National Cattlemen's Beef Association or NCBA, an advocacy group for beef producers in the United States, reports that it works "to increase profit opportunities for cattle and beef producers by enhancing the business climate and building consumer demand."

The NCBA operates the Cattle Industry Annual Convention & Trade Show and Cattle Industry Summer Conference.

Advertising campaign

The NCBA is the group responsible for the ad campaign run in the U.S. using the slogan "Beef. It's What's for Dinner

Beef. It's What's For Dinner

"Beef. It's What's For Dinner" is an American advertising slogan and campaign aimed to promote the benefits of incorporating beef into a healthy diet...

" Music from the ballet Rodeo by Aaron Copland

Aaron Copland

Aaron Copland was an American composer, composition teacher, writer, and later in his career a conductor of his own and other American music. He was instrumental in forging a distinctly American style of composition, and is often referred to as "the Dean of American Composers"...

 is used in the radio and television commercials. On January 21, 2008, Matthew McConaughey

Matthew McConaughey

Matthew David McConaughey is an American actor.After a series of minor roles in the early 1990s, McConaughey gained notice for his breakout role in Dazed and Confused . He then appeared in films such as A Time to Kill, Contact, U-571, Tiptoes, Sahara, and We Are Marshall...

 became the current spokesman of the organization, having taken over from Sam Elliott

Sam Elliott

Samuel Pack "Sam" Elliott is an American actor. His rangy physique, thick horseshoe moustache, and deep, resonant voice match the iconic image of a cowboy or rancher, and he has often been cast in such roles.-Early life:Sam Elliott was born in Sacramento, California, to a physical training...

 and the late Jim Davis

Jim Davis (actor)

Jim Davis was an American actor, best known for his role as Jock Ewing in the CBS prime-time soap Dallas, a role which he held up until his death in April 1981.-Biography:...

 and Robert Mitchum

Robert Mitchum

Robert Charles Durman Mitchum was an American film actor, author, composer and singer and is #23 on the American Film Institute's list of the greatest male American screen legends of all time...

.

Financial background

The National Cattlemen's Beef Association is funded partially by membership dues and partially through the Beef Checkoff which imposes a mandatory assessment each time a head of cattle is sold This tax, which was authorized by Congress in the Beef Promotion and Research Act of 1985, brings in around $85 million a year, of which the NCBA receives roughly $55 million. The constitutionality of the mandatory assessment was called into question with the hearing of the Supreme Court of the United States case Johanns v. Livestock Marketing Assn., in which the justices ruled in favor of the tax in a 6-3 decision.