“There is no use whatever trying to help people who do not help themselves. You cannot push anyone up a ladder unless he is willing to climb himself.” Andrew Carnegie.
This past week I attended the Butler County Livestock Association Meeting. The majority of livestock producers, ranchers and farmers Butler County attended this meeting. Todd Johnson, the Executive Director of the Kansas Beef Council presented the condensed version of a beef industry nation wide poll of beef consumers.
Todd reported on several categories that were identified by the consumers of beef as limiting factors they use to consider the purchase of beef. When consumers are given choices of what to purchase for their families they have some very specific criteria they use.
The first limiting factor is price. With the economy today the demand by the “white table cloth” consumer is down. People are choosing to not eat out as often but the demand at retail has increased. The $20.00 steak at the restaurant has less appeal when you can buy the same cut and grill it yourself.
The second factor is safety of the product. Bad publicity from a few isolated incidents such as product recall will make the consumer less likely to feel their purchase is safe. When a packer plant has a reported violation the impact can be felt quickly throughout the industry.
The beef industry has brought new technologies to fight disease that may be present at the processing plant. Hide washing of the animal prior to processing, ultra-violet lights are locate throughout the plants to fight bacteria, and increased use of disease controlling vaccinations.
The third limiting factor is convenience. A product that is easy to prepare quickly and micro-waveable sells better than some products that take longer preparation time. The crock-pot roast is still very popular however the frozen steak that can be thawed quickly and grilled still has the consumer interest.
Another limiting factor is nutrition value. The industry has responded by producers raising beef with less fat and more protein, and the processor by cutting away more of the fat prior to packaging. The US consumer can be described as “overfed and undernourished”.
We are continually informed of the obesity and overweight problem faced by a growing number of consumers. The beef industry believes it has the responsibility to produce leaner cuts of beef. Through improved genetics and processing standards the cuts available to us are much more nutritious.
A dollar per head of beef called Check-off; is assessed to help fund various programs for the industry. The program does not own cattle, packing plants, or retail outlets. The beef Checkoff program was designed to stimulate beef production and consumption and is accomplished through a combination of advertising, public relations, education and new product development.
The Checkoff program raised $10 million in Kansas in 2008. Kansas ranks 6th nationally in export of farm products with a value of $5.9 Billion, statewide the production value is $14.0 billion. For more information see www.kansasbeef.org, or www.kla.org.
The Budget debate continues and with the latest revenue figures that will be revealed in a few weeks, some remain hopeful the receipts will be at such a level to prevent further cuts. The Governor has chosen to wait and see the revenue numbers before he will consider ordering more allotments, which are across the board cuts for each agency. The reports are he would rather the legislature make the necessary adjustments.
No matter how you look at it the State of Kansas is just not bringing in enough money to fund all the wants and needs. The agencies have been asked to look at additional 2% cuts that may be required before the 2010 session begins. Remember this budget year runs until June 30th, and the numbers for 2011 look bleak as well.
This should make for an opportunity to highlight inefficiencies, consider eliminating duplication of services and perhaps consolidating services. As with any business if the revenue does not go up then expenses must come down. Those may not be our only choices, many think we should look at a combination of the two.
Thanks to all of you who have submitted suggestions and offered comment on my Internet questionnaire. The next update I will compile responses and report on them for your review, get your comments in today.
I spent a couple of days last week working with the Corrections and Juvenile Justice Oversight Committee. We were in Topeka conducting hearings on a variety of topics. Most of our problems contain elements of lack of funds, lack of effective programs, and community perception of corrections efforts.
We had a meeting with the stakeholders in the Inmate Transportation issue. Since the North Unit was closed we have had to work out transporting the inmates from Winfield Correctional Facility to El Dorado. The biggest problem has turned out to be we need reliable drivers that possess a CDL and can be certified to supervise inmates.
Sometimes we lack a driver to bring our 35-40 Inmate workers here to help with the recycle centers, park maintenance, and other tasks. We would welcome applicants, if you are interested get in touch with me and I will get you in contact with the right people.
I consider it an honor and privilege to represent you in Topeka and I want to know what you think. My contact information remains; home 316-321-2087, 1115 Rim Rock Road, El Dorado 67042, johng@carlisleinc.net, www.johngrange.net.
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