Raising the Steaks: 10 Years of Milestones With the Texas Beef Checkoff
By: Molly McAdams, Executive Vice President of Texas Beef Council
As we roll from May Beef Month to June Dairy Month, I can’t help but think about how both of these wholesome foods bring people together.
For Texans, we’re all about celebrating our differences. But despite what sets us apart, we cherish how comforting meals turn strangers into friends and occasions into memories. Beef and dairy provide not only essential nutrition but also create community — from taco Tuesdays and pizza nights to everything in between.
At Texas Beef Council (TBC), we’re funded by beef producers, including dairy farmers, through the Beef Checkoff with the mission of bringing more Texans to the table. Recognizing that a dairy farmer’s primary job is producing milk, the industry plays a significant role in contributing a growing percentage to the U.S. beef supply.
It’s critical the dairy industry is represented on state and national boards to oversee how Beef Checkoff dollars are invested. I’m thankful for our leadership on TBC’s board, including Klazina de Boer and Mark Sustaire, who are passionate about representing you.
This June marks 10 years since producers voted on an additional $1 Texas Beef Checkoff assessment to adequately fund promotion, research, and education programs. With Texas in the unique position of having the most cattle AND the second-largest population in the country, the Texas Beef Checkoff has allowed us to build more innovative programs that meet consumers where they are. Below are a few key milestones:
Building Beef’s Brand
Enjoying beef is an inherent part of being Texan, from our insatiable appetite for barbecue to our affinity for burgers (with ground beef accounting for over 50% of sales volume last year). This is where TBC steps in with Beef Loving Texans, our consumer-driven community created to share uniquely Texan recipes, cooking tips, stories, and expert nutrition information.
Innovative campaigns like Chief Recipe Officer and the most recent Ultimate Beef Loving Texan drive consumers back to BeefLovingTexans.com where they can experience a journey through personalized content and thousands of beef meals. Last year we reached our audience 203 million times with over 1 million views of Beef Loving Texans recipes — many of which include delicious dairy.
Bringing Beef Back to TV
Another thing Texans have in common? We are spending less time watching traditional cable and instead consume most entertainment through online streaming platforms. This led our team to produce BBQuest, a documentary-style TV show that lets viewers experience the stories and flavors that make Texas barbecue so legendary. The first two seasons were viewed over 2.9 million times with 620,000-plus hours watched.
Since then, BBQuest has won national awards and added a third season that goes “beyond the pit” to visit cattle operations and spotlight those responsible for producing high-quality beef.
Reaching Doctors With Beef Education
Now more than ever, consumers are relying on nutrition and health professionals for advice, who often know very little about beef or how it is raised.
This audience has long been a priority for us, but additional Beef Checkoff resources in Texas allowed us to go a step further with Medical Office Outreach. Our first-of-its-kind program goes directly to physicians and shares how beef can fit into healthy, sustainable diets, reaching 1,686 health professionals and staff in 2023.
With Dairy MAX now having a similar program, both of our industries can elevate ourselves as trusted sources that rely on science-based nutrition research.
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Every day, we all make decisions about how to feed our families. Every day, our industries have the opportunity to showcase how great-tasting, nutritious foods like beef and dairy fit into Texans’ lifestyles. Your support of state and national Beef Checkoff programs allows TBC to keep beef at the center of those conversations.
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