Beef Budget Totals $45 Million

June 13, 2001

The Beef Promotion Operating Committee has developed a recommended Beef Board budget for fiscal year 2002 of $45 million. If approved, the recommendation would authorize, beginning Oct. 1, $23.75 million for promotion, $4.975 million in research, $5.5 million in consumer information, $1.975 million in industry information, $4.555 million in foreign marketing, $1.5 million in producer communications, $150,000 for evaluation, $120,000 for program development, and $2.475 million for administration and USDA oversight.

During its summer meeting Aug. 5-9 in Denver, the full Cattlemen's Beef Board will consider the budget recommendation. The budget recommendation, if accepted by the full Beef Board, also must be approved by USDA.

In other action, the operating committee considered two authorization requests brought by the American Veal Association and the Pennsylvania Veal Producers Association/Northern Tier Veal Growers Association. The committee referred the requests to the industry's Joint Veal Committee for further consideration at its Aug. 8 meeting.

In addition, the committee heard a report on preliminary data from the latest beef demand index that shows a first quarter 2001 beef demand increase of an estimated 2% despite significant news media coverage of the foreign animal diseases BSE and foot-and-mouth and a slowing national economy.