• Labor Day Weekend brought
another successful year at
Phoenix Cooks!, Arizona’s
premier culinary event.
The ABC, with the help of
Cowbelles, had a “tailgatinggood-time,” serving 1,000
samples of Chili Beef Express. Checkoff Chef Dave Zino
taught beef classes showcasing game day classics.
• We partnered with the national beef checkoff and 200
Arizona Jack in the Box locations to promote the new
pastrami grilled sandwich. ABC distributed 1,000 coupons.
• The council sponsored Phoenix’s Heart Walk Kickoff
Luncheon, with a heart-healthy beef meal, nutritional
information and recipes.
• The ABC distributed Holiday Roast “Celebrate with Beef”
recipe cards and materials to retailers, including Bashas’,
AJ’s and Fry’s, to promote beef during the holidays.
• Our staff attended industry events to distribute checkoff
information at Cattleman’s Weekend, Gila County Sale,
Arizona Cattlemen’s Convention, Cowpunchers, Yavapai
Calf Sale, Tri County BBQ and auction barns.
• www.ArizonaBeef.com serves as a resource for consumers,
ranchers, educators and retailers, with recipes, shopping
and cooking tips, nutrition and food safety information. The
ABC also engages with over 470 Facebook followers and
almost 150 on Twitter.

ARIZONA EDUCATION

• The ABC focuses on visiting schools and distributing
materials to teachers. Presentations to students from
pre-school to high school cover beef nutrition, food
safety, Arizona cattle history and cattle byproducts.
• The council presented parent nutrition trainings in
partnership with Head Start programs, providing parents
with recipes and the “power of protein” information.
• Through continued support from the Marley Foundation, the
ABC has maintained two interactive displays at the Phoenix Zoo,
which is visited by some 1.3 million visitors a year. Our display
tells about the Arizona beef industry. The display’s beef cow and

calf are on loan from V Bar V, and continue to draw crowds.
• We participated in Boo! At the Zoo. Some
17,400 children visited Harmony Farm and
painted brands on cattle pictures. Parents
received recipes and nutritional information.
• The council also participated in consumer
events, including Arizona Ag Day, V
Bar V Ranch Explorer’s Day, Chandler
Chuckwagon Cookoff and the Arizona
National Livestock Show.
• The ABC assisted with Summer Ag
Institute, a week-long continuing education seminar for
teachers to gain first-hand experience with Arizona agriculture.
• Ranch tours allowed the
classroom and hands-on
activities to meet so that
students could see cattle
ranches firsthand.
• ABC education efforts have
grown to include new students, including students in high
school and college Food and Consumer Science classes
and Agriculture Education programs. Food safety, nutrition,
cooking methods and cut fabrication are to be highlighted.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Linda Brake, Scottsdale - Chairman
Norman Hinz, Glendale, Feeder
Larry McDonald, Wellton, Feeder
Michael Milroy, Tucson, Grower
Wesley Daniel Kerr, Buckeye, Dairyman
Gary Thompson, Buckeye, Dairyman
William L. Sawyer, Maricopa, Feeder
Casey Neal Stechnij, Mesa, Dairyman
Jim Webb, Phoenix, Grower
STAFF
Bas Aja, Executive Director
Lauren Scheller, Director of Consumer Marketing &
Public Relations
Carrie Robbs, Director of Consumer Education and
Producer Communications

Arizona Beef Council
Fiscal Year 2009-2010 Expenditures

15%

5%
2%
3%

54%

4%
3%

14%

2010 AZ_AR Newsletter1-14.indd 1

National Programs .........................$399,935
Consumer Information...................$109,436
AZ Industry Information ................... $21,687
AZ Cowbelle Programs ..................... $27,559
Administrative Costs ........................ $21,756
Producer Comm ............................... $15,701
AZ Dept Ag Fees ............................... $39,097
Retail & Foodservice ......................$109,655

Arizona Beef Council
401 North 24th Street, Suite 4 ● Phoenix, AZ 85008 ● 602.273.7163 ● www.arizonabeef.com

2010 Year in Review

Dear FELLOW Beef Producers,

Your Arizona Beef Council has been busy in FY 2010. With the Arizona and American economy still
skidding along, we focused on educating consumers about the value, safety and positive health impacts of
the beef we raise. We know Arizona’s beef ranchers are working hard and we let consumers know that beef works
hard for them.
Our focus on retailers, food service and consumers provided the foundation for our statewide promotion programs. We invested
$20,000 of your checkoff dollars into an expanded radio campaign to support beef purchases after Labor Day when beef demand
normally slows. Baxter Black donated his time and studio to record these ads for the checkoff. If you did not hear Baxter’s wonderful
voice on these ads, visit www.arizonabeef.com.
The council continued to emphasize the importance of consumer and nutritional education. With our excellent staff, Lauren
Scheller, Director of Consumer Marketing and Public Relations, and Carrie Robbs, Director of Consumer Education and Producer
Communications, we continue to reach out to beef consumers at events.
The beef council continued its strong partnership with the Arizona State Cowbelles by providing financial support to important
activities such as Phoenix Cooks!, the Beef Ambassador program and the National Beef Cookoff. We’ve joined forces at events all
across our state to deliver our positive message about beef. The Cowbelles are our secret weapon!
I thank you, my fellow beef ranchers, board members and Arizona Cowbelles for your commitment to the beef council and its mission
by volunteering your time, wisdom and knowledge in promoting this wonderful product we raise – beef!
Linda Brake • Arizona Beef Council Chairman • Fiscal Year 2010

ARIZONA ADVERTISING

• The ABC promoted beef on Culinary Confessions, Phoenix’s
longest continually running food and restaurant radio show.
Our schedules consisted of daily “beef” commercials, instudio interviews and live remotes at local restaurants.
• The latest consumer advertising highlighted the “Profiles”
campaign, showcasing lean beef and the power of protein.
Advertisements were placed in publications that cover the
Arizona beef industry, foodservice and retail.

ARIZONA PROMOTION, RETAIL and
FOODSERVICE PROGRAMS
• February’s “I Heart Beef” campaign helped
to strengthen interest in beef middle
meats and America’s love for beef. It
emphasized the heart-healthy aspects of
lean beef, appropriately during national
Heart Health Month.

• ABC staff set out across Arizona
with a videographer to film our 3 C’s
(consumers, conservation and care)
educational video. This will be a
valuable tool to share in classrooms,
with civic groups and media. It is
currently in post-production.
• 2010 brought the 40th anniversary of
Earth Day. We emphasized beef farmers
and ranchers as stewards of the land
through newspaper ads and letters to
the editor.
• Prepare to be Proactive! was the topic
at the Arizona Cattlemen’s Convention.
The ABC equipped ranchers with talking
points and resource tools to utilize when
promoting beef and the cattle industry.

Ben Brophy and Family
Babacomari Ranch
Sonoita, Arizona

1/24/2011 7:46:57 PM

Advertising

In FY 2010, the beef checkoff
advertising campaign reached 80
percent of the consumer target an
average of eight times to help keep
beef top-of-mind with consumers.
The checkoff’s new Profiles
campaign launched in 23 national
magazines, including Every Day
with Rachel Ray, Parenting, Food
Network Magazine and Men’s
Health. Radio ads aired on more
than 5,000 U.S. radio stations,
and online advertising appeared
on a variety of popular online
food-focused websites, such as
MixingBowl.com, Taste of Home.com, Recipe.com and Better
Homes & Gardens.com. The campaign’s new From My Family
to Yours print ads showcased real beef ranchers in 10 national
publications, reaching some 25 million consumers with profamily-farm, positive beef industry messages.

Foreign Marketing

During the first nine months of FY
2010, U.S. beef exports (including
variety meat) worldwide totaled
732,371 metric tons valued at
$2.63 billion – an increase of 9.5
percent in volume and 12 percent
in value year-on-year. Perhaps the
most important turnaround of
all was the resurgence of U.S.
beef in South Korea. In the first
six months following the launch of
a major comprehensive imaging
campaign funded by the beef
checkoff, exports to Korea were
up 96 percent in volume and 129
percent in value compared to the
prior year.

Veal Marketing

The beef checkoff’s
veal “Go to Market
Strategy” integrates
consumer marketing
and communications
programs to help build
demand for veal. By integrating veal promotions, increased
sales were reported in retail and foodservice channels in FY
2010. The checkoff also shared the positive veal production
story through veal issues management and quality assurance
programs. The checkoff and state beef councils, along with
veal partners, helped implement vealfoodservice.com; a veal
Columbus Day promotion; and a veal farm tour program.

2010 AZ_AR Newsletter1-14.indd 2

Foodservice Marketing

With about half of all beef sold in the U.S. moving through
the foodservice channel, the checkoff’s award-winning
BEEFlexible trade advertising campaign kept beef top-ofmind as restaurants struggled through the economic recession.
With reports of renewed optimism, the 2010 campaign
opened with a focus on traditional middle meats. Steaks
were featured at major industry events, such as the Multi-Unit
FoodService Operators conference (MUFSO) and during the
National Restaurant Association’s annual convention. Strong
relationships with media yielded beef editorial features that
netted a return on investment of more than $2 million in ad
equivalency, and partnership promotions with three national
restaurant chains involved 2,137 units in 43 states.

Issues Management

In FY 2010, the checkoff distributed 42 FYIs – electronic
updates that provide background, media coverage overviews
and response recommendations and tools for state partners,
producer leaders and beef industry stakeholders. The checkoff
also coordinated submission of numerous letters-to-the-editor
last year, including two published online in The New York Times.
2010 marked the fourth year IM worked with state partners on
Earth Day to tell the “Everyday Environmentalist” story. Earth
Day ads on Google (viewed by more than 300,000 people),
social media posts on Facebook and Twitter and a viral e-mail
delivered positive environmental messages online and drove
consumer traffic to www.ExploreBeef.org, more than doubling
daily sessions on the site.

Nutrition Influencers

The nutrition influencer education program communicated the
“power of protein” to health professionals in 2010 through a
series of interactive webinars, in partnership with 17 state beef
councils. During the last six months of FY 2010, more than
1,000 registered dietitians participated in discussions about
the power of protein and shared checkoff-funded electronic
resources with their clients. Outreach included sending
educational materials to nutrition thought leaders, illustrating
protein’s role in bone health and continuation of the popular
Nutrition Seminar Program, which has conducted 39 sessions in
partnership with state beef councils this year.

Public Relations

The checkoff’s state-national
public relations partnership
helped spread the good
news about beef nationally,
through materials including
monthly media pitches and consumer and media fact sheets.
The I Heart Beef program generated more than 96 million
media impressions, and the checkoff’s overall public relations
program achieved more than 1.8 billion media impressions in
FY 2010, including placements with Larry King Live, CBS Early
Show and Parade. Through media relations and spokesperson
training, beef producers had a voice in media dialogue about

U.S. beef production practices. The Masters of Beef Advocacy
(MBA) grassroots network has grown to some 1,500 graduates
in 43 states and the District of Columbia.

Producer Communications

Producer communications provided more than 25 million paid
media opportunities for producers and importers to get to
know their checkoff. This effort was supported through more
than 5,000 news articles; video news releases aired on more
than 600 stations; delivery of more than 100,000 newsletters;
and participation in 15 industry trade shows. Online, viewers
accessed more than 240,000 pages during 90,000 visits to
www.MyBeefCheckoff.com and participated in more than 5,000
interactions on checkoff social-media sites.

Retail

The retail team focused efforts on keeping
beef top-of-mind with consumers as the
weak economy continued to shape buying
behavior. Many new retailers introduced
checkoff-funded programs such as Beef
Alternative Merchandising (BAM) and Slice
‘n Save to help shoppers stretch their
grocery dollars. Through partnerships with
national packaged goods companies, more
than 100 million coupons and rebates were
issued in the retail channel to encourage
consumers to buy beef and to help keep
it affordable. To help strengthen beef’s
position among Hispanic consumers, a retail
pilot test using Spanish-language materials
produced notable results: Participating locations achieved
higher traffic at the meat case and significant sales volume
increases during the test period.

Research, Education
and Innovation

The checkoff’s REI team works in
several areas that are important
to insuring consumers have
beef options that are delicious,
nutritious and safe. The
checkoff’s product enhancement
research studies muscle traits
and characterization, muscle
tenderness and yield, flavor
and palatability, carcass trait
genomics and new technologies
that lead to better products.
Meanwhile, beef safety research
advances the knowledge of
pathogens with a focus on E. coli O157:H7, Salmonella and
non-O157 E. coli while tracking other pathogens, and promotes
industry-wide cooperation to address safety threats. Human
nutrition research provides scientific evidence showing how
lean beef’s high-quality protein and essential nutrients help
Americans get important nutrients, improve cholesterol, manage
diabetes, and maintain bone health and muscle mass. The
culinary innovations team puts it all into practice. In FY 2010,
the team conducted applied grill cookery research on 60 grilling
cuts; developed and tested more than 100 new recipes; and
participated in 42 state beef council/industry meetings to
showcase new beef recipes. In FY 2010, the Beef Innovations
Group (BIG) focused on creating six new round cuts and several
new processing applications and launched eight new beef
convenience products, while the Beef Quality Assurance team
provided cattlemen numerous instructional videos on topics
such as antibiotics or cattle handling, to demonstrate the
importance of BQA certification for producers.

Cattlemen’s Beef Board
Fiscal Year 2010 Expenditures
Audited

Promotion....................................... $17,372,674
Research........................................... $5,571,678
Consumer Info..................................$4,256,384
Industry Info.....................................$2,297,946
Foreign Marketing............................ $5,643,117
Producer Comm............................... $1,816,072
Program Evaluation............................. $218,564
Program Development.......................... $65,694
Total Program Expenses................$37,242,129
USDA Oversight................................... $186,108
Administration.................................. $1,793,471
Total Expenses...............................$39,221,707

1/24/2011 7:47:00 PM