About the Virginia Beef Council

The Virginia Beef Council is a non-profit organization working on behalf of nearly 22,000 beef producers in the Commonwealth. Virginia's 42,000 farm families continue to be the stewards of more than 7.7 million acres of farmland.   

The Beef Council administers the Beef Checkoff program  in Virginia, which assesses $1 per head on the sale of live domestic and imported cattle, in addition to a comparable assessment on imported beef and beef products. Checkoff revenues may be used for promotion, consumer and industry information,  foreign marketing and research programs to build demand for beef.   

 The Beef Checkoff Program was established as part of the 1985 Farm Bill. The checkoff assesses $1 per head on the sale of live domestic and imported cattle, in addition to a comparable assessment on imported beef and beef products. States may retain up to 50 cents on the dollar and forward the other 50 cents per head to the Cattlemen's Beef Promotion and Research Board, which administers the national checkoff program, subject to USDA approval. Internal links within this document are funded and maintained by the Beef Checkoff.  All other outgoing links are to websites maintained by third parties.  

Virginia Beef Council has a Board of Directors and a full-time staff.