News Update
Oct. 4, 2010

New Beef Items Continue to Hit Store Shelves

Beef checkoff dollars are used to develop new product concepts that meet consumer demand for convenience and flavor. Efforts in recent years have emphasized increasing the number of “grab-and-go” items available in supermarkets. According to research funded by the checkoff and conducted by Mintel International Group, the industry’s new product work is paying off.

New products featuring beef as the center-of-the-plate protein increased 31% from 2004 to 2008. The number of new product launches slowed somewhat in 2009 due to the financial downturn. There were more beef product introductions than chicken, pork or turkey from 2004 through the first five months of 2009. During 2008, as an example, there were 130 beef product launches, compared to 96 for chicken, 92 for pork and 36 for turkey.

Top flavors of new products were traditional beef, beef and teriyaki, beef and vegetable and teriyaki. Others included beef and cayenne pepper, mushroom and wine and beef and pepper.

— Release by the Kansas Livestock Association.

Are you a Beef Backer? Call for Entries.

Entries for the beef checkoff-funded Fourth Annual Retail Beef Backer Awards are being accepted until Oct. 29, 2010. Supermarket retailers of all sizes and formats are encouraged to enter the contest, and anyone can nominate a participating retailer to win an award.

Retail Beef Backer winners are selected based on their excellent marketing and merchandising of beef at the meatcase. Retailers are encouraged to participate by sharing their beef stories, describing how beef sales and demand have grown as a result of their efforts in one or more of the following three areas: promotions, programs and activities.

Awards will be given in these categories: Independent Retailer — fewer than 11 retail stores; Mid-Size Chain Retailer — 11-99 retail stores; Large Chain Retailer — 100 or more retail stores; and, Innovator of the Year.
Click here for the entry form.

— Release by the Beef Checkoff Program.

Grants Available for Farmers, Ranchers Through NCR-SARE

The 2010 North Central Region — Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program (NCR-SARE) Farmer Rancher Grant call for proposals is now available.

Farmers and ranchers in Kansas are invited to submit grant proposals to explore sustainable agriculture solutions to problems on the farm or ranch. Proposals should show how farmers and ranchers plan to use their own innovative ideas to explore sustainable agriculture options and how they plan to share project results. Sustainable agriculture focuses on practices that are profitable, protect land and water resources, and enrich the quality of life for farmers, ranchers, their communities and society.

Projects should emphasize research or education/demonstration. Grants can range from $6,000 for individual farmers up to $18,000 for groups of 3 or more farmers. NCR-SARE expects to fund about 50 projects in the 12-state North Central Region, which includes Kansas, with this call.

Interested producers can find the call for proposals, as well as useful information for completing a proposal, online at www.sare.org/NCRSARE/cfp.htm.

Proposals are due by Thursday, Dec. 2, 2010, at 4:30 p.m., at the NCR-SARE office in Jefferson City, Mo. A complete mailing address is available from the website.

Potential applicants with questions can contact Joan Benjamin, associate regional coordinator and farmer rancher grant program coordinator, at benjaminj@lincolnu.edu or 573-681-5545 or 800-529-1342. A hard copy or an e-mailed copy of the call for proposals is also available by contacting Benjamin. Each year slight revisions are made to the call for proposals, which means it is crucial to use the most recent call for proposals.

The Kansas SARE Program is administered by Kansas State University (K-State) Research and Extension’s Kansas Center for Sustainable Agriculture and Alternative Crops. The Kansas SARE coordinator is Kerri Ebert, who can be reached at kebert@k-state.edu or 785-532-2976. NCR-SARE has funded more than 700 farmer rancher grants worth more than $4,300,000 since the inception of this program.

For more information contact: North Central Region — Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program (NCR-SARE) at 612-626-3113 or www.sare.org/ncrsare; or e-mail ncrsare@umn.edu.

— Release by K-State Research and Extension.

October Is Agricultural Cooperatives Month

October is rural agricultural cooperatives month and Texas cooperatives contribute to the creation of more than $1.7 billion in annual sales and 20,000 jobs, according to a Texas AgriLife Extension Service economist.

“Cooperatives are user-owned businesses,” said John Park, AgriLife Extension economist and Roy Davis professor of agricultural cooperation at Texas A&M University. “Many are found in the agriculture sector and often represent the core of the rural economy.”

Cooperative members democratically select a group of directors from among themselves to determine policies for the business, Park said. Operating proceeds are distributed back to the members according to their patronage.

Agricultural cooperatives, which provide everything from livestock feed to apparel, are vital to rural economies, Park said.

“People don’t realize the value of that little building on the side of the highway that is selling all types of goods and services to farmers and ranchers,” he said. “All of that feed, seed and other supplies add up and impact other businesses beyond their own.”

Results from a 2008 study by the Texas Agricultural Cooperative Council and AgriLife Extension found that local cooperatives effectively increase the well-being of their members through the distribution of their profits, add to the peace and prosperity of rural Texas communities by keeping profits distributed locally, “and are potentially impacting the lives of one in three Texans,” Park said.

Agricultural cooperatives statewide stretch from the Lower Rio Grande Valley to the Texas Panhandle.

“These cooperatives contribute to a vibrant Texas economy in ways that go beyond the simple numbers they report,” Park said. “They represent the heart of rural Texas.”

Park said the study found that cooperatives provide an additional 9.2% to total output because of their ownership structure.

“Also, we found an additional 11.6% in value added to the economy and an additional 82.8% to personal income when compared to a traditional corporate structure that is less likely to distribute its income at a local level.”

More information regarding cooperative businesses is available from AgriLife Extension at http://cooperatives.tamu.edu.

— Release by AgriLife Extension.

— Compiled by Mathew Elliott, assistant editor, Angus Productions Inc.