PIERRE, S.D. (DRG News) -Summer is the peak season for beef sales with an average of approximately 30% of yearly beef dollars captured between Memorial Day and Labor Day.

To help kick off summer sales, May is celebrated nationally as Beef Month.

South Dakota Beef Industry Council executive director Suzy Geppert says Beef Checkoff dollars are used to encourage consumers to buy beef products.

Highmore area rancher and SDBIC board member Chris Effling says South Dakota producers raise some of the best beef in the world, but that doesn’t mean much if there’s no market for it.

Harrold area cattle producer VeaBea Thomas is also one of the SDBIC board members. She appreciates what the Beef Checkoff does to help promote her family’s livelihood.

South Dakota’s Beef Checkoff funds come from a mandatory $1 per head fee on all dairy and beef animals sold in the state. Fifty cents stays in South Dakota and 50 cents goes to national beef promotion efforts by the Cattlemen’s Beef Board.

South Dakota is home to nearly 30,000 farms and ranches with nearly 14,000 of them raising 3.9 million head of cattle, outnumbering state residents by over 4 to 1.

To learn more about the South Dakota Beef industry council and the Beef Checkoff, contact the office at 605-224-4722, visit sdbeef.org or follow the SDBIC on Facebook.