Who we Are
The Kentucky Beef Council is an organization working for the cattle producers of Kentucky in areas of promotion, education and research. The Beef Checkoff funds these programs.
The Checkoff is a $2.00 per head collection, which is placed on all Kentucky cattle when they are sold. Fifty cents out of every Checkoff dollar collected goes to the Cattlemen’s Beef Board in Centennial, CO., which oversees Checkoff programs. The remaining $1.50 cents stays in Kentucky to fund state coordinated activities.
The Kentucky Beef Council office is located in Lexington, in the same building as the Kentucky Cattlemen’s Association (the membership division of Kentucky’s beef industry). The Kentucky Cattlemen's Association serves as the "certified state beef council" collecting the checkoff funds and placing them in the KBC's account to be used for promotion, research, consumer information, producer communications, and industry information.
The Kentucky Beef Council is one of 46 state beef councils. Beef promotion, information and research programs are coordinated between the state beef councils, the Cattlemen’s Beef Board, and the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association.
Beef producers created our Checkoff as a self-help promotion, research and information program to influence demand for beef. It was approved in 1988 by 79 percent of beef producers in a referendum after grassroots input shaped the program:
- It is state based. One-half of the money collected by state beef councils is controlled by producers in the state.
- It is accountable. All Checkoff-funded programs are budgeted and evaluated by the Beef Board, an independent organization of 108 Checkoff-paying volunteers.
- It is producer-led. Fellow state producers nominate beef Board members. • By law, our Checkoff funds cannot be used to influence government policy or action, including lobbying.
KBC Program Areas
- Promotion - Advertising, Retail and Foodservice • Consumer Information - Education, Health Care Professionals, Youth and other Consumers
- Producer Communications - Media Publications and Direct Producer Contact
- Industry Information - Issues Management and Public Relations
- Research
New marketing efforts are focusing on promotion of value-added, fully cooked beef products designed to meet today’s consumers’ needs of quick, convenient meals. Other examples of current Beef Council programs include nutrition education for health professionals, education kits for students; efforts to work with foodservice proprietors to increase beef demand; partnerships with retailers to make shopping for beef easier.