FUNDING PHILOSOPHIES STRATEGIC PRIORITIESB. Capitalize on Wyoming’s ranching culture and heritage...

WBC FY2015 Program Evaluation Document of 10

Wyoming Beef Council Increasing beef demand domestically and internationally for the benefit of

Wyoming farmers and ranchers.

FUNDING PHILOSOPHIES

Wyoming checkoff dollars have the greatest potential to affect a positive change in consumer behavior when pooled with dollars from other state beef councils and when used in high-

population areas where beef is consumed rather than where it is raised.

The WBC is accountable to all Wyoming cattlemen and is responsible for ensuring that investors are aware of how their beef checkoff dollars are spent.

STRATEGIC PRIORITIES

1. Support the mission and vision of the beef industry long range plan.

A. Proactively educate influencers about environmentally, socially and economicallysustainable beef production practices.

B. Capitalize on Wyoming’s ranching culture and heritage to improve the image of thebeef community among Millennials and key thought leaders.

C. Provide Millennials with recipes and cooking techniques to address their desire forconvenient, healthy beef meals.

D. Educate health and nutrition influencers about the nutritional benefits of beef.

2. Increase understanding of and support for the beef checkoff.

E. Increase percentage of Wyoming beef producers who feel informed about thecheckoff to 83% by January 2015.

F. Increase approval rating of the beef checkoff in Wyoming to 80% by January 2015.

I. Support the mission and vision of the beef industry long range plan.

Priority A: Proactively educate influencers about environmentally, socially and economically sustainable beef production practices.

1. Compile a list of 25 potential influencers who can be targeted with onlinenewsletters and information regarding beef production practices.All Wyoming legislators were added to newsletter and information distribution aswell as 15 additional ‘key thought leaders’ identified by staff and the PR team.

2. Identify 5 producer and industry leaders who can address sustainability issues withinfluencer groups via articles in newsletters, magazines and presentations.Wayne Fahsholtz coordinated the first and second annual sustainability conferencein Sheridan, WY. Articles in “Food for Thought” producer e-news were draftedquoting Fahsholtz. A relationship was developed between Dr. Judith Capper andthe Wyoming Beef Council. Capper’s information was shared through social mediaand through sponsorship of her presentation to the Wyoming Stock Growersmembers in Cody at the June 2014 summer convention.Rob Crofts, Sweetwater County, was identified as a spokesperson and potentialleader in sustainability issues.Judy Barbe, registered dietitian and author of your 60 day guide to LiveBest hasagreed to facilitate and participate in sustainability discussions in the medicalcommunity.

3. Provide information and support to develop producer leaders qualified to besustainability spokespersons.Due to staff reductions in November, this goal was not attained and has beenremoved from the 2016 plan. Moving into FY2016, we will be relying on thenational sustainability public relations, education and research effort to guidesustainability discussion and spokesperson development.

4. Graduate 15 beef industry spokespersons from the national Masters of BeefAdvocacy program and utilize these graduates in responding to issues andcomments on state and national blogs, websites and publications.Wyoming graduated 30 spokespersons during FY2015, bringing the total numberof Wyoming graduates to 163.

Additional projects: A. Sponsorship of the 2014 University of Wyoming Ag Day BBQ resulted in 800

Wyoming football game attendees served. The function is a fundraiser comprised of 91 student volunteers with funds distributed between 17 different student clubs

and organizations specific to the College of Ag and Natural Resources including the


Priorities, Tactics and Goals


Student Dietetics Association which uses funds for post-graduate internship travels and the national Food and Nutrition Conference in Atlanta.

B. Sponsorship of the Wyoming Stock Growers Environmental Stewardship Tour at theLadder Ranch (August 2014) reached more than 100 producer and industry leaderswith information about sustainable farming and ranching.

Priority B: Capitalize on Wyoming’s ranching culture and heritage to improve the image of the beef community among Millennials and key thought leaders.

5. Utilize wybeef.com and social media to share Wyoming ranching stories tomillennials and thought leaders across the globe. The website will feature a newWyoming rancher each quarter. Quips, quotes and information about Wyoming, therancher, his/her family and lifestyle will be shared during that quarter throughsocial media and also shared through traditional media as opportunities arise.Rancher features accounted for 15 percent of wybeef.com traffic in both page viewsand site visits. In FY15, the Farthing Ranch (Cheyenne), Clear Creek Cattle Company(Lysite), and Boxelder Ranch (Ten Sleep), King Ranch & Kendall Eisele-Roberts,(Cheyenne) & Adam George of George Farms (Cody) were featured.

6. Reach 250,000 consumers in foreign markets with a targeted promotion in Japanthat includes Wyoming ranching sound bites and imagery.USMEF reported that “Wyoming ranchers featured on the Japanese Huffington Postwebsite garnered 22,558 page views and was a highly effective communicationtool, promoting U.S. beef and the environment in which it is raised.” In additionfunds targeted Cooperative Grocer Chain (CGC) an association of nearly 4,000 mid-sized grocers with demonstrations and samples encouraging purchasing of U.S.Beef by this market segment. Overall, the WBC-funded campaigns generated 104.8metric tons (231,044 pounds) in U.S. beef sales, an 8% increase over the pre-promotion period. Residual sales continued to grow in the post-promotion periodby another 6%. The contractor-submitted evaluation is attached as Attachment A.

7. Reach 130,000 consumers nationally with a full-color half-page ad in the WyomingTraveler’s Journal. The ad’s call to action will be for readers to visit our “WyomingRanching” page.An ad featuring Adam George and his children was published in November 2015.As of July 1, 2015, a total of 287,201 print editions of the magazine were provided tothe public (113,191 direct mail requests with 174,010 distributed to vendorsincluding visitor centers, hotels, restaurants, Chambers of Commerce and airports).At fiscal year-end, the Wyoming Tourism website reported 29,428 virtual downloadsof the publications with an additional 3,470 downloads to i-pads.

8. Provide financial support to Wyoming Ag in the Classroom for beef educationthrough the Natural Resource Science Institute where beef production will be a keyfocus of the tour. Attendees will be surveyed about their beef industry knowledgebefore and after the session.Thirty-nine Wyoming teachers attended the WAIC Institute. Pre-surveys showedthat half of attendees had little or no knowledge about Wyoming’s beef industry.Post survey results showed 97% of attendees felt they had a strong understandingof the industry. In addition, 97 percent of attendees reported in post surveys thattheir opinion of Wyoming sustainability practices improved.

Beef Sustainability Posters were provided to WAIC for distribution to the 2015 Institute participants. The contractor-submitted evaluation is attached as Attachment B.

9. Through partnership with Wyoming CattleWomen, impact 7,000 millennials andkey thought leaders through grassroots projects pre-approved to directly reach thetarget audience defined in the Beef Industry Long Range Plan 2011-2015.Six county CattleWomen groups utilized committed grassroots funding reaching125 millennials and key thought leaders. The contractor-submitted evaluation isattached as Attachment C.

10. Through partnership with Wyoming CattleWomen, impact 600 millennials and keythought leaders through presentations made by the Wyoming Beef Ambassador.Rachel Purdy was selected as the Wyoming Beef Ambassador in April 2014. InSeptember 2014, she was selected to serve on the National Beef Ambassador Team.The 2015 Wyoming competition yielded one competitor. Details of Rachel Purdy’soutreach and the 2015 competition can be found in the contractor-submittedevaluation which is attached as Attachment D.

11. Graduate 15 beef industry spokespersons from the national Masters of BeefAdvocacy program and utilize these graduates in responding to issues andcomments on state and national blogs, websites and publications.Wyoming graduated 30 spokespersons during FY2015 bringing the total graduatednumber to 163. Wyoming graduates were not activated for specific responseswithin the state because we had no state-specific issues.

12. Formulate a transition plan to convert WY-BQA into N-BQA to reduce administrativetime and expense.All Wyoming Beef Quality Assurance participants have been notified three timesthat certification will now be online through the Beef Cattle Institute. Certificationsfrom other states will continue to be recognized in Wyoming and all Wyomingcertifications will remain intact through January 2016. Transition assistance wasprovided to approximately 35 producers who called with questions or concernsregarding the transition. Five producers have reported concerns about internetaccess and their ability to maintain certification. I will continue to work with thesefamilies to ensure continued certification.

Additional projects A. Working with USMEF and the Farthing Family of Iron Mountain, five Japanese food

and media writers spent a day in Wyoming experiencing how cattle are raised.Articles have yet to be published by the writers but PR generated by the even inWyoming resulted in 40,000 television media impressions and 47,000 printimpressions. In addition, articles were featured in industry publications extendingthe reach to our producer audience. PR for the event and it’s ongoing coverage byeach magazine feature is expected to reach nearly 1,000,000 globally, the combinedcirculation of all magazines and websites represented on the tour.

Priority C: Provide millennials with recipes and cooking techniques to address their desire for convenient, healthy beef meals.

13. Through financial investment in the Federation of State Beef Councils the WBC will support the industry in its effort to develop convenient beef recipes and share them



with the millennial generation through beefitswhatsfordinner.com and social media outlets. Payment to the Federation of State Beef Councils was made in January. Results of this investment will be published after October 1, 2015 in the Federation annual report. Wayne Fahsholtz, Dianne Kirkbride and Tom Wright served on national checkoff advisory committees providing input into checkoff expenditure recommendations to the Beef Promotion Operating Committee.

14. To increase perceived value in the face of rising beef prices, we will develop aPinterest Board and web page specific to “Cook Once. Dine Twice.” This theme willaddress the millennial generation’s desire for cooking efficiency and providereassurance about purchasing larger, more expensive cuts of beef. We will usestock recipes and food photography owned and developed by the beef checkoff.Cook Once, Dine Twice garnered 59 new visitors and 13 returning visitors with 23page views; 22% came as a result of the press release, 28% came as a result ofgoogle, 20% came as a result of Pinterest (38 followers) 14 visitors followed pins towebsite during the week of the release. Daily tweets drove visitors to Pinterest linksfor recipes and 10 followers were added. Engagement included 3 retweets and 2favorited tweets.

15. Identify and test a smart phone application that will tie to WBC recipe boards andweb pages, allowing menu planning and grocery shopping lists to be easilyaccessible through mobile devices.This project has been postponed in light of similar research being done nationally.

16. Reach 20,000 consumers four times through half-page advertisements in WyomingLifestyle Magazine with an additional exposure of 20,000 web viewers. Themagazine advertising call to action will be to join us on social media or the webwhich will allow measurements of success.The first WY Lifestyle Magazine Ad featured Cook Once, Dine Twice but did notsignificantly add to web viewership (2 hits). Ads two and three were designed witha call to action of visiting the wybeef.com “meet our ranchers” page. The publisherreports viewership of the magazine at 20,000, with a reported web viewership of anadditional 20.000. However, wybeef.com website analytics show no websiteactivity on wybeef.com generated from the magazine’s website. If visits resultedfrom the print ads, they could not be traced. It is also important to note that thewinter edition of the magazine was not published, therefore, we were present inthree (all) publications instead of four, as planned. Website presence was executedas planned.

17. Reach 300 target consumers through booth participation at the Wyoming Women’sExpo.The expo was held October 3-4 in Casper. Staff attended and handed out Beef’s Big10, Lean Matters and 30 Meal in 30 Minutes. Interactions occurred with 166attendees of the show.

18. Reimburse Montana Beef Council for distribution of convenient beef recipesprovided to eight Wyoming Associated Food Stores through the Montanaheadquarters.Montana chose not to invoice for Wyoming’s share of the materials. Materials wereprovided to eight stores at no cost to the Wyoming Beef Council.


Additional projects: A. WYBEEF.com garnered 2,613 new visitors in FY2015 combined with nearly 700

returning visitors which was a 350% increase over FY2014. Twenty-five percent of visitors came to the site as a result of news releases while 30% came from Pinterest and an additional 30% from the Google search engine.

B. Nine Twitter campaigns resulted in 14,209 impressions while these same campaigns on Facebook resulted in 119 additional page followers and a reach of 45,137 throughout the fiscal year. An average of 260 Facebook members/followers engaged in conversations each month throughout the year. The highest engagement on Facebook was 823 engagements (likes, comments, shares) on a post with a $50 paid boost.

C. WBC Pinterest boards generated 29% of wybeef.com web traffic as well as 5,932 consumer impressions from April 2015 through the end of the fiscal year. Impressions prior to April 2015 are not reported as Pinterest changed the method of collecting this data making prior data non-comparable.

D. WBC-generated news releases resulted in 66 positive media mentions throughout the state. The WBC was mentioned in 28 additional unsolicited media stories or features (all positive) due to relationships with other organizations, interviews and industry stories. None of the media mentions, solicited or unsolicited were negative toward the WBC.

Priority D: Educate health and nutrition influencers about the nutritional benefits of beef.

19. Through financial investment in the Federation of State Beef Councils the WBC willsupport the industry in its effort to identify education and health influencers andshare research and science based facts about the nutritional value of beef.Payment to the Federation of State Beef Councils was made in January. Results ofthis investment will be published after October 1, 2015 in the Federation annualreport. Wayne Fahsholtz, Dianne Kirkbride and Tom Wright served on nationalcheckoff advisory committees providing input into checkoff expenditurerecommendations to the Beef Promotion Operating Committee.

20. Engage 50 dietitians with positive beef nutrition information through booth exhibitand/or speaker sponsorship at the Wyoming Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics(WAND).This goal was not met. WAND’s 2015 conference was held via web seminars and wewere not on the schedule. I continue to stay in contact with WAND leadership andmembers as relevant to the release of information by national contractors and stateopportunities and social media discussions. In the spring, I offered to sponsor anevent featuring Nina Teicholz, author of “The Big Fat Surprise” and this offer was nottaken.

21. Reach 60 health professional influencers through participation in or interaction withthe Wyoming Association of Nutrition and Food Service Professionals, WyomingDiabetes Management, Wyoming Department of Health, Wyoming School NursesAssociation, Wyoming Department of Education, Women Infants and Children, UWCounty Extension Service and Wyoming Comprehensive Cancer Control


Consortium by providing support through booth exhibit, materials for distribution and/or event speaker sponsorship. Judy Barbe, LiveBest, presented a session on taking care of caretakers to 25 members of the Association of Nutrition and Foodservice Professionals (ANFP). Barbe also followed up with a discussion on re-purposing food to prevent waste. According to Bruce Link, ANFP President, Barbe’s presentation scored highly in the conference evaluations. No attendance or speaker was provided for the spring ANFP Conference in Sheridan. Instead, samples of Schmacon (beef bacon) and Omni Bars (jerky style protein bars) were sent compliments of the WBC. The samples were obtained free of charge and shipped to the conference hotel in Sheridan at WBC expense.

22. Reach 300 health professionals through distribution of two WBC Nutrition E-newsletters.The fall Nutrition e-newsletter was sent September 2014 to 231 dietitians andhealth professionals (253 with 22 bounces). As of October 16, 2014, 83 peopleopened the newsletter with the largest attention to the article entitled The Big FatLie (Nina Tiechert). There was one share/forward and one opt out. The recipereceived the second highest number of views. There were 18 click-throughs from13 unique viewers. Due to time constraints of staff and consciousness of contractorhour expenses, no spring newsletter was developed or sent.

II. Increase understanding of and support for the beef checkoff.

Priority E: Increase percentage of Wyoming beef producers who feel informed about the checkoff to 83% by January 2015.

23. Produce an online annual checkoff report, mail a postcard to encourage viewing ofthe online report and insert printed versions into the Wyoming Livestock Roundup.Response to the online report was dismal with only five website visits online annualreport page. Eight positive in-person comments were received about the format ofthe report that was included in the Wyoming Livestock Roundup. FY2016 planstook these results into account and information from the annual report will beshared in advertisements in the Wyoming Livestock Roundup while the mandatoryannual report will still be produced and available online but not printed.

24. Produce and e-mail a minimum of six informational e-newsletters to informcattlemen about checkoff programs and mail one postcard to encourage viewingand signing up for future editions.Seven producer newsletters were emailed to producer e-news subscribers. Thepercentage of subscribers who opened the e-newsletter averaged 37% while thepercent of subscribers who clicked on links in the newsletter was 6%. Forcomparison sake, industry standards for Agriculture and Food Industry electronicnewsletter opens are 26% percent while industry click-throughs average less than4%.* The number of producers who subscribed to the newsletter in response to thepostcard mailing is not measurable.*http://mailchimp.com/resources/research/email-marketing-benchmarks/

http://mailchimp.com/resources/research/email-marketing-benchmarks/


25. Reach 5,400 cattlemen twelve times with information about the use of beefcheckoff dollars through monthly quarter-page, two-color ads in the WyomingLivestock Roundup.Ads were printed as scheduled. According to the January 2015 producer attitudesurvey, “Producer awareness (of the checkoff ads) is generally high as two-thirds ofproducers have seen at least one advertisement. Opinions about the value of theadvertisements are positive as well. Nearly seven in ten producers (68%) considerthe information of value compared to 31% who do not.”

26. Reach cattlemen with information about the expenditure of beef checkoff dollarsthrough 26 weeks of locally produced radio aired on 17 Northern Broadcastingstations during the morning and noontime market reports.From the producer attitude survey summary memo: “Another way the Beef Councilcommunicates to producers is through radio advertisements or updates. Thisapproach is not as visible as printed advertisements, although it does reach a largeplurality of producers. Thirty-seven percent recall hearing a radio update oradvertisement about the beef checkoff. Again, opinions about the informationprovided are positive. About eight in ten believe the information provided isvaluable compared to 22% who do not.Banner ads were included in the FY15 proposal. We saw no increase in the numberof producers subscribing to our producer e-news or visits to our website as a resultof the banner ads on the Northern Broadcasting website.

27. Reach cattlemen with information about beef checkoff expenditures throughDayWeather Network, specifically stations not covered by Northern Broadcastingwith emphasis on northern and western Wyoming.From the producer attitude survey summary memo: “Another way the Beef Councilcommunicates to producers is through radio advertisements or updates. Thisapproach is not as visible as printed advertisements, although it does reach a largeplurality of producers. Thirty-seven percent recall hearing a radio update oradvertisement about the beef checkoff. Again, opinions about the informationprovided are positive. About eight in ten believe the information provided isvaluable compared to 22% who do not.

28. Obtain 500 email addresses to be added to the producer communicationselectronic database through social media, print media, trade show booths, Websiteadvertising and industry events.Currently there are 439 producer newsletter subscribers, less than 1% of allproducers in Wyoming, according to NASS, WY Field office statistics. The list hasgrown by 117 since August 2014. Through the Producer Attitude Survey, producerswere asked if they would like to receive information electronically. About three inten were either open to receiving electronic communications (24%) or already do so(4%). However, when asked if they would share their e-mail address, interestdropped as 60% of those open to electronic communications (14% of producersaware of the checkoff) were unwilling to provide this information. Web activity onproducer-specific pages: publications, articles, WBC information, vacancy notices,MBA and BQA totaled 1,016 page views. While we cannot assume all of these pageviews and visits are from producers, it is reasonable to assume that based on thepage names and content that the majority of those visits are from checkoffinvestors.


Additional projects: A. Wittmann gave presentation on social media marketing to approximately 225

members of the Wyoming Stock Growers Association at the WSGA WinterConvention in Casper. In addition, she addressed 27 members of the MarketingCommittee with program updates and addressed questions about strategicdirection and programs with Wyoming CattleWomen at their winter meeting.

B. Wittmann gave a presentation on social media marketing and the target consumerto nine Annie’s Project members, two UWCES agents and five other farm/ranchmarketing presenters in Worland, WY.

C. Wayne Fahsholtz attended the Wyoming Farm Bureau meeting on behalf of theCouncil and sat in on the Ag Tax Committee meeting.

D. Wittmann updated 38 members of the WSGA Marketing Committee about checkofffunding and activities at the Wyoming Stock Growers Association summer meetingin Sheridan. Also at this meeting, Wittmann presented the “Nuts and Bolts of theBeef Checkoff” to 60 producers during the final panel session of the convention.

Priority F: Increase approval rating of the beef checkoff in Wyoming to 80% by January 2015.

29. Through public relations and visible presence the WBC will strive to displaytransparency and accountability to checkoff investors.All news releases, presentations and newsletters are available online. Allcorrespondence received via phone, email or website has been answered within 24hours. The January 2015 Producer Attitude Survey showed that Wyomingproducers are much more likely to agree than disagree (62% vs 17%) that theWyoming Beef Council is transparent and accountable to producers. There isapproximately one in five producers (22%) who lack familiarity and say they areunsure.

30. WBC will participate in a heavy-up of the winter Cattlemen’s Beef Boardindependent producer attitude survey.The heavy-up was conducted January 2015 and included results from 152interviews. The results were shared through multiple press releases and electronicnewsletters. Results were also reviewed by the Wyoming Beef Council and areavailable on the wybeef.com website.

ADDITIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES—Collections Compliance

31. Maintain an inter-agency agreement with Wyoming Livestock Board, branddivision, to ensure continued beef checkoff collection.The current agreement remains in effect through June 30, 2016. A positive workingrelationship has been formed with new Wyoming Livestock Board CEO Steve Truewho was hired March 2015 and attended the April 28, 2015 WBC meeting.

32. WBC will conduct a fiscal year audit with McGee, Hearne & Paiz, LLP according toCBB and State of Wyoming standards and requirements.The FY2014 Financial audit was completed with no findings and was reviewed andapproved by the WBC October 2014.


33. WBC will provide all documentation and cooperation required by the Cattlemen’sBeef Board during the fiscal year to fulfill the role of a qualified state beef council.CBB requirements for FY 2015 have been met to date and will be fulfilled uponpresentation of the FY2015 independent financial audit.

34. WBC will return state of origin money to originating states.State of origin payments for FY2015 totaled $18,046 which is consistent with prioryears. Typically, state of origin disbursements are in the neighborhood of 2% oftotal revenue.

ADDITIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES—Administration

35. WBC staff will provide administrative support services to all program areas andprojects approved by the WBC members.Executed as described in this document.

36. WBC Executive Director will employ staff to carry out Council business.Based on budget reductions and recommendations by the executive director, WBCmembers voted during the March conference call not to pursue filling the vacantexecutive assistant position at this time.

37. WBC Staff will reimburse travel expenses for WBC members who travel to conductCouncil business.Travel reimbursement was completed for all members for all trips taken duringFY2015.

38. WBC Executive Director will conduct new member training and review fiduciaryresponsibility and liability of board members annually.New member training and fiduciary responsibility and liability presentations wereheld at the August 24 meeting in Douglas.

39. WBC will review strategic plan annually as required by the State of Wyoming.The 2015 Strategic Plan was reviewed and amended for FY2016 and used forplanning FY2016 activities and programs.

40. WBC will evaluate all programs according to the goals set in the FY2015 MarketingPlan.This document along with Attachments A, B, C and D is the evaluation summary ofall programs conducted according the FY2015 Marketing Plan.

41. The WBC will review existing rules to clarify term limits.January 13, 2015 the WBC voted to make changes to rules. The rules package wasput together by Wittmann and Assistant Attorney General representative BlakeKlinkner. Based on advice from Richard Barrett, special counsel to Governor Meadwho felt the addition of term limits exceeded statutory authority of the WBC, theWBC members voted at the April 28, 2015 meeting to formally withdraw the rulespacket.

THE REMAINDER OF THIS PAGE WAS INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK

2014 YEAR-END REPORT TO THE WYOMING BEEF COUNCIL

July 2015

The USMEF activities described in this report are funded by the

Wyoming Beef Council

ATTACHMENT A to WBC 2015 Program Evaluation Document

Project Title: U.S. Beef Marketing Programs in Japan

Company: U.S. Meat Export Federation

This report summarizes market development activities conducted by the U.S. Meat Export

Federation in FY2015 in Japan on behalf of the U.S. beef industry and its partner, the Wyoming

Beef Council. USMEF would like to acknowledge and thank the Wyoming Beef Council (WBC)

for their financial and personnel assistance in completing these projects.

Background

Whereas Japan’s total beef imports for the 2014 calendar year declined 2 percent, U.S. beef/bvm

exports to the country increased 3 percent in volume (241,129 mt) and 14 percent in value ($1.58

billion). Moreover, value eclipsed the 2003 (pre-BSE) mark ($1.39 billion) for the first time,

though volume was still below the 2003 total, an indication that there is room for further growth.

U.S. beef’s share Japan’s import market in 2014 was 38 percent.

USMEF has continued its aggressive integrated campaign aimed at expanding U.S. beef’s reach

by increasing usage in the retail and foodservice sectors, in particular regional retail and restaurant

chains. Within this framework, USMEF has partnered with key distributors to push U.S. beef sales

to downstream HRI and retail customers. Whereas the easing of Japan’s restrictions to include

U.S. beef from cattle less than 30 months of age (LT30) has significantly increased the amount of

U.S. beef available for the market, declining U.S. beef production in 2014 was a challenge to

export growth to Japan, especially for traditional Asian cuts.

USMEF has helped minimize the impact of tighter U.S. beef supplies by leveraging the expanded

LT30 access, especially with items like higher grade cuts, brands, and variety meats to broaden

the usage of U.S. beef across all sectors. Building on U.S. beef’s growing reputation for high

quality, USMEF’s message emphasizes tastiness (“Oishii”) to beef users at all levels which has

helped gain greater acceptance of higher U.S. beef prices (further compounded by a weaker yen)

among consumers. USMEF has also boosted U.S. beef’s presence and elevated its quality profile

in segments where the competition is seeking specialty niche/branded items as a point of product

differentiation. USMEF is also working closely with national regional retail accounts, gaining

placement for a larger variety of cuts and value-added U.S. beef products, including higher grades

and branded beef.

USMEF Webpage “American Meat” Update

Focusing on the high-quality aspects, USMEF has successfully delivered key message points about

U.S. beef through all sectors which helped improve end consumers’ attitudes as well as their

willingness to pay the current higher prices for U.S. beef. Social media has remained an integral

part of USMEF’s consumer communications strategy, as USMEF’s target audience (homemakers

age 20-50) spend two to four hours per day on the internet. USMEF maintains a strong web

presence for U.S. beef with its American Meat website (which had 6 million page views in 2014).

Enhancing this messaging, USMEF turned to WBC funding support and beef producers from

Wyoming to tell their story. In 2015, USMEF’s American Meat website added two new producer

profiles featuring ranching families from Wyoming to the beef producer page. These stories clearly

highlight the natural conditions in which beef is raised, the care that producers take to ensure the

highest quality, as well as demonstrate how these elements factor into the exceptional taste, quality,


and health benefits of the end product. This type of communication has helped elevate the image

of U.S. beef in the minds of Japanese consumers, while improving their overall impression and

familiarity with U.S. beef. http://www.americanmeat.jp/csm/knowledge/beef_farm/index05.html

U.S. Beef on Huffington Post Website (Copy Attached in Japanese and English Versions)

In April USMEF utilized WBC funding to carry out a thorough “farm to fork” tie-up publicity on

the web media platform, “Huffington Post.” The article about U.S. beef, in particular beef from

Wyoming, featured two ranching families and put a face on American Beef with personal stories

about ranch life and a passion for responsible stewardship, resulting in the highest quality beef

possible. After a month, the article had received 22,558 page views and was a highly effective

communication tool, promoting not only the selling points of U.S. beef, but also the positive

environment in which it is raised. http://www.huffingtonpost.jp/2015/04/27/american-

beef_n_7068546.html

U.S. Beef on Display at the CGC Trade Show

Small and regional supermarkets continue to be among the market segments with greatest

potential. Many of Japan’s small and middle-sized grocers are members of the Cooperative Grocer

Chain (CGC), an association that helps them compete with larger retailers by enhancing their

purchasing power and sharing marketing costs. CGC has 235 member companies operating nearly

4,000 outlets throughout Japan. With WBC funding, USMEF

showcased U.S. beef at the CGC’s annual trade show at the Tokyo

Big Site exhibition center in April 2015. Due to reliable year-

rounds supplies of U.S. beef available with its expanded LT30

market access, U.S. beef maintained a prominent role during this

year’s show by featuring a wide

variety of cuts. USMEF also held

several U.S. beef cutting

demonstrations for attendees and

introduced them to new merchandising ideas designed to help

increase beef sales in their supermarkets. Ultimately, buyers’

reactions to USMEF’s demonstrations and samples were very

enthusiastic, as they feel U.S. beef products can deliver added

value and appeal to their clients’ meat cases.


http://www.americanmeat.jp/csm/knowledge/beef_farm/index05.html

http://www.huffingtonpost.jp/2015/04/27/american-beef_n_7068546.html

http://www.huffingtonpost.jp/2015/04/27/american-beef_n_7068546.html

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Regional Retail Chains U.S. Beef Promotions

As many of Japan’s regional retailers have limited or no previous

experience selling U.S. beef, USMEF is actively working with

targeted chains to develop or expand the presence of U.S. beef in

their outlets. This includes the development of marketing and

merchandising strategies to quickly increase sales through the

use of such tactics as point of sale promotional activities,

consumer educational materials, joint advertising, and tasting

opportunities. Leveraging WBC funds, USMEF teamed up with

several targeted small to mid-sized regional retailer chains

(Nogawa Shokuniku,

Super Maruei, Inageya, Maruetsu, Big Yosan and Uny)

with more than 200 participating outlets to promote U.S.

beef at the point of sales with tasting demonstrations to

encourage customers to try U.S. beef. Ultimately these

month-long campaigns generated 104.8 mt (231,044

pounds) in U.S. beef sales, an 8 percent increase over the

pre-promotion period. Moreover, residual sales continued

to grow in the post-promotion period by another 6 percent.

Looking at the first half of 2015, competition for Japan’s import beef market has intensified, with

many countries vying for greater shares with competitive pricing levels. This has been amplified

by the recent establishment of various economic partnership agreements (e.g. Australia) and free

trade agreements (e.g., Mexico) which put U.S. beef at a duty disadvantage. January was the first

month in which beef tariff reductions were in effect under the Japan-Australia Economic

Partnership Agreement (JAEPA). Further reductions came in April, so U.S. beef now faces a tariff

disadvantage 7 percentage points on chilled beef and 10 percentage points on frozen. This gap will

continue to grow as long as U.S. beef is subject to Japan’s full 38.5 percent duty. From Jan-May

2015 Australia’s exports to Japan have increased 8.9 percent compared to Jan-May 2014.

Nonetheless, U.S. beef exports to Japan have performed extremely well despite significant

obstacles – including the West Coast port stoppage situation, a weakened Japanese yen and the

tariff advantage for Australian beef. Through May 2015, U.S. beef exports to Japan increased 2

percent in volume (88,936 mt) and 3 percent in value ($564.5 million). Protecting and expanding

U.S. beef’s market share in Japan is a top priority for USMEF, and funding investments from WBC

have further broadened these efforts to maximize their impact.


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FUNDING SUMMARY

Funding Summary

Wyoming Beef Contribution $25,000

USMEF Contribution *$8,904

Subtotal $33,904

Third Party Contributions

Hard (i.e. POS, advertising) $24,013

Soft (i.e. staff time, etc.) $391

Subtotal $24,404

TOTAL PROGRAM IMPACT $58,308

*USMEF has invested significantly more funding with the CGC group. $8,904 was only the

amount expensed by USMEF for the single month-long promotion.

USMEF activities described in this report are funded through the Beef Checkoff Program as well as various USDA market development programs and the national and state soybean and corn checkoff programs.


Contractor: Wyoming Ag in the Classroom

Project: Wyoming Agriculture and Natural Resource Science Institute/ Bridger Valley

Project Manager: Jessie Dafoe

WBC Committed Contribution: $8,000.00

Amount of Funding Used: $8,000.00

WBC Strategy 3: Strengthen the image of beef and the beef industry

Objectives cited in Funding Proposal:

The Wyoming Ag and Natural Resource Science Institute is a unique professional development experience for educators. Objectives for the Institute include educating influencers about environmentally, socially and economically sustainable beef production practices and working to capitalize on Wyoming’s ranching culture to improve the image of the beef community among millennials and influencers. The Institute also aims to provide Millennials with recipes and cooking techniques to address their desire for convenient, healthy beef meals and finally, will help to educate health and nutrition influencers about beef’s nutritional benefits. Goals: Provide educators with the opportunity to tour a working ranch and participate in hands-on learning experiences. Provide educators with supplemental lessons for their classroom and with recipes and cooking techniques that they can share with other influencers. Provide educators with information about beef’s nutritional value. The overarching goal is to strengthen the image of beef and the beef industry and help improve domestic consumer preference for beef.

Results (circle one):

Objective Objective Objective Not met Met Exceeded

Explanation of Results (attach more pages if needed): How many teachers attended the Institute? _39__ Did the majority of the participants indicate the Institute increased their opinion of Wyoming’s environmentally sustainable beef production practices? __Yes__ Did the majority of the participants indicate the Institute increased their opinion of Wyoming’s socially sustainable beef production practices? __Yes__ Did the majority of the participants indicate the Institute increased their opinion of Wyoming’s economically sustainable beef production practices? __Yes__ Did the majority of participants indicate that the value they place on Wyoming’s ranching culture increased? __Yes__ Did pre and post surveying indicate that a majority of participants came away with an increased understanding of beef’s nutritional value? The majority of participants came with a strong understanding of beef’s nutritional value and left feeling the same or increase of beef’s nutritional value. Did pre and post surveying indicate a better understanding of the beef industry? __Yes__

Summary of event:

Wyoming Agriculture in the Classroom (WAIC) welcomed 39 educators to the Bridger Valley June 9-11th to highlight southwest Wyoming’s agriculture and natural resources. The days were packed with tours, hands-on learning and lessons to take back to the classroom.

FY 2015 Funding Request Results Beef Promotion

ATTACHMENT B to FY2015 WBC Program Evaluation Document

Monday Highlights: • Solvay Trona Mine Tour• Sim’s Ranch Tour• Wyoming Mining Association• Cowboy Campfire with Cowboy Poetry by the Proffitts

Tuesday Highlights • Bridger Valley Electric Association• Wyoming State Forestry• Wyoming PBS• Uinta Water Resource Discussion, Ken Fackrell• WAIC 2013 Educator of the Year, Tomi Sue Wille• Code of the West Training• Community Event, Keynote by Jim Owen, author of Cowboy Ethics

Wednesday Highlights • Windmill Tour• Micheli Ranch, Beef Education

The Institute concluded with an auction with ‘ranch money’ participants had won, and lost, throughout the three days and they left with materials for their classroom and University of Wyoming or Professional Teaching Standards Board credits.

Comments specifically from Micheli tour and beef education:

• Very informative, learned many different aspects of cattle ranching I did not know.• Very fun. Learned new things.• They put so much time on a daily basis to make sure they are successful.• I never knew about the Hereford & Angus production.• Kind owners• They were very knowledgeable and personable.• Very interesting for a complete neophyte!• Could not have asked for more gracious hosts. They did a great job making the

information accessible to everyone.• I like the generational support.• The discussion was great and very knowledgeable.• Good tour to see everything.• Lived here my whole life and knew zero about breeding cattle.

How did this project benefit Wyoming’s beef industry?

This project benefited the Wyoming’s beef industry and we are grateful for the Wyoming Beef Council’s interest to provide this educational outreach to influencers in Wyoming. Below is a summary of results gathered from the Institute to indicate that objective were met. Please don’t hesitate to contact WAIC with questions or request additional information.

Overall, participants understanding of Wyoming agriculture and the beef industry improved. Q1 = I have a strong understanding of Wyoming agriculture. Q4 = I have a strong understanding of the Wyoming beef industry.


The next area WAIC tested was if the participants’ understanding increased and if their opinion improved regarding Wyoming’s environmental, social and economical sustainable beef production practices. Definitions, provided by the Wyoming Beef Council were discussed and addressed, prior to, during and after the beef education section of the Institute. Additionally, participants were asked to indicate if the value they place on Wyoming’s ranching culture increased.

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Pre-‐Survey Q1 and Q4

agree/strongly agree

neutral

disagree/strongly disagree Unsure

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neutral

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My opinion of Wyoming ranchers' environmentally sustainable beef

produc@on prac@ces has...

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increased decreased stayed the same

unsure

My opinion of Wyoming ranchers' socially sustainable beef produc@on

prac@ces has...

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unsure

My opinion of Wyoming ranchers' economically sustainable beef produc@on prac@ces has...


The final section WAIC focused on for beef education was nutrition. The clear majority of participants indicated in survey results that they believe eating healthy and nutritious food is important as well as it is important to teach their students healthy eating habits and relevant to their instruction time.

Q31 = Beef is part of a healthy and nutritious diet. Q32 = Beef is easy to prepare.

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unsure

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unsure

The value I place on Wyoming's ranching heritage ....

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Q31 and Q32: Pre-‐Survey


neutral


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neutral



Q33 = Iron is an important part of the human diet. Q34 = Folic acid is an important part of the human diet. Q35 = Zinc is an important part of the human diet. Q36 = Protein is important part of the human diet.

Q37 = Beef is an importance source of nutrition. Q38 = Beef is an important source of iron. Q39 = Beef is an important source of folic acid. Q40 = Beef is an important source of zinc. Q41 = Beef is an important source of protein.

The survey indicates that the majority of participants already viewed nutrition components of iron, folic acid, zinc and protein to be an important part of a human diet, the majority also believed that beef from the beginning supplied these necessary nutrients. Q37-41 suggest that some of the neutral and disagree responses from prior to the Institute were changed after the beef section. While there are not dramatic differences, beef nutrition information was still provided to participants, reinforcing their current knowledge.

What would you change to make this project more effective in the future?

Wyoming Agriculture in the Classroom felt this Institute was very successful, but there is always room for improvement. We were encouraged by the increase in participant numbers and the quality of beef education that was provided for participants. Areas we would like to focus on for next year is increased/improved data collection and focus on nutrition and preparation of beef products. While this year’s class was knowledge of nutrition, not all participant classes are and we believe that it is an important component to grow in our Institute.

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Q33 Q34 Q35 Q36

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neutral


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neutral


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neutral


Unsure

WBC Use Only

Date due to WBC Office ____July 31, 2014___________

Date received by WBC office: __________________ Date Reviewed by WBC_______11/16/15____________


07/31/14

ATTACHMENT C

To FY2015 WBC Program Evaluation Document

1

Contractor: Wyoming CattleWomen

Project: Grassroots Funding

Project Manager: Angela Whitlock



WBC Priority:

1. Capitalize on Wyoming’s ranching culture and heritage to improve the image of thebeef community among millennials and key thought leaders.

2. Provide millennials with recipes and cooking techniques to address their desire forconvenient healthy beef meals.

Objective cited in Funding Proposal:

Impact 7,000 millennials and key thought leaders through grassroots projects pre-approved to directly reach the target audience defined in the Beef Industry Long Range Plan 2011-2015. Impact is defined as changing a behavior, thought or belief regarding beef, the beef industry or beef’s role in a well-balanced diet.

Related to this first objective, please answer the following questions:

1. How many county CattleWomen groups utilized grassroots funding?

Six (6) local groups and the State group.

2. How many millennials/key thought leaders were impacted through grassroots

funding projects?

Through the local groups 125+ were personally reached.

3. In the box below, list the projects funded, the target audience (millennial or key

thought leader) and the number of attendees at each function.

FY 2015 Funding Request Results Grassroots Funding

Local groups:

Beefy 5K -- millenials -- 94 attendees

Cooking with CattleWomen -- millennials -- 12 attendees

Beef Talk and Presentation (Consumer Science Class) (2 times) – millennials -- 90

WCW:

Confident Cooking with Beef Brochures - ordered 2,000 most distributed to millennials

Fair Display Banners – to be used at state and local fairs or as needed by local affiliates at events.

ATTACHMENT C

To FY2015 WBC Program Evaluation Document

2

4. What impact did the events make on the audiences (summary of results from the

survey questions asked)?

5. In your opinion, what could be done to make this program more administrativelyefficient from a Wyoming Beef Council and Wyoming CattleWomen.

6. Please use the space below to highlight one or two programs you feel were mostsuccessful.

WBC Use Only


Date received by WBC office: ___08/05/15________ Date Reviewed by WBC________11/16/15___________

Beef is healthy.

Love the recipes and will share them with family and friends.

Cattle are well cared for.

I think using technology rather than in person visits is very helpful.

I think the cooking demonstrations, especially in the schools, were the most successful. It has been

difficult finding projects that meet the criteria this year. Hopefully this will change in the future.

ATTACHMENT D

To FY2015 WBC Evaluation Document

1

Contractor: Wyoming CattleWomen

Project: Beef Ambassador

Project Manager: Angela Whitlock



WBC Priority:

1. Capitalize on Wyoming’s ranching culture and heritage to improve the image of thebeef community among millennials and key thought leaders.

2. Provide millennials with recipes and cooking techniques to address their desire forconvenient healthy beef meals.

Objective cited in Funding Proposal:

Impact at least 600 people (millennials/key thought leaders) through presentations made by the Wyoming Beef Ambassador. Impact is defined as changing a behavior, thought or belief regarding beef, the beef industry or beef’s role in a well-balanced diet.

Related to this first objective, please answer the following questions:

1. How many contestants participated in the state competition? 2015 - 1

2. How did the Wyoming contestant place in the national competition? 2014 – placed

on National Team

3. In the box below, list the appearances the Wyoming Beef Ambassador made

including audience, number of attendees and topic of presentation

4. What impact did the presentations make on the audiences (results from the survey

questions from your proposal?)

5. Based on survey and project results (not opinion) how did this project benefitWyoming’s Beef Industry?

FY 2015 Funding Request Results WY Beef Ambassador

See pages 3 & 4.

They did not do surveys.

They did not do surveys.

ATTACHMENT D


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6. What would you change to make this project more effective in the future?

WBC Use Only


Date received by WBC office: ___08/06/15______ Date Reviewed by WBC___________11/16/15__________

At the National level, the Ambassadors usually have an i-pod with pre-programmed questions. It

takes people less than 1 minute to complete the survey. The questions can remain the same or be

different for specific events. If surveys are required, we should purchase an i-pod for this express

purpose for the Ambassadors to use.

ATTACHMENT D


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WY Beef Ambassador Program Summary Leslie Hendry, Co-Chairman

On April 5, 2014 the WY CattleWomen held their WY Beef Ambassador Competition in

Casper at Casper College. There were three contestants – Rachel Purdy, Ty Shockley

and Garrett Irene. These three made up our WY Beef Ambassador Team for the year.

They participated in the following events:

Garrett Irene: Spoke to the Snowy Range CattleWomen

TY Shockley: Participated in the Earth Day BBQ on the campus of the University of

Wyoming

Rachel Purdy:

Media – WY Livestock Roundup – approx 5,600 subscribers

KNEB Radio – 1 hour interview

KOTA Territory News – interview – ABC Viewers in 4 states watching

the noon news

Pine Bluffs Post – 800 subscribers

Northern AG Network – interview

University of WY Extension – interview

Conventions – Southeast WY Beef Production Convention

WY CattleWomen – December and April meetings

WY StockGrowers – Mid-winter meeting – addressed the

luncheon crowd

Consumer Events – Earth Day BBQ on the campus of the University of

Wyoming – approx 1,120 people went

through the line.

Sam’s Club Demo – handed out approx 200 samples over

the 2 day event

WY State Fair – assisted the Conservation District with their

educational booth

Sam’s Club Demo – handed out approx 550 samples over

the 2 day event

Charlotte Southern Women’s Show – over 20,000 people

attended the event

Education – Pine Bluffs elementary 3rd

grade class – 10 students, 1 teacher

Pine Bluffs elementary 3rd


Burns Elementary 2nd


Our WY Beef Ambassador Team completed the MBA program through NCBA.

ATTACHMENT D


4

Rachel went on to compete at the National Beef Ambassador Competition in Denver, CO

on September 26-27, 2014. She competed extremely well and was fortunate to be in the

top 5 and make the traveling team. Since she has been on the National team they have

traveled around the country promoting beef.

ANCW is restructuring the whole Beef Ambassador Program. At this time, we are

waiting to see what changes are being made and how we can incorporate the changes into

our program.

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