One way the Nevada Beef Council (NBC) better utilizes state Beef Checkoff dollars is through national and state partnerships. Last month, state beef councils from Nevada, Nebraska, Texas, California, and Florida teamed up to be a supporting sponsor of the 2022 American Culinary Federation (ACF) National Convention in Las Vegas, Nev. from July 25-28. The ACF convention is the biggest annual gathering of chefs, culinary students, and foodservice professionals in the United States and had nearly 750 attendees this year.
Collaboratively, under the Beef. It’s What’s For Dinner. brand, these state beef councils provided an opportunity for chefs to enjoy a small taste of beef through pop-up tastings during three breaks throughout the convention, including a beef for breakfast concept during a morning session on the last day. Chef Robert Hale from the Texas Beef Council and his premier group of Beef Loving Chefs also plated some delicious Tenderloin samples during the opening night’s reception. In addition to the tasting opportunities, Beef. It’s What’s For Dinner. also had a booth on the tradeshow floor featuring beef educational resources, such as foodservice beef cuts charts posters, and information on the BEEFoodservice mobile app that the California Beef Council (CBC) launched in 2020 for foodservice professionals.
“The ACF convention was a great opportunity for the Nevada Beef Council to meet and network with chefs and foodservice professionals from Nevada, the west coast, and throughout the country. The Beef. It’s What’s For Dinner. booth had great placement in the front row of the tradeshow, and the interest and excitement for educational beef resources was evident through how quickly our inventory of items—especially the foodservice beef cuts posters—were depleted,” said Christie Van Egmond, the NBC’s Director of Retail and Foodservice Marketing. “The pop-up tastings and welcome reception beef station were an incredible way to feature beef in different applications and day parts, and get small bites of beef into the mouths of those attending. We heard nothing but positive comments about the beef that we served.”
This convention gave a platform for the Beef. It’s What’s For Dinner. brand to showcase beef’s taste and versatility, and educate and network with chefs from throughout the country and in all culinary fields including restaurants, research, corporate, education and more.
Through the multi-state partnership of beef councils, the Nevada Beef Council was able to better leverage Nevada checkoff dollars. It was especially great to be in-person to network and connect with industry professionals local to Nevada, as well as give the Nevada Beef Council some national recognition.
For more information about the NBC, visit the following websites:
nevadabeef.org
mybeefcheckoff.org
ABOUT THE NEVADA BEEF COUNCIL
Our Mission:
Engage Nevada beef producers and stakeholders with consumer outreach and education to increase beef demand.
Our Values:
We provide factual information to consumers and beef producers.
We use checkoff dollars efficiently and effectively.
We represent the entire Nevada beef industry.
Bill Dale | Executive Director | bill@calbeef.org
Christie Van Egmond | Director, Retail & Foodservice Marketing | christie@calbeef.org
Annette Kassis | Director, Consumer & Brand Marketing | annette@calbeef.org
How can I be involved in the Beef Checkoff?
By law, the checkoff is collected in each state by a Qualified State Beef Council (QSBC), and 44 states have QSBCs. In states without beef councils, the dollar is sent directly to Cattlemen’s Beef Board (CBB). For many producers, this is the best place to get involved – by attending state board meetings or even becoming a member of the CBB.
As for the CBB, all meetings are open to all producers. To become a member of the Board, a producer should work with a certified nominating organization in their specific state or region.