The Cattlemen’s Beef Board (CBB) invites all eligible beef industry organizations to submit funding requests for programs and projects for the upcoming fiscal year 2027, which begins Oct. 1, 2026. Requests must be in the form of an authorization request (AR). Multiple program areas are eligible for funding, including promotion, research, foreign marketing, industry information, consumer information and producer communications.

By law, the Beef Checkoff—through their administrative body, the Cattlemen’s Beef Board—contracts with national, nonprofit, beef industry-governed organizations to carry out promotion, research and education work as directed in the Beef Promotion & Research Act and Order.

As outlined by the Beef Promotion and Research Order, eligible groups that may contract with the Beef Checkoff are established national nonprofit industry-governed organizations that 

• are nonprofit organizations pursuant to sections 501(c) (3), (5) or (6) of the Internal Revenue Code (26 U.S.C. 501(c) (3), (5) and (6)); and
• are governed by a national board of directors representing the cattle or beef industry; and
• have been active and ongoing for at least two years.

Organizations must submit a first-round draft of an authorization request to the CBB by June 8, 2026. At the 2026 Cattle Industry Summer Business Meeting in Denver, Colo., July 12-14, organizations will have the opportunity to present their specific plans and funding requests to various Beef Checkoff Program committees. This process allows producers and importers to provide input on Checkoff-funded programs and achieve the strategies outlined in the Beef Industry Long Range Plan (LRP).

The number of Beef Checkoff contracting organizations changes from year to year, as does the available amount of funding, which is based on the annual Checkoff collection. As an example, for the current fiscal year 2026, the Beef Promotion Operating Committee (BPOC) approved eight contractors to conduct Beef Checkoff work.

Qualified organizations interested in submitting an authorization request to the Cattlemen’s Beef Board for the upcoming 2027 fiscal year can contact Sara Arp, CBB Sr. Director of Operations, by June 1, 2026, at 303-220-9890 or sarp@beefboard.org. Final-draft authorization requests must be received by the CBB office by July 27, 2026, to be considered by the BPOC.

Source: Beef Checkoff