Today's Beef Consumer

Michael Simone is Executive Director, Market Research & Intelligence, and part of the Scientific Affairs team. In his role, Mike leads a team responsible for beef’s market research efforts, providing timely information on business intelligence insights, consumer experience, and loyalty analytics to users at all levels including industry stakeholders, as well as support across functional teams at NCBA.
Prior to working at NCBA, Mike was Senior Associate/Director of Outdoor Recreation Research with a consulting firm in Boulder, CO where he led strategic planning and analytical research efforts for a variety of businesses and industries, including travel and tourism, skiing and snow sports, golf course operations, resorts, mountain town municipalities, CVB’s and DMO’s, lodging properties and hotels, transportation agencies and airports, the National Park Service, and other parks, recreation, open space, and trails public agencies around the U.S. Mike also developed a niche of performing economic impact studies of special events and festivals for towns and communities. Mike previously served on the Executive Board of Directors and was a past president of the Travel and Tourism Research Association (TTRA)—Great Western Chapter.
Mike is originally from Ohio and grew up in Oklahoma. Mike is a graduate of Oklahoma State University with a B.S. and M.S in Geography with emphasis on statistics. Mike and his wife Jen have residences in Lafayette and Louisville, CO while Mike’s daughter is currently attending the University of Texas at Austin and Mike’s son is a recent graduate of the University of North Texas at Denton. Mike is an avid traveler, hiker, biker, skier, camper, and four-wheel drive enthusiast.

Haden Comstock is the Associate Director of Market Intelligence & Tracking at the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, where he provides current, economic-based insights related to beef demand. He serves as a lead resource for beef pricing, supply/demand factors and market performance to checkoff program areas, state beef councils, and other industry stakeholders. Additionally, he is responsible for monitoring current market conditions and economic factors impacting beef demand and the business climate for retail and foodservice operations.
Originally from central Oklahoma, Haden grew up in the agriculture industry and attended Oklahoma State University where he studied agricultural economics and animal science. He then worked within the Farm Credit System for one year before deciding to attend graduate school, where he obtained a Master of Science degree in agricultural economics from Purdue University. While in graduate school, Haden worked within the Center for Commercial Agriculture conducting economic analysis pertaining to various aspects of the agriculture industry.
Haden lives in Highlands Ranch, CO, with his wife Sierra and their two dogs Beau and Ginny. They enjoy exploring the beautiful Denver area, hiking, camping, and burrowing into a good book.