popularity
While access for U.S. beef remains limited in Japan, consumers in the former No. 1 export market are more ready than anytime in recent years to chow down on American steaks and beef bowls, according to surveys conducted by the U.S. Meat Export Federation, contractor for the beef checkoff.
Over the past three years, the number of consumers who feel “extremely safe” or “somewhat safe” in consuming U.S. beef have more than doubled from 12.1 percent in 2006 to 30.1 percent in August 2009, according to surveys commissioned by USMEF.
Build A Better Burger Winner
Suzanne Banfield, Basking Ridge, N.J., was named winner of the checkoff-funded 2009 Sutter Home Build a Better Burger contest for her Roman Patty Melt with Balsamic Peppers and Onions and Sundried Tomato Aïoli burger. Here she shares her winning recipe on The Today Show.
2009 National Beef Cook-Off Winners Announced
In the end, it was Mary Hawkes, of Prescott, Ariz., who took home the $25,000 "Best in Beef" prize for her Sonoma Steaks with Vegetables Bocconcini in the checkoff-funded National Beef Cook-Off. Her winning recipe was one of five entered in the "Live Well with Fast & Convenient Grilled Beef," a category that only allowed competitors to use six ingredients (along with a few freebie ingredients such as salt), and three steps of preparation of less.
Hawkes used the herb marinade from the mozzarella balls to flavor the boneless beef top loin steaks and vegetables in her dish.
Here are the other winners, listed by category, state of residence and recipe name. First place winners received $10,000; second place received $5,000.
"Live Well with Fast & Convenient Grilled Beef Recipes"
• First place: Kristina Vanni, California, Orange-Chipotle Skirt Steaks
• Second place: Deborah Biggs, Nevada, Treviso Fig & Pear Steak Salad
"Teens Cooking with Beef"
• First place: Morgan Hanrahan, Washington, Southeast Asian Steak Salad
• Second place: Erin Ozment, Oklahoma, Olympian Burgers
"Lean Beef in Nutrient Rich One-Dish Meals"
• First place: Elizabeth Bennett, Washington, Sonoma Ranch Steak Salad
• Second place: Fran Fehling, New York, Beef Ranch Zucchini Gnocchi
Visit the Web site for recipes from this year's Cook-Off competition.
Checkoff Enters New Social Media Realms
In an effort to reach the growing number of beef and dairy producers and importers using social-media outlets to get information about their world, communities and industries, the checkoff’s producer communications team recently embarked in the social media realm with three new channels, handles or pages, whichever you prefer: www.facebook.com/MyBeefCheckoff; www.twitter.com/MyBeefCheckoff; and www.youtube.com/MyBeefCheckoff. These new outlets are free, and it takes just a little extra time to send existing producer communications through these media, so they provide an excellent opportunity for the checkoff to deliver important messages about how producer dollars are being invested.
As you might suspect, research indicates that these outlets are so far most popular for the under-39 age group, with nearly 35 percent of the farmers and ranchers in this age group saying they engage Internet tools to participate in discussions. In addition, 61 percent (all age categories) say they are using the Internet to read agricultural news. (Source: 2009 Successful Farming Market Research Panel). So if you’re among those people – or have been wanting to try some of these tools out – visit the checkoff producer sites and let us know what you think!
State/National Dairy Partnership
The joint annual meeting of the National Dairy Board, National Milk Producers Federation and United Dairy Industry Association, is on tap for Nov. 10-12 in Grapevine, Texas. The national producer communications team is coordinating with the Texas Beef Council to guarantee a beef checkoff presence at that important meeting of dairy beef producers. Texas Beef Council staff and producer representatives will be on hand to man the booth and talk to participants about the importance of dairy producers to the Beef Checkoff Program. For more, go to Joint Dairy Meeting.
Smith, Taylor On DairyLine
Dairy producers Don Smith of Texas and Glen Taylor of New York were the latest producers featured on the beef checkoff’s Dairyline interview series. Funded through the checkoff’s national producer-communications program, the interviews with broadcaster Lee Mielke are run on-air (80 stations); included in Mielke’s newsletter; uploaded to Dairyline.com; and posted on MyBeefCheckoff.com to maximize reach. To see the checkoff reports or listen to the checkoff podcasts, visit Dairyline.
Blogger Recipe Challenge
The beef checkoff’s Nutrition PR and Food Communications teams have launched an online recipe challenge and giveaway program, “It’s What’s For Dinner Wednesdays.” Every week, bloggers are encouraged to prepare a selected lean beef recipe for their families and share a post about the meal on their blog. Bloggers can showcase their posts on the Beef It’s What’s For Dinner Facebook page for a chance to win a beef gift bag each week.
For more checkoff-funded lean beef recipes, cooking videos and Deals for Dining Out, visit Beef. It’s What’s For Dinner.