If the beef industry learned anything in late 2008 and 2009, it’s that macroeconomics affect its future like never before. And, according to Purdue University’s Jim Mintert, it’s going to stay that way, at least in the near future.
“Near term, opting by consumers to hold down expenditures is probably going to dominate most of the other things we think about with respect to beef demand,” he says.
However, Mintert says the industry can still control its economic future. “From an industry perspective, I don’t think we want to get hung up on the things we can’t control,” he says. “We can’t control the macro U.S. economy, but we do have a number of things we can control or affect that have a great impact on beef demand.”
Mintert says consumers aren’t terribly responsive to changes in retail beef prices. However, they do respond if they perceive that beef doesn’t meet their needs in terms of quality or a satisfactory experience. That means, he says, we don’t want to give consumers reasons to not buy beef.
Such reasons could include food-safety recalls, misinformation about beef’s healthfulness and nutrition, and how convenient it is to prepare and serve.
As an example, Mintert looked at the beef industry’s efforts to promote beef’s nutrient content through the checkoff-funded ZIP promotion – zinc, iron and protein. Looking at the number of articles published over time about beef’s nutritive qualities, “it was pretty clear that as consumer awareness of this beef positive grew, it had a positive impact on beef demand.”
In fact, his research indicates that a 10% increase in the articles that referenced zinc, iron and protein led to about a 0.25% increase in beef demand. “If you look at 2007 vs. 1982, we had a huge increase in the number of articles published on this topic, and it improved beef demand by about 7%.”
In short, he says, when consumers receive a positive message about beef consumption, nutrition and health, they respond by eating more beef and being willing to pay more money for it. “We need to identify those topic areas, identify those issues, then communicate them to consumers.”
Mintert was one of many speakers at the recent Range Beef Cow Symposium in Casper, WY. For complete coverage, go to www.rangebeefcow.com.
