Idaho Beef Council outlines marketing, research and export efforts; committee hears tariffs and wildfire impacts

The Idaho Beef Council told the Idaho Senate Agriculture Committee on an agenda meeting that it is investing state and national checkoff funds in marketing, retail training, research and export promotion to expand demand for Idaho beef.

TK Kuwahara, a representative of the Idaho Beef Council, told the committee the council is a producer-funded organization and explained how the beef checkoff works. "We can only promote and we can only use checkoff dollars for promotion, education, and research. So by law, we cannot use these funds to lobby or directly work on issues," Kuwahara said. She said Idaho has about 7,400 farms with beef inventory and approximately 2,500,000 head of cattle, citing the U.S. agricultural census data from 2022.

Kuwahara described how checkoff dollars are collected and allocated. She said the national dollar-per-head checkoff sends 50 cents to the national Cattlemen's Beef Board and that up to 50 cents remain under state beef council oversight for local and regional programs; the council also receives an Idaho state checkoff assessment. The council uses those funds for retail and food-service campaigns, producer education, research and international promotion.

Why it matters: committee members pressed the council on trade and production risks that can affect processors and cattle flows into and out of Idaho, and on how the council uses limited checkoff dollars to build consumer trust and market share for Idaho producers.

Kuwahara summarized recent and planned programs. The council has run retail trainings for meat managers and a multi-state retail advertising campaign that, she said, produced more than $1 million in traceable sales after a $10,000 Idaho investment with a major retailer. The council is testing food-service research and operator outreach to expand Idaho-specific items such as "finger steaks," a regional dish Kuwahara described as primarily an Idaho item, and plans a burger promotion timed to National Burger Week and Idaho Beef Month.

On exports and industry development, Kuwahara said the council works with the U.S. Meat Export Federation and participates in buyer missions; she said the council will host buyers from Japan in April to visit Idaho processors including True West (Jerome) and other facilities. Kuwahara also highlighted Idaho processing capacity by naming firms operating in the state including CS Beef (Kuna), True West/Agri Beef (Jerome), Riverbend Meats and Intermountain Packing (Idaho Falls) and several value-added processors such as CTI Foods and B & D Foods.

Kuwahara described research projects the council has funded or supported. Examples cited to the committee included pilot work on underutilized cuts for a finger-steak application, shelf-life work that tested acerola cherry powder for improving frozen/fresh export shelf life, and pilot feed additives such as zeolite to investigate methane reduction. She said the council is preparing an RFP to commission an economic-impact study of Idaho's beef industry and that research grants follow the checkoff's eligible categories.

Committee members asked about trade and wildfire effects. Senator Taylor asked about tariffs that took effect the same day; Kuwahara deferred policy detail to Idaho Cattle Association representatives for production and trade implications. Cameron Mulroney of the Idaho Cattle Association told the committee that cattle movements to neighboring states and Canada for feeding and processing could be affected by tariffs and that the state relies on imports of live cattle to keep processing lines full. "Consumers prefer U.S. corn fed beef across the world, thanks to the tools that have been in place by the beef council, and we're gonna continue to see that," Mulroney said, adding that the full impact of tariffs would not be known until market behavior changes.

On wildfire impacts, Mulroney explained operational differences by land ownership and noted typical federal land-management guidance that can create multi-year rest periods for burned range. He said rebuilding herd size is not immediate: retaining a heifer for future slaughter is a roughly 27-month process from retention to first marketable calf, so fires that remove grazing for multiple seasons can reduce herd size over a multi-year period.

Several senators questioned administrative details. Kuwahara described the Idaho Brand Board's role in collecting the per-head assessment and said the Brand Board retains a 5% collection fee before remitting checkoff funds to the council. She also noted that state checkoff levels vary by state: Oregon has a 50-cent state checkoff; other states have different structures.

Votes at a glance: the committee approved two routine minutes by voice vote early in the meeting — minutes from 02/11/2025 (motion by Senator Zito, second by Senator Leahy; approved) and minutes from 02/13/2025 (motion by Senator Lent, second by Senator Van Orden; approved). No roll-call tallies were recorded in the transcript.

The meeting concluded after committee questions and a brief exchange of thanks; Kuwahara and other council representatives left committee members with printed materials and contact information for follow-up questions.