NCBA Value Sheets

Value Sheets

To truly understand the value of investing in the Federation of State Beef Councils (Federation), it is important to reflect
on the philosophy that created the Federation more than 60 years ago. In 1963, individual state beef councils (SBCs) formed
the Federation as a means of pooling Checkoff dollars to conduct demand-building programs on a national scale. These SBCs
were operating independently long before the national Checkoff was implemented in 1986.

Building a Larger State and National Plan

The philosophy of the Federation founders holds true today as the primary reason to contribute to the Federation is to build a larger, more impactful, coordinated plan that can be executed as a partnership between the Federation and individual state beef councils. Approximately 50% of the Federation’s annual budget supplements tactics within Authorization Requests (ARs) approved by the Beef Promotion Operating Committee (BPOC) and executed by the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, a contractor to the Beef Checkoff and home of the Federation of State Beef Councils. Supplementing these tactics helps the national Checkoff program have a larger impact on consumer demand.

In 2026, $38,150,000 in ARs was allocated to nine contractors and three subcontractors, invested across six program areas: foreign marketing, consumer information, industry information, producer communications, promotion and research. With input from SBC staff, the Federation Executive Committee approved $2,646,000 to supplement NCBA’s national Beef Checkoff efforts.

To provide states with a clear understanding of how investments are providing services to all SBCs, and supporting a coordinated state/national plan, please see below.

Promotion

The Federation supports Beef. It's What’s For Dinner. (BIWFD) marketing and advertising efforts to educate and inspire consumers nationally. The BIWFD brand was launched in 1992, and it continues to be the foundation of NCBA’s promotion AR, with nearly 71% of U.S. consumers who eat beef weekly aware of the brand. The Federation investment supplements media buys including cable television advertising and content partnerships focused on nutrition and wellness. NCBA-led national advertising reached consumers roughly 920 million times annually, through a variety of platforms.

Content is also developed using trusted influencers and chefs and placed on BeefItsWhatsForDinner.com and across media channels to drive brand affinity, increase credibility and attract new consumers.

Research

Through the partnership of national funding and state investments in the Federation, and to specific projects, the foundation of research provides insights for other Checkoff programs and contractors as well as insights for industry action.

Product Quality: Research designed to improve beef quality, consistency, value and demand. One area of research is expanding the scientific foundation for quality grading and more accurately quantifying red meat yield of today’s cattle.

Beef Safety: Research focused on providing evidence to evolve how cattle are raised to reduce the likelihood of cattle bringing chemical, physical, or biological hazards into the post-harvest production environment. One example is evaluating opportunities to identify pre-harvest foreign objects in real time to reduce and manage the risk of these objects in the supply chain.

Human Nutrition: Beef farmers and ranchers continue to support nutrition research to advance the understanding of beef’s role in a healthy diet. One example is research evaluating beef-rich, higher protein diets and effects on metabolic health such as their ability to balance blood sugars, improve cholesterol levels and support weight management.

Sustainability: Research contributes to the scientific data showing beef impacts all three pillars of sustainability (economic, environmental and social). Example projects address the unintended consequences of increased cattle size on animal welfare and the trade-offs of alternative packaging on environmental and economic sustainability.

Market Research: By monitoring consumer purchasing behaviors, and what drives and limits beef demand, these insights better inform national and state Checkoff marketing programs to consumers. Additionally, message and asset testing validate the most effective ways to communicate with consumers through Beef. It’s What’s For Dinner. properties and through media for proactive and issues response. In addition, State Consumer Insights Dashboards measure and compare consumer behaviors and preferences related to beef and other proteins in different states to a national benchmark.

State Beef Councils Supplement - $947,800

Consumer Information

The Federation advances consumer information efforts including thought leader engagement; nutrition, health and medical expert outreach; and public relations. This area leverages the content from other Checkoff–funded programs and places it in a variety of media outlets across the country to ensure beef isn’t lost in the noise, ultimately generating more than 1 billion opportunities for consumers to see that content annually.

Examples include supporting states by placing speakers at annual dietetics meetings; sending beef toolkits to physicians and health professionals; creating content partnerships with food-focused digital media outlets that utilize influencers and organizing Satellite Media Tours which reach consumers through their local news stations.

Industry Information

Providing information and resources to the industry remains a critical component of the Federation budget. Funding develops resources to assist with crises such as Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza and New World Screwworm (NWS) and supports the Beef Quality Assurance program with training, advertising, and updating materials.