Budget Note: OPERATING COMMITTEE RECOMMENDS FY2009 CBB BUDGET
The Beef Promotion Operating Committee this week recommended a $45.8 million CBB budget for Fiscal 2009, which begins Oct. 1, 2008. The move came after a grueling week of planning and budget meetings in Denver and reflects a 6.6 percent decrease from the Fiscal 2008 budget. The Operating Committee’s recommendation still must be approved by USDA and the full Beef Board this spring before specific project proposals (authorization requests) are reviewed by members of the joint committees of the Cattlemen’s Beef Board and the Federation of State Beef Councils at the Cattle Industry Summer Conference July 15-19 in Denver. For a breakdown of the recommendation by CBB budget component, go to www.beefboardmeeting.com. 
This week: WHAT HAS THE CHECKOFF’S FOREIGN MARKETING PROGRAM AREA DONE FOR ME LATELY?
FOREIGN MARKETING, as defined in the Beef Promotion & Research Act, means promotion, research, consumer information and industry information conducted in foreign markets. This includes checkoff-funded market development and promotional programs worldwide, which currently are managed for checkoff investors by the U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF).
JAPAN
Beef Fair – Tokyo’s group fair (for supermarket buyers) in April featured U.S. beef as one of the group’s “highly recommended products.” Beef was one of the main themes of the fair, and as part of the checkoff’s “We Care” campaign, USMEF distributed merchandising tools, display items, American beef guidebooks (“American Beef Products Guide,” “Promotion Guidebook,” “American Beef Retail Guidebook” and “This is American Beef”). In addition, the checkoff booth featured continuous running of the “American Beef Virtual Tour” DVD on a 50-inch television screen throughout the fair. For more details, go to http://www.usmef.org/AboutUs/files/Supermarket%20Group%20Fair.pdf.
Top Chefs — As part of the checkoff’s ongoing strategy to enhance the image of U.S. beef in Japan, USMEF is working with executive chefs from top-end hotels throughout the country. Consumers there understand that the leading hotels offer the highest quality products, so when hotel chefs conduct seminars to demonstrate how they cook with U.S. beef and explain its quality attributes, it’s essentially an endorsement of U.S. beef as a high-quality product. This “Top Chef” promotion is preceded and followed by publicity in national newspapers and consumer and trade magazines to maximize its effectiveness. For the complete article go to http://www.usmef.org/AboutUs/files/Top%20Chefs%20Enhance%20U.pdf.
MEXICO
Certifiable — The beef checkoff sponsored butcher certification training seminars in Mexico City, Monterrey, Guadalajara, Queretaro, and Culiacan in April. More than 500 retail employees from meat departments attended an eight-hour seminar in preparation for an examination to earn the coveted USMEF-Tec de Monterrey butcher certification. USMEF Retail Manager Gustavo Castaño explained the characteristics and attributes of U.S. beef in Culiacan and Mexico City, and Retail Assistant Fabian Sanchez trained retail personnel in Queretaro and Guadalajara. For a complete article about the seminars, go to http://www.usmef.org/AboutUs/files/USMEF%20Butcher%20Certification%20Training%20Seminars%20In%20Five%20Mexican%20Cities.pdf.
Beef and Music — USMEF organized a grill promotion at “Carnes Finas San Juan,” a meat boutique chain with seven stores in Nuevo Leon. Consumers who bought 5 kilos (11 pounds) of U.S. beef were entered into a lottery for a U.S. beef barbecue attended by popular singer Bobby Pulido. On April 20, 100 winners in the lottery enjoyed U.S. beef at the barbecue and met the singer. On April 21, the checkoff kicked off a similar promotion that culminated with a barbecue with “La Leyenda,” a popular country music group, on May 11. For more information, go to http://www.usmef.org:/AboutUs/files/USMEF%20Grill%20Promotion%20With%20A%20Popular%20Singer.pdf.
EUROPEAN UNION
Germany — The Wine Institute of California invited the checkoff to participate in the world’s leading wine and spirits trade show, the Pro Wein exhibition, in Dusseldorf, Germany, March 16-18. For details, go to http://www.usmef.org:/AboutUs/files/USMEF%20Promotes%20U.pdf.
*If you would like to be added or deleted from the distribution list for “Checking in on the Checkoff,” please send a quick note to Diane at dhenderson@beefboard.org.
