Montana Beef Council

Montana Beef Council
2795 Enterprise Avenue, Ste 4; Billings, MT 59102
Telephone: 406.656.3336; Fax: 406.656.3337

Beef Trivia

The trivia on this page will change every week; visit our site regularly for more Beef Trivia!

Lean Cuts of Beef as Compared to Skinless Chicken Breast
(based on a 3 oz serving)

Lean Cuts of Beef as Compared to Skinless Chicken Thigh
(based on a 3 oz serving)

Beef's 2007 Average Price Increase Drives Dollar Sales Growth

Beef continues to be the largest category at the meat case, dominating other proteins in both dollar and pound sales. Read on to discover how beef performed, both in dollar and pound sales, last year.

Beef Sales Summary: 2006 vs. 2005

Total Beef dollar sales increased 0.4%
Beef's pound sales increased 1.7%

Beef Sales Summary: 2007 vs. 2006

Total Beef dollar sales increased 1.6%
Beef's pound sales decreased -1.6%
Average beef price in 2007 was $3.67, an increase of 3.2% over 2006.

A tighter supply of beef across the board influenced average beef prices and pounds sold. Even with increased prices, beef dollar sales increased by 1.6%, which was comparable to total meat dollar sales increase of 1.8%.

Total Meat Summary: 2007 vs. 2006

1.8% increase in dollar sales
Pound sales were down 2.2%
Beef was 53% of total meat dollar sales
Beef was 40% of total meat pound sales
Beef's share of total meat was down 0.3% in dollar sales
Beef's share of total meat is up 0.5% in pound sales

2007 Beef Primal and Ground Beef Summary
	Beef Dollars		Beef Pounds		Beef Average Price Per Pound
Segment & Subprimal	2007 $ Sales (Billions)	% Change vs. 2006	2007 Lb Sales (Billions)	% Change vs. 2006	2007	% Change vs. 2006
Ground	$5.4	1.8%	1.95	-0.4%	$2.78	2.2%
Loin	$3.6	0.3%	0.52	-2.8%	$6.85	3.2%
Round	$1.9	1.5%	0.57	-1.3%	$3.39	2.8%
Rib	$1.8	2.5%	0.29	0.7%	$6.27	1.9%
Chuck	$1.2	1.6%	0.40	-4.9%	$2.86	6.9%
Shoulder	$0.3	12.2%	0.10	0.03%	$3.26	12.1%
Thin Meats*	$1.0	1.7%	0.26	-5.2%	$3.81	7.3%
Other**	$0.3	n/a	0.31	n/a	$2.28	n/a
Total Beef	$15.5	1.6%	4.22	-1.6%	$3.67	3.2%
Total Meat	$29.3	1.8%	10.64	-2.2%	$2.75	4.1%
Thin Meats includes Brisket, Flank, Plate, Foreshank, Cubed, Stew, Strips, Stir Fry, Cubes, Kabobs and Whole. *Other includes Offal, Corned, Cooked, Sausage, and Processed. Sourced from FreshLook Marketing data, 52 weeks ending 12/30/07.

Loin dollar sales remained steady, with a 0.3% increase, while loin pound sales experienced a decline of 2.8%, with an average price of $6.85 for loin cuts, up 3.20%.

Cuts from the round increased 1.50% in dollar sales, with a -1.30% decrease in pounds sold. Average price for round was up 2.80% to reach $3.39.

Rib dollar sales were up 2.5%, comprising 12.02% of the total category's sales. Rib's pound sales remained steady, increasing 0.7%. Rib average price was up 1.9% to $6.27.

Beef chuck dollar sales increased 1.60%, while pound sales experienced a large decline of -4.90%. This was due to the increased demand for ground beef; many whole muscle chuck cuts were ground to increase the supply of ground beef. Average price for chuck was up 6.9% to $2.86.

This year, shoulder claimed the largest increase in dollar sales, growing 12.2% due to a large price increase, with the average price up 12.1% to $3.26. While the rest of the category experienced declines in pound sales, shoulder remained steady from 2006.

Ground Beef Category % Change in Total US
	Beef Dollars		Beef Pounds		Average Price
Primal	2007 $ Sales (Billion)	% Change vs. 2006	Pound Sales (Billion)	% Change vs. 2006	Average Price	% Change vs. 2006
70-77% Lean	$1.4	-1.2%	0.65	-3.5%	$2.22	2.4%
78-84% and Chuck	$1.6	6.3%	0.62	5.1%	$2.61	1.1%
85-89% and Round	$0.96	-1.6%	0.31	-3.6%	$3.07	2.1%
90-92% and Sirloin	$0.72	2.8%	0.18	0.0%	$3.85	2.8%
93-100% Lean	$0.63	1.0%	0.18	-2.3%	$3.75	3.4%
Other*	$0.07	10.9%	0.02	5.2%	$3.15	5.4%
Total Ground Beef	$5.4	1.8%	1.95	-0.4%	$2.78	2.2%

*Other includes Chili, Meat Loaf, Meat Balls and Trim.

Ground beef's top contributor to dollar sales in the category was Ground Chuck (78% to 84% lean), growing 6.3%. Total ground beef's dollar sales rose 1.8% and, despite tighter supplies, experienced only a slight decline in total pound sales, down 0.4%. Ground Chuck experienced growth, up 5.1% in pound sales. Average price for ground beef as a category was $2.78, a 2.2% increase, with the average price for Ground Chuck coming in at $2.61.

Natural/organic beef's dollar sales grew 33.8% this year. This small niche comprised 2.5% of beef's total sales. Natural/organic beef's pound sales experienced a 30.2% increase, making up 1.7% of total beef's pound sales. The largest seller in the category is natural/organic ground beef, outpacing the rest of the category with 18.07% increase in dollar sales and 15.65% increase in pound sales. The average price of natural/organic beef was up 9.3% to $5.51; natural/organic ground beef experienced an increase of 2.09%, to $4.63

Fresh beef sausage also experienced tremendous growth in 2007, up 208.4% in pound sales and 173.9% in dollar sales. Still less than 0.1% of total beef's dollar or pound sales, it is worth noting the emergence of this item.

Ad activity for beef has also continued to grow. Last year, beef ads outpaced all fresh meat, with an increase of 8.1% over 2006. Beef outpaced the other protein categories with an 8.1% increase in total ads and an 8.3% increase in the more dominant “A” ads.

Source: FreshLook Marketing – 52 Weeks Ending 12/30/2007

Source: Promodata – 52 Weeks Ending 12/29/2007

What was the first checkoff? The first promotion program was created under the Wool Act in 1954. About 15 other national checkoff programs are now operating under federal legislation, with others in development stages.

Beef cattle production represents the largest single segment of American agriculture. In 2002, more farms were classified as beef cattle operations (31 percent) than any other type of farm.
•In 2006, there were more than 800,000 ranchers and cattle producers in the United States.
•In 2003, 98 percent of farms in the United States were family farms.

To prevent moisture loss which leads to freezer burn, make sure wrapping is airtight, and avoid partially thawing and refreezing.

There are 19 cuts of beef that are
leaner than a skinless chicken thigh!

29 cuts of beef meet the government guidelines for lean, with less than 10 grams of total fat, 4.5 grams or less of saturated fat, and less than 95 milligrams of cholesterol per 3-ounce serving.

More beef is consumed on Memorial Day than any other day of the year. Fourth of July and Labor Day typically tie for the second most popular beef eating days of the year.

There are over 70 different breeds of beef cattle in the United States today.

Christopher Columbus brought cattle with him to the Western Hemisphere on his second voyage to the New World in 1493, but Hernando Cortez was the first to bring cattle to North America in 1519.

• Beef accounts for 39% of pounds
and 52% of total dollars spent at
retail.¹
• Chicken—the second largest segment of
the fresh meat case—garners just
21% of total meat sales.¹
• Retail meat sales in 2004 were $26.2 billion,
with beef accounting for sales reaching
$13.4 billion.¹

According to the latest government data, a 3 oz. serving of beef is a good source of 9 essential nutrients. What’s more, the six leanest beef cuts have, on average, just one more gram of saturated fat per 3 oz. serving than chicken’s leanest cut, the skinless chicken breast.

• Nearly nine out of 10 U.S. households (88% of
households) will eat beef at home in the next two
weeks. That’s 251 million people!
This base level has remained stable over the past
13 years.¹

While the U.S. has less than 10 percent
of the world’s cattle inventory, it
produces nearly 25 percent of the
world’s beef supply.¹

Steak eaten “as is” is the single most popular
beef dish, eaten more than once a month by the average person.¹

Burgers continue to outpace chicken nuggets served in restaurants by more than 4 to 1! ¹

¹NPD FoodWorld CREST Research, November 2001

²The NPD Group’s National Eating Trends (NET) Research, 2004

Beef Trivia on this page is provided by http://www.beef.org