Beef checkoff success stories were highlighted at CattleCon 2026. Val Wagner, who is a director with the North Dakota Beef Commission, is excited about the latest consumer trends. “Even though there’s an increased price at the grocery store for proteins, we’re seeing increased consumption.” The growing use of GLP-1s for weight loss is also increasing the need for protein. Wagner calls that a huge win for beef. “Even though we’ve seen an increase in proteins, the beef increase itself is 12.4 percent in value and 4.3 percent in volume in the increase in protein, so beef is actually what consumers are choosing when they go and check out.”
