1413-II

AUTHORIZATION REQUEST FOR FY 2014

CBB Budget Category: Industry Information

Name of Contractor: North American Meat Association

Name of Organizations Subcontracting:

I.  OVERVIEW

A. AR Description: Effective veal issues/reputation management, ongoing producer education and positive industry influencer outreach programs that maintain a two-way dialogue and ensure continued support for and confidence in today’s veal production practices and veal products among key stakeholders. This will provide positive support for ongoing veal demand enhancement programs designed to increase veal use among current consumers and capture a larger share of the marketplace.

B. Costs Requested from this AR:

Source of Funding / Total / Direct Costs / Implementation
Beef Board/BPOC / $ 115,625 / $ 92,500 / $ 23,125
Federation of SBCs (FSBCs) / $ / $ / $
Other Sources (describe) / $ / $ / $
Total Funds Requested / $ 115,625 / $ 92,500 / $ 23,125

C. Start date: 10/1/2013 Completion date: 9/30/2014

II. PLANNING INFORMATION FOR THIS AR

A.  Long Range Plan Core Strategies/Demand Drivers Addressed by This AR: Strengthen the image of beef and the beef industry

B.  Committee(s) recommendations for work plan funded by this AR:

Beef’s Image Committee and the Freedom to Operate Committee recommended that the work plan submitted by NAMA should be sent to the Beef Promotion and Operating Committee for funding.

III. PROGRAM INFORMATION FOR THIS AR

A. Long Range Plan Core Strategy 2: Strengthen the image of beef and the beef industry

Strategy 2 Proposed Cost: $115,625

Measurable objectives:

Strategically:

o  Provide veal issues management team with quarterly report of monitored issues including media coverage, social media discussion, break-down of coverage by state and overall perception of negative vs. positive coverage of each issue.

o  Distribute updated talking points, issue briefs and other necessary outreach material, on a quarterly basis, to veal community and state beef councils as necessary to highlight emerging or topical issues.

o  Review current VQA manual and conduct a GAP analysis of existing guidance and new information to ensure updates are consistent with current knowledge and science

o  Review and update VQA manual based on oversight committee work and to ensure it is consistent with veal industry ethical principles and code of conduct.

o  Update veal certification tests

o  Develop new VQA brochure that articulates the value of the quality assurance program, educates on certification process and encourages all veal farmers to participate.

o  Increase VQA participation over current benchmark by 10%.

o  Update members’ section of www.vealfarm.com with new materials and information about VQA manual revise.

Specific Tactic Information:

Tactic 2A: Veal Issues Management: Actively monitor, analyze, report on and respond to key industry and production issues that have the potential to undermine consumer and customer trust in veal practices and veal products. Utilizing a proprietary system to regularly review more than 180,000 traditional media sources and more than 260 million user-generated sources (social media) to monitor and track the public discussion surrounding consumer and customer confidence in and support for veal products and veal practices.

§  Proposed cost: $56,250

Tactic 2B: Veal Quality Assurance: The VQA program provides veal and dairy farmers with science-based best practices and on-farm education as well as the opportunity to define responsible production practices that meet the expectations of customer and consumers. The VQA program also provides the veal community and veal marketing team the ability to engage with veal retail and food service customers in a way that builds support for and confidence in veal products and practices that maintain the food safety and quality attributes of veal.

§  Proposed cost: $59,375

IV. DETAILED BUDGET SUMMARY
Strategy & Tactic / Program
Manager / Completion
Date / Total FY
2014 Budget (Direct + Estimated Implementation) / Total
Direct Cost / Direct Cost by Funding Source / Est.
Impl.
CBB/BPOC / FSBCs / Other
Strategy 2: Strengthen the image of beef and the beef industry / B. Carpenter / 9/30/2014
Tactic 2A: Veal Issues Management / B. Carpenter / 9/30/2014 / $56,250 / $45,000 / $45,000 / $11,250
Tactic 2B: Veal Quality Assurance / B. Carpenter / 9/30/2014 / $59,375 / $47,500 / $47,500 / $11,875
Totals - Strategy 2 / $115,625 / $92,500 / $92,500 / $23,125
AR Totals / $115,625 / $92,500 / $92,500 / $23,125

V. Supplemental Information

A.  Will all of the work detailed in this AR be completed by the end of the fiscal year? If not, please provide an explanation. Yes

B. Changes from FY 2013 Approved AR:

·  Revise and update Veal Quality Assurance materials.

·  Update websites and media tools for increased dissemination of materials

C. Subcontractor information (agencies, etc.):

·  Name of proposed subcontractor: CMA

·  Will all work with subcontractors be competitively bid? If not, why not?

The subcontractor has assisted with veal programs in previous years and their expertise and experience will help deliver impactful initiatives.

D. Identify any relationships between this AR and projects previously funded by the Operating Committee: The Operating Committee has previously funded veal focused programs that have been managed by the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association. This is the first authorization request focused on veal issues management and quality assurance submitted by the North American Meat Association.

E. Summary of Prior Year AR Budgets and Expenses:

N/A. This is the first year NAMA has submitted this AR.

F. Historical Summary of Budgets and Expenses:

N/A. This is the first year NAMA has submitted this AR.

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