State cattlemen honor two area companies as Beef Backers

Special to Kentucky Agricultural News

Kroger MidSouth Division and Texas Roadhouse Inc., a Louisville-based restaurant chain, received 2009 Beef Backer awards from the Kentucky Beef Council during the Kentucky Cattlemen’s Annual Convention in January.  The retailer and restaurant chain are now in the running for national Beef Backer awards; those winners will be named at the end of January in San Antonio, Texas.

The Kentucky beef industry contributes $605 million (2007) to the state economy and includes 2.40 million head of cattle and over 38,000 beef producers.

“It’s always an enjoyable honor to recognize the people who are directly responsible for promoting and presenting our products to consumers,” said Steve Downs, chairman of the Kentucky Beef Council. “We all have the same goal – making sure customers enjoy delicious, nutritious, wholesome beef, every time they purchase it.”

Kroger has 166 stores in its MidSouth Division, which includes Kentucky, Tennessee, Indiana and Illinois. In 2009, the division sold more than 42 million pounds of beef, an increase of 11.5 percent over the same period last year. Kroger featured beef in 48 of 52 weekly ads it ran during the year. The retailer worked closely with the Kentucky Beef Council and through its entire division, promoting beef nutrition, flexibility and economy in a variety of in-store and out-of-store activities in 2009. Kroger also provided all the beef for the beef council’s meat case display at the state fair.

Some 49 percent of Texas Roadhouse menus feature beef. The company, which currently operates 330 U.S. restaurant units in 46 states, relies on in-house meat cutters to hand-cut steaks daily.  The company also takes care to feature properly aged Choice beef.  For the past two years, Texas Roadhouse has demonstrated how to cut beef at home for some 600,000 fair goers, and passed out samples of beef as well, in cooperation with the beef council and Kentucky cattlemen. Restaurant representatives have also participated in beef programs as guests on Secrets of Louisville Chefs Live!, a local TV program.  

“We are delighted to work with The Kentucky Beef Council and Kentucky Cattlemen’s Association.  Educating our consumers on the true benefits of beef utilization rewards our communities with sustainable economics,” said Greg Osborn, meat merchandiser, Mid-South Division, Kroger Stores.

“It’s an honor to be recognized by the Kentucky Beef Council, and we are thrilled to win this award. The Kentucky Beef Council is a great partner, and we are blessed to have such a great group of professionals educating consumers and promoting beef,” said GJ Hart, president and CEO of Texas Roadhouse.

For more information on the state beef industry, as well as recipes, cooking tips and more, visit www.kybeef.com.