Beef producers are often concerned about why consumers purchase beef over other proteins so they can make management improvements where possible.
In March 2023, the Kansas Beef Council teamed up with Kansas State University Agricultural Economics Extension and provided funding for a nationally representative survey of 3,001 U.S. consumers who identified and measured the importance of factors influencing beef purchasing decisions.
Consumers in the study ranked the importance of making beef purchase decisions through separate product attributes. Those were: freshness, price, safety of food, flavor/tenderness, animal welfare, no hormone/antibiotic use, supports local farmers, nutrition content and low carbon beef.
When the results were tabulated, the most important attributes were freshness, safety of food, price, and flavor/tenderness.
On the Kansas Cattle Chat podcast, the study results were explained by beef experts.
“Consumers just expect that the beef they purchase will have these qualities,” said Ted Schroeder, Kansas State University ag economist.
Schroeder said the results of the study were consistent with prior research efforts.
Some respondents chose low carbon beef as one of their choices. Of those, some 11 percent were non-beef eaters, while 10 percent were beef eaters.
“Having a consistent demand for beef aligns with the beef industry’s goal of economic sustainability,” said Phillip Lancaster, Kansas State beef cattle nutritionist and sustainability expert. “From a beef industry perspective, we categorize sustainability in three pillars: economic, social, and environmental.”
Economic sustainability is profitability at the ranch level, while social sustainability relates to animal welfare and how the public thinks beef producers are caring for their animals. Environmental sustainability combines such things as soil health, water quality, and greenhouse gas emissions.
“From a beef production standpoint, consumers rank animal welfare of greater importance when making purchasing decisions over greenhouse gas concerns,” Schroeder said.
In the study results, freshness and price were tied with 51 percent of respondents, while safety of food came from 49 percent of attributes, so those were the top three.
Casual Cattle Conversations
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Shaye Koester hosts “Casual Cattle Conversations,” a podcast for producers and consumers alike. Koester hosts such topics as how to improve your operation, both dairy and beef, and what cut of beef consumers prefer.
In one podcast on consumers, Aimee Tice, a stay-at-home mom with a husband and three kids, said she chooses beef as her main protein to feed her family.
“Before I had kids, I wasn’t as concerned about where my food came from. Now, as a mom, it’s really important to me. I really like to support locals on all levels, like buying my eggs and meat from local producers,” Aimee said.
She is the kind of consumer that beef producers want to hear from, so they know what an average mom of three kids wants in beef today.
“Aimee is a great example of someone who supports beef and the American dream. Her honest perspective about beef and willingness to share this with her friends and the world is positively impacting the beef industry as we know it today,” Shaye said. “Aimee’s honesty allows beef producers to better understand what matters to the consumer and how they can best connect with people outside of the beef production community.”
Aimee grew up in a rural community and was used to raising her own meat on a hobby farm with hogs. They always bought their meat from local ranchers or butchered their own meat.
“When I was little, I did not know that meat came from the grocery store. I thought you went out to the freezer full of meat wrapped in white butcher paper with red stamps and picked what you were going to eat for the week, so I guess I've always had local meat whether it was our own or from neighbors,” Aimee said.
As a mom, Aimee is focused on feeding her family the most nutritious meals possible. For her, this means staying away from as many preservatives, additives, and pre-packaged foods as possible.
“My favorite beef cut to cook is a roast. It is consistently good no matter how I prepare it. I like to put it in the crock pot sometimes and use the leftovers for sandwiches and other meals,” she said.
Aimee likes beef because it meets the needs of her family. Her husband has lost and kept off 140 pounds through clean eating. Her daughter also has sensitivities to dairy. Beef serves as a great protein source that can meet the needs of her entire family.
Aimee started a social media group called “What’s for Dinner Nebraska?” during COVID and the group continues to serve as a fun and informal place for Nebraskans and others to connect, share recipes, and teach each other new cooking techniques.
She found that her friends have different views on beef due to their lack of experience with cooking it.
“I think most people are familiar with hamburger and feel like it is a nice go-to that is versatile. But I think when it kind of comes down to like, even a roast or nice steak, people get a little nervous. They are worried about screwing up expensive cuts of beef,” she said.
Aimee encourages other consumers who are not involved in beef production to support local farmers and ranchers and buy beef.
“Investing in a deep freeze and making the effort to even split a beef with another family is worth it when you look at the quality protein source you can include in your family meals with beef,” she concluded.