As we launch into another year, I’m pleased to be able to share with you some of the Nevada Beef Council’s highlights from 2021. As chair of the NBC, I am honored to work alongside a great group of producers who represent you as volunteer board members of the organization, and with a staff that is dedicated to keeping beef at the center of the plate for all Nevadans.
For those of you who attended the Nevada Cattlemen’s Convention last month, you likely got the chance to see a brief video produced by the NBC that highlights just some of the activities and results from the past year.
If you didn’t get a chance to attend or see that particular presentation, the video is available on our website, at NevadaBeef.org.
But I wanted to take this opportunity to provide a bit more detail and context about our efforts over the last year, because there’s a lot that’s been happening on your behalf. From the ranch, it’s sometimes hard to see or fully appreciate the amount of work that goes into promoting beef in Nevada, so I hope this gives you a good sense of just what your Beef Checkoff dollars have been accomplishing on your behalf for the past 12 months.
Stockmanship & Stewardship Comes to Elko
In July of 2021, Nevada was home to one of the premier producer education events in the country, a Stockmanship & Stewardship Clinic offering a unique educational experience featuring low-stress cattle handling demonstrations, Beef Quality Assurance educational sessions, industry updates, and realistic strategies to enhance producer’s commitment to stockmanship and stewardship in their own operations.
The event was unique in that it was a collaboration of two national educational programs – the American National Cattlewomen’s Women in Ranching Education and Development (WIRED) and the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association Stockmanship & Stewardship program, partially funded by the Beef Checkoff, featuring world-renowned clinicians.
We welcomed dozens of Nevada producers to the two-day event, which was made possible by the hard work and involvement of a number of state organizations, including the Nevada Cattlewomen, the Nevada Beef Council, Nevada Cattlemen’s Association, and the University of Nevada Cooperative Extension, as well as the involvement of a number of individuals including clinicians Ron Gill, Curt Pate, Dean Fish, and Nevada’s BQA coordinator Ron Torrell, all of whom contributed their time and talents to the event.
It was an honor for Nevada to be selected as one of the host states for this event, and I know all those who worked on it made our beef industry proud.
Fueling Gameday with BEEF
Every year, the NBC also works to pull off an integrating marketing campaign that targets the Reno and Las Vegas markets with efforts and messaging to boost beef sales. This year, we launched a campaign that focused on tailgating and inspired consumers to add beef to the grill on gameday. Like similar NBC efforts in years past, this campaign involved various digital and broadcast advertising elements, a cost-sharing partnership with a complementary brand, and cost-savings offers to further encourage Nevada consumers to reach for beef at the meat case.
This particular campaign included a partnership with E & J Gallo’s Black Box® Wine brand. As part of the co-branded campaign, consumers could save $5.00 on beef by purchasing Black Box Wines and beef products together – a perfect combination for tailgating events.
What’s more, E & J Gallo fully funded the offer redemption, helping stretch Nevada beef producers’ checkoff investment further.
Throughout the duration of the six-week campaign, which took place in September and October of 2021, nearly 400 radio spots aired in the Las Vegas market, garnering nearly 1.1 million impressions. Additionally, streaming audio ads targeting the Reno market resulted in an additional 315,875 impressions.
Western States Campaign
Over the summer grilling months, a nationally funded campaign also targeted Nevada consumers. The national Beef Checkoff funded a Western U.S. States campaign targeted to Nevada, California, Oregon, Washington, Arizona and Idaho, showing Beef. It’s What’s For Dinner. ads over 11.6 million times, which adds to the impact of state-funded campaigns that take place throughout the year.
The campaign included three primary elements. The first was a YouTube advertising portion that included grilling-focused video ads as well as a “substituting beef is beyond impossible” video, which garnered more than 523,684 impressions and 353,680 video views in Nevada specifically. Secondly, audio ads on the popular music streaming app Spotify garnered over 2.65 million impressions and over 2.48 audio listens nationally. Finally, a Google search campaign promoted recipes and grilling content on BIWFD.com, providing consumers with inspiration, information and confidence when cooking their next beef meal. That component resulted in 25,288 impressions and 1,509 click-thrus in Nevada alone.
Showcasing Beef’s Nutritional Punch
And finally, focusing on beef’s nutrition is another priority for the NBC each year. Our staff includes a registered dietitian, Kori Dover, who works to connect with and provide reliable beef nutrition resources to the health and nutrition community in Nevada. Her position is funded by the Kansas and Nebraska beef councils, which further stretches the limited funding of the Nevada Beef Council.
This year’s work in the nutrition realm included participation in the Nevada Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics’ annual meeting, and publication of beef nutrition information and recipes in a health and wellness magazine that was distributed to medical offices throughout Northern Nevada.
Visit nevadabeef.org/nutrition to see the helpful resources and messaging about beef’s health that the NBC has available to you.
I hope this run-down gives you a good sense of all the work happening each year, and this year in particular. On behalf of the NBC board, I want to thank you for your hard work to ensure Nevada’s beef industry continues to thrive. We are proud to work on your behalf and are committed to ensuring our messages continue to reach consumers.
NBC Leadership at Work for You
Nevada Beef Council Board
• Jay Dalton, Wells, Chair (cow-calf)
• John Jackson, Tuscarora, Vice Chair (cow-calf)
• Keri Pommerening, Smith Valley, Secretary/Treasurer (cow-calf)
• Annalyn Settelmeyer, Gardnerville (cow-calf)
• Ted Christoph, Fallon (dairy)
• Bernard Petersen, Ely (cow-calf)
• Lucy Rechel, Yerington (feeder)
by Jay Dalton | NBC Chair