Strategic Plan
Vision: To be the protein of choice around the world, trusted and respected for our commitment to quality, safety and sustainability.
Mission: Ensure the long-term prosperity of the U.S. beef industry by sustainably producing the most trusted, highest quality and consistently satisfying protein for consumers around the world.
Industry Objectives
- Grow global demand for U.S. beef by promoting beef’s health and nutritional benefits, satisfying flavor and unparalleled safety.
- Improve industry-wide profitability by expanding processing capacity and developing improved value-capture models.
- Intensify efforts in researching, improving and communicating U.S. beef industry sustainability.
- Make traceability a reality in the U.S. beef industry.
Drive Growth in Beef Exports
Negotiate and execute free trade agreements: Engage in negotiations to reduce trade barriers, secure free trade agreements and execute existing agreements.
Drive adoption of traceability for all U.S. cattle to help promote U.S. beef through (verified) value-added programs; while protecting the health and well-being of cattle and our markets from the effects of contagious diseases (e.g., U.S. CattleTrace).
Identify and address export customer needs and values: Invest in research to identify the attributes which are of most interest and concern to foreign customers.
Advocate for the adoption and use of international science-based trading standards: Partner with industry stakeholders in advocating for the adoption and use of international, science based trading standards.
Collaborate with targeted partners to promote U.S. beef in foreign markets: Cultivate existing relationships and develop new relationships with industry partners who are willing to invest resources in promoting and marketing U.S. beef.
Invest in research, marketing and education programs: Identify high-potential markets and invest in product innovation, research, marketing and education programs that leverage the unique attributes of U.S. beef and beef variety meats.
Grow Consumer Trust in Beef Production
Measure, document, improve and communicate the net climate and environmental impact of beef production: Engage scientific experts in addressing the issue of greenhouse gas, creating data around carbon sequestration, and expanding our knowledge of the methane lifecycle. Aggressively explore alternatives for reducing methane emissions. Determine benchmarks and cultivate opportunities for the beef industry to participate in carbon credit markets and ensure credit for current practices.
Educate medical professionals, diet and health experts about beef and beef production: Expand educational outreach programs for professionals in the medical, diet and health communities focused on providing facts about nutrition and beef production.
Align and collaborate with traditional and non-traditional partners to tell the positive story of beef cattle production: Engage experts in developing fact-based messaging about animal care, beef industry sustainability, beef safety and beef nutrition. Identify, train and develop grassroots representatives to serve as trained industry spokespeople.
Engage positively in the sustainable nutrition conversation: Promote the positive contribution the beef cattle industry makes to nutrient dense, healthy and sustainable food systems with a particular emphasis towards those who are developing their dietary patterns and preferences.
Intensify efforts in educating consumers as well as supply chain decision makers about the benefits of animal care programs like BQA and their impacts on animal well-being: Broaden use of print, video, social media and virtual/in-person tours to educate consumers, influencers and the general public about animal care programs like BQA and its positive impact on animal care and well-being. Find the most effective ways to reposition the BQA program benefits to relevant audiences.
Expand BQA program: Create verification tools for each industry segment. Expand training to include adoption of emerging animal care and wellness technologies (pheromones, lighting, and sound).
Develop a direct-to-consumer beef safety campaign: Develop a more direct-to-consumer campaign focused on improving consumer confidence in the unrivaled safety of U.S. beef by communicating the protocols and safeguards used to ensure beef safety (e.g. residue testing).
Improve the Business and Political Climate of Beef
Demonstrate beef’s positive sustainability message and key role in regenerative agriculture: Work with environmental experts to identify opportunities to communicate using accurate and relevant measurements of beef production’s impact on the climate and environment. Stay engaged with USRSB and conservation groups to document and communicate, to policy makers and others, the regenerative benefit of cattle and their role in effectively stewarding our natural resources.
Defend beef’s product identity: Educate about and ensure proper labeling to prevent competing proteins (including plant-based proteins and other meat alternatives) from using beef’s identity and nomenclature.
Ensure beef’s inclusion in dietary recommendations: Ensure the government and medical/health organizations utilize knowledgeable experts and trusted research in making nutrition-based dietary recommendations.
Manage the political and regulatory environment: Defend and protect producers from legislative and regulatory attempts to impose government restrictions on the business climate of beef production and marketing. Educate key influencers and advocate for public policy that can improve the overall business climate for the beef community.
Drive continuous improvement in food safety: Engage with government agencies, organizations and private entities to support research and develop proactive protocols that specifically help to reduce the risk of Salmonella spp. and antimicrobial resistance.
Protect and promote grazing on public and private land: Support agency regulations that incorporate current science that protect targeted and broader landscape grazing on federal lands. Collaborate with conservation groups to advance ecological services on private lands.
Develop crisis management plans: Develop and/or update emergency management plans based on key risks and vulnerabilities facing the beef industry.
Collaborate with other organizations to advance policy priorities: Engage with other organizations, both inside and outside the industry, to identify issues/interests we can agree on and build consensus among those organizations to advocate for legislation and policies supportive of the beef industry. Address labor shortages by encouraging policy that incentivizes unemployed citizens and immigrants into a more robust U.S. workforce.
Defend science-based production technologies: Engage with legislative and regulatory bodies to ensure the use of science-based criteria to protect existing beef production systems, inputs and technologies and regulatory approvals.
Safeguard and Cultivate Investment in Beef Industry Research, Marketing and Innovation
Increase industry funds for beef marketing, promotion and research: Protect the historic success of the beef checkoff in creating beef demand and technologies. Explore new options for increasing beef marketing, promotion, and research funding from the packing/processing/retail sectors. Encourage the development and growth of supplemental checkoff programs on a national and/or state-by-state basis while exploring strategies that effectively leverage existing checkoff funds (e.g., matching programs).
Attract innovation, intellectual capital and cultivate the next generation of talent into the beef industry: Establish beef industry innovation initiatives that create forums/conferences to showcase new technologies and attract capital with the goal of accelerating the discovery and adoption of new technologies while recruiting and educating talent for the beef industry.
Encourage the cooperation and collaboration of existing industry advisory committees to identify and prioritize research efforts: Establish and publicize beef industry research priorities by fostering collaboration between existing organizations and committees and ensuring that critically important research e fforts are adequately addressed (e.g. AMR, food safety, microbiome and genomic research, gene editing, environmental/sustainability issues, traceability, big data, etc.).
Develop and implement new genetic/genomic tools and technologies: Improve the efficient utilization of natural resources in beef production systems by supporting the seedstock sector in researching, developing and using genetic/genomic tools to address sustainability issues and One Health priorities (e.g. gene editing technology, microbiome, climate smart/sustainability EPD’s, etc.).
Increase industry resources for production research: Generate support for vital industry research by:
- Encouraging additional funds through voluntary or structured programs;
- Engaging in collaborative e fforts with universities, agricultural experiment stations and federally funded research agencies;
- Cultivating support from philanthropic organizations, endowments, private parties, accelerators/incubators, etc.
Ensure that publicly-funded research and intellectual capital remains in the public domain: Advocate for legislation and policies to protect and increase funds for research and education through Agricultural Research Service (USDA) and Universities.
Explore and educate producers on creative land use alternatives to generate new revenue streams: Explore the use of land trusts, conservation easements and partnerships with private organizations to monetize the value of ecological services provided by progressive cattle management practices.
Cultivate preventative animal care and wellness technologies.
Defend credibility of scientists and their research from misinformation driven by anti-livestock activists.
Educate producers, lawmakers and industry stakeholders on the benefits and impact of the Beef Checkoff.
Develop and Implement Better Business Models to Improve Price Discovery and Value Distribution Across All Segments
Maintain viable long-term packing capacity: Improve competition for market ready cattle, reduce the negative impact of supply chain disruptions and capitalize on opportunities to grow the U.S. beef industry. Embrace technologies that enhance efficiencies and product value.
Develop production/processing/marketing systems that result in sustained profitability in all sectors: Explore the feasibility and support the creation of production/processing/marketing systems that create opportunities for profit within all sectors of the beef supply chain consistent with the principles of free market capitalism.
Explore business models and risk management tools that result in more sustainable producer profit opportunities: Educate producers on existing business/marketing models and risk management tools that improve profit opportunities and reduce volatility. Explore new business models and financial/risk management tools that create opportunities, reduce risk, attract capital and result in more sustainable profit opportunities for producers.
Use innovative methods and technologies to value carcasses based on eating satisfaction and red meat yield: Develop technology and methodologies needed to value individual carcasses based on the use of innovative methods of carcass assessment that more accurately measure and predict consumer eating satisfaction, red meat yield and other attributes that drive consumer demand.
Promote and Capitalize on the Multiple Advantages of Beef
Promote the role of beef in a healthy and sustainable diet: Expand marketing and education efforts specifically highlighting the role of beef in healthy lifestyles, sustainable diets, and global food security.
Implement a marketing campaign that communicates beef’s advantage compared to competing proteins: Conduct market research and develop a marketing campaign that defines and communicates beef’s comparative advantages and e ffectively highlights attributes important to consumers (e.g. on-pack labeling, nutritional facts labeling and/or other point-of-purchase communication).
Develop targeted marketing programs focused on the highest opportunity market segments: Develop targeted messaging that positively resonates with highest opportunity market segments across media platforms to communicate beef’s compelling value proposition.
Cultivate collaborative promotion partnerships: Cultivate opportunities to build collaborative beef promotion partnerships (e.g. complementary commodities, innovative retailers/food service organizations, etc.)
Promote innovative online marketing, packaging and shipping solutions to enable the direct marketing of beef: Promote online marketing solutions and identify ways to safely, effciently and a ffordably deliver fresh and frozen beef directly to consumers.
Engage consumers in a memorable beef eating experience: Educate and encourage beef marketers to be more creative in developing and delivering a more robust and memorable beef eating experience (e.g. creation of virtual experience via kiosk at restaurants, waiter/waitress training, butchers, beef connoisseur program, etc.)
Develop a more interactive and exciting beef purchasing experience: Research and invest in innovative educational tools and expand the use of technology (e.g. QR codes) in designing a more interactive meat case. Partner with supply chain experts to engage customers in more interactive and rewarding retail beef purchasing experiences.
Promote underutilized beef cuts and new variety meat products: Drive acceptance and use of underutilized beef cuts and the creation of new variety meat products and pet food while continuing to promote traditional beef cuts.