Chairman Brad Hastings: New Long Range Plan Sets Focus, Defines Success

As we pass the halfway point of 2021, let me catch you up on some important work that your Texas Beef Council (TBC) has been working on over the last six months. The Board of Directors and TBC staff have recently completed a new five-year Long Range Plan to guide our work, grow our industry, and be good stewards of your checkoff funds.

Recently, the Texas Beef Council (TBC) board of directors worked closely with TBC staff as they developed a new five-year Long Range Plan that will guide us through 2025. In any industry, it’s important to take a hard look at where you’ve been, where you are today and where you want to go in the future. That’s what we’ve done over the past six months, and I believe the resulting plan is a useful tool with targeted growth strategies that will help guide TBC.

As the marketing arm of the beef industry, TBC has many strategies, tactics and goals that we’d like to pursue and achieve, our new Long Range Plan which is based on a single primary mission: to strengthen demand for beef as the world’s most trusted and preferred protein. We carefully considered that mission while using the national beef industry Long Range Plan as the foundation of our state plan. We also ensured that our new plan was based on three beliefs that are at the core of the Texas Beef Council:

The Industry Long Range Plan is the cornerstone of a strong state-national partnership.
Research is the foundation of all checkoff-funded activities.
Producer support, engagement and control of checkoff funds are essential.

From there, our plan expands upon four key areas of focus that will be prioritized over the next five years:

Grow consumer trust in beef. By making sure beef is included in dietary guidelines, reinforcing its sustainability message and strengthening its reputation as a wholesome and safe product, we can help consumers feel confident about choosing beef.

Promote and capitalize on beef’s multiple advantages. We can effectively communicate beef’s compelling value proposition to consumers, influencers and key opinion leaders by making it easier and more convenient to purchase.

Drive growth in beef exports. Collaborating with partners to invest in programs that promote U.S. beef’s unique attributes will help TBC address the unique needs of consumers worldwide.

Grow producer trust in checkoff programs. Because TBC uses producer dollars to market beef, we need to keep producers informed and aware of our programs and their results.

I’ve worked in production agriculture for 28 years, and the last 18 in the beef industry. Like many of you, my personal goal is to leave my operation and my industry in a better place than when I started. I’m passionate about producing beef that’s safe, affordable and accessible to all, and I believe in beef producers “leading from the front” through TBC programs.

The 2025 Long Range plan allows us to do just that, to define “what success looks like” to maintain our priorities over time, fund efforts that are important to Texas beef producers, and measure our results. It is truly your contributions to the checkoff that make all these efforts possible. By working together and following this new Long Range Plan, I have no doubt that during the next five years we will see a stronger, better beef industry – not only here in Texas, but worldwide.