The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association is a proud contractor to the Beef Checkoff. The work NCBA conducts on behalf of U.S. farming and ranching families is focused on the areas of Consumer Information, Promotion, Research and Industry Information. Programs from Consumer Information are highlighted here.

Within this work, Consumer Information plays a key role. Through its Authorization Request (AR), NCBA partners with trusted experts, creators, media, and channel partners to educate and inspire consumers about beef — building credibility and driving demand. The AR reaches four distinct audiences through tailored programs, engaging consumers at key moments from inspiration and education to purchase, and ensuring beef’s story is shared by voices they trust across the platforms that matter most.

The Thought Leader Outreach and Engagement program builds relationships with influencers and subject matter experts, such as recipe creators, food lovers, celebrity chefs, and beef advocates, who positively shape how consumers think about and purchase beef. Through authentic storytelling, these voices build trust by showcasing beef’s superior taste, convenience, and versatility, while demonstrating how beef fits into a wide range of lifestyles and well being journeys. Activation includes social media content, creating new beef recipes, podcasts, newsletters, and experiential events like hands-on cookery and ranch tours, creating meaningful touchpoints that inspire consumer behavior change.

State Beef Council Extension – The program provides national support and consultation to empower states to execute their own influencer partnerships. In 2026, state activations include the Girls Who Grill events, where 26 states are involved in planning more than 20 events to be held across the country this summer grilling season. 

Nutrition, Health and Medical Professionals are the most trusted sources of nutrition information for consumers, making them a powerful influence on perceptions of beef’s role in health and nutrition. This tactic is fully dedicated to licensed and credentialed experts — registered dietitians, physicians, nurses, and certified fitness professionals — providing science based education tailored to their needs. Initiatives include establishing partnerships to build more trust, educating health professionals through conferences, webinars, newsletters, sharing science-based content, influencing peer-to-peer content, and growing beef nutrition advocates.  

State Beef Council Extension – Medical health professional toolkits continue to be a top performing outreach effort, with distribution strengthened by strong participation from state beef councils. To date, 26 states have expanded reach through local investment, helping the campaign reach nearly 5,000 medical professionals and 500,000 consumers with evidence based information on beef’s role in a healthy diet. 

The Public Relations audience supports a robust communications strategy focused on protecting the reputation of the beef industry while encouraging consumption through education and inspiration. By leveraging the media as a third party, this tactic works with journalists, thought leaders, and industry experts to deliver accurate, credible stories about beef. For example, this tactic has secured placements in national consumer outlets such as TODAY Show, Yahoo! News and MSN. In the second quarter alone, the placements reached consumers a potential 4.7 billion times. These efforts reinforce consumer confidence, address emerging issues, and ensure beef remains a trusted choice in an increasingly complex and scrutinized food landscape.

State Beef Council Extension – The team provides support to state leaders to extend these tactics in their own markets. This year, the regional content partnership campaign includes several state and national collaborations, including a story published in Houstonia, with more to come in the summer and fall. Many of the media and reputation management placements can be shared through state channels to amplify reach and to touch a regional audience.

Channel Marketing builds trusted relationships with retailers, foodservice professionals, and supply chain thought leaders who help ensure beef remains readily available to consumers — in retail stores and on restaurant menus. Through ongoing education, tools, resources, and engagement, the program equips partners with the tools and confidence to position and recommend beef, from category management and menu planning to merchandising and promotion. Channel Marketing also continues to include e-commerce to promote and sell beef to consumers shopping online, which consistently delivers strong results. This past year, these efforts drove more than $50 million in incremental beef sold, and for every Checkoff dollar invested, $44 of beef was sold. 

State Beef Council Extension – National e-commerce provides an entry point for state partners to drive measurable beef sales at the local level. More than 20 states have benefited from and invested in retail e-commerce efforts over the past year.