Facing low cattle prices and increasing supplies of beef, and with strong encouragement from its state beef council partners, the Federation of State Beef Councils at the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association will invest nearly $1 million of reserve funds in international and national beef promotions to increase demand for beef after. This decision was made after voting at an NCBA Executive Committee meeting Nov. 1

The $940,000 investment, from Federation reserves, will be spent in the following areas:

· $260,000 to the U.S. Meat Export Federation for a promotion with national retail chains in Japan. The promotion is expected to move an additional 6.9 million pounds of beef;
· $140,000 to the U.S. Meat Export Federation for regional retail promotion campaigns in Japan. The promotion could move another 2.75 million pounds of beef;
· $200,000 to the U.S. Meat Export Federation for a Korean beef promotion with national retail and second tier discount chains. The effort is expected to incrementally move about 5.8 million pounds of beef;
· $40,000 to the U.S. Meat Export Federation for an Asian island promotion targeting a quickly-growing tourist destination which has growth opportunities for beef; and
· $300,000 to NCBA, for an Ibotta promotion that targets millennials in larger cities and encourages greater beef purchases in retail stores. Ibotta is a smartphone app that shares beef information with consumers, then allows them to obtain cash rebates based on their retail beef purchases.

According to Steve Hanson, a beef producer from Elsie, Neb., and chairman of the Federation of State Beef Councils, the Federation Executive Committee moved quickly to approve these additional investments. He said the Federation intends to add a spark to beef demand at a time when producers are feeling a squeeze in their own bottom lines.

“Our state beef council partners communicated to national leadership the importance of using every opportunity to use checkoff resources to build demand in the face of cattle market challenges,” Hanson said. “In both the international and national beef markets, our producer leaders identified these new investments as a chance to quickly and directly make a difference in beef demand.”