Beef Checkoff’s producer communications efforts vital

By Steve Springer, Cattlemen’s Beef Board

I’m a third-generation cattle producer in Southern Wisconsin, and I’m additionally a consultant of a nationwide livestock video public sale firm. As a member of the Cattlemen’s Beef Board (CBB), I’m in a singular place to see firsthand how a lot care and consideration goes into allocating Checkoff funds every year.

I hear the questions that my fellow producers have in regards to the Beef Checkoff and the way their {dollars} are being spent. I get it – you wouldn’t put cash in a inventory or mutual fund with out anticipating common updates in your funding’s efficiency. That’s why the Beef Checkoff units apart a really small proportion of its funds every year for the Producer Communications program. This program’s purpose is to tell producers with operations of all styles and sizes about how Checkoff {dollars} are driving beef demand. Listed here are just some ways in which Producer Communications works to enhance transparency between the Checkoff and its traders:

Newsletters. In 2018, the CBB launched The Drive, a publication obtainable in print or by way of e mail, designed to share Checkoff information, program successes and upcoming initiatives. Over the previous 5 years, subscriber development has been vital, with almost 132,000 producers receiving the quarterly print publication and 21,000 receiving the month-to-month e-newsletter. “The Drive in 5,” a fast video recap of content material from The Drive publication, launched in late 2021, offering producers with a fast technique to get their Checkoff information and knowledge in an simply consumable format. Plans for an audio sequence or podcast are within the works for 2024, serving to us attain much more producers by way of one other medium.
Media relations. Sharing Beef Checkoff and CBB information with nationwide, regional and native publications and web sites is one other method that the Producer Communications program reaches producers from varied backgrounds nationwide. We do that by way of press releases, broadcast and print interviews and opinion-editorials from CBB members. Annually, we set a brand new purpose to extend our media “hits,” and as of June 2023, we’d already surpassed our purpose and proceed to hunt methods to make sure much more producers see these tales.
Web site. Launched in 2019, DrivingDemandForBeef.com is a superb place for producers to get Checkoff program updates, CBB financials, steadily requested questions, movies and extra. This platform has grown considerably in visitors and content material previously 4 years. We’ll be refreshing our web site for a fair higher consumer expertise very quickly.
Social media. Adore it or hate it, social media is a method that some individuals – particularly youthful producers – select to get their information and knowledge. Social media permits us to attach with producers the place their conversations are going down in actual time. Presently, the Beef Checkoff is energetic on Fb, X (Twitter), YouTube, and LinkedIn with plans so as to add Instagram and extra social networks if the demand exists. Now we have almost 69,000 followers throughout these 4 platforms, and that quantity continues to develop every year.

Producer Communications isn’t only a one-way avenue. This system additionally helps the CBB get invaluable suggestions about producer issues, pursuits and academic wants. We conduct varied surveys all year long to gauge producer sentiment and study extra about their operations and the challenges they’re at the moment going through. This information helps us decide methods to form future Checkoff applications and allocate funds, in addition to decide content material for our newsletters and social media channels. Over the previous yr, we’ve additionally had discussions with varied ag teams and state beef councils to hunt program enter and construct relationships.

The Producer Communications program is much extra complete than many producers could notice. It’s not the Checkoff merely pushing data to producers, however a two-way dialog that helps us study what producers want to see the Checkoff do sooner or later. In the event you’re unclear about what’s occurring along with your Checkoff {dollars}, subscribe to The Drive, take part in our surveys, go to our web site at DrivingDemandForBeef.com or contact your native state beef council, your nearest CBB member, or the CBB workplace in Denver. We look ahead to the suggestions and dialog.