4 NATIONAL CATTLEMEN
T H E
www.BeefUSA.org
F E D E R A T I O N
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STATE BEEF COUNCILS
Building beef demand by inspiring, unifying and supporting an effective state/national checkoff partnership.
Cooking Class Features Seattle Blogger, Chef A recent sold-out cooking class with noted nutrition consultant, blogger and chef Kirsten Helle helped the Washington State Beef Commission delight and educate participants about Top Round and Ground Beef, as well as extend communications and excitement about beef via social media. The class, held in Seattle, was the second At the Kitchen Counter with Beef cooking class sponsored by the WSBC featuring Helle. At the class, Helle showed
attendees how to braise a Top Round Roast, sear and simmer Top Sirloin Steaks in a cast iron skillet, and whip up a quick Lean Ground Beef meal on the stove top. On-line promotion of ticket sales and post-class communication reached more than 450,000 Seattle-area millennials interested in cooking and nutrition. The ads for the event resulted in more than 5,000 post-engagement contacts and 2,250 clicks to learn more about the event.
Kansas Boosts BQA Trainings Six Beef Quality Assurance (BQA) trainings across Kansas this spring helped more than 650 producers in the state become BQA certified. The trainings and certification sessions were sponsored by the Kansas Beef Council and the Beef Cattle Institute at Kansas State University. Sessions covered the cow-calf, stocker and feedlot segments of the industry, and focused on topics such as animal husbandry best management practices, downed animal care, humane euthanasia and low-stress cattle handling techniques. BQA certification is quickly becoming a standard of production throughout the beef cattle industry, and support for its principles is widespread. For example, through an online “free-certification”
effort supported by Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica, Inc., nearly 2,000 producers from across the country signed up by April 15 to become BQA certified, with 65 percent having completed their certification by that date, the highest percentage in the program’s six-year history. (BIVI provides its support through the Beef Cattle Institute, which developed the on-line module.) The checkoff-funded BQA program is important to the cattle industry because it provides producers a set of best practices for producing quality beef. It also gives consumers the assurance that the beef they eat is both safe and wholesome. Producers are encouraged to explore the value of BQA to their operations and to the industry by going to www.bqa.org.
Checkoff Program Input Provided State beef council executives provided direct input into the 2017 proposed NCBA checkoff plan in early May. State executives and NCBA checkoff staff who help create authorization requests (ARs) conducted the grassroots conversation about proposals that would be presented at the Cattle Industry Summer Business Meeting in Denver in July. This input from the “boots on the ground” is crucial as the FY2017 plan, which will be submitted to the Beef Promotion Operating Committee, is
developed. The state executives on hand were able to share with NCBA staff how important shared vision between state councils and their national contractor is to a successful Beef Checkoff Program, and the value of a bottom-up, rather than topdown, approach to planning. In addition to explaining how they could extend programs, the executives provided ideas on how program ideas help support the Beef Industry Long Range Plan and current checkoff priorities.
Colorado’s Team BEEF Culinary Event Generates Benefits Donates to Food Bank Chef, blogger and consultant Kirsten Helle delighted and educated class members during the At the Kitchen Counter with Beef session in Seattle.
For Beef and Future Chefs
A two-day culinary tour and competition in New York has helped increase understanding of beef among an important audience – future chefs. The farm-to-fork tour, followed by presentations and a culinary cook-off, featured six New York culinary schools and created increased knowledge about beef, beef production and nutrition as well as goodwill among this important audience. The event was coordinated by the New York Beef Council with funding from the South Dakota Beef Industry Council. The event started with a tour of a small feedlot operation, processing facility and market, with students shown how cattle are handled, fed and cared for, including the proper administering of vaccinations and adherence to BQA standards. Grading and fabricating were also addressed. On the second day students received more information about beef, including beef nutrition, and industry information from Alison Krebs, NCBA director of beef market intelligence. This stage of the event was conducted at the prestigious New York Wine and Culinary Center in Canandaigua, N.Y. After presentations students from all six schools competed to determine who
could come up with the most creative way of preparing dishes from the rib subprimal that would generate economic opportunity and show off the versatility of beef for restaurants. At stake was $2,000 in prize money, won by State University of New York – Cobleskill. “We asked the students to do something different with the rib, and the students did an impressive job,” according to Jean O’Toole, director of integrated marketing communications for the NYBC. “Every school rose to the occasion, making this cut original and economical for their school restaurants – as well as for their own future restaurants. We hope this kind of event will inspire current and future restaurant chefs and owners to put these innovative cuts on their menus.” The tour and culinary competition was highly successful in delivering key beef industry messages to those participating. Prior to the event, nearly 68 percent of participants in a survey said they had concerns about cattle raising practices. In a post-event survey, 63 percent said they no longer had any concerns about beef production, with only 3.7 percent expressing having an issue with cattle farming practices, and 11.1 percent identifying questions about the nutrition value of beef.
The Colorado Beef Council and its Waples, a Team BEEF member. “The Food Bank of the Rockies makes a huge 250-member Team BEEF has helped put difference for people struggling with hunger meals on the tables of the hungry in the region this year, donating more than $1,324 throughout Colorado and Wyoming.” Tami Arnold, marketing director for the to the Food Bank of the Rockies. The funds were raised through purchases of team Colorado Beef Council, says donating to the Food Bank of the Rockies was an amazing jerseys and voluntary donations to the experience. CBC members presented the organization by the runners. The Food Bank of the Rockies is one check, and were able to take an eye-opening food bank tour. of the largest hunger relief organizations in the Rocky Mountain region, providing “We were awestruck with what the Food Bank of the Rockies does on a daily basis,” food for more than 411,000 people annually according to Arnold. “We were very proud to and distributing 121,000 meals each day through more than 800 hunger relief be part of it, not only for Team Beef, but for agencies and through its own direct service Colorado’s farming and ranching families, programs. Thanks to donations such as who work hard every day to produce food for American tables.” those from Team BEEF members, 96 cents Team BEEF will continue to donate of every dollar received goes directly to food distribution programs. to the Food Bank of the Rockies as new members join the team and additional According to Buck Boze, manager of jerseys are sold. corporate relations for the Food Bank of the Rockies, the money raised by Team BEEF will provide more than 5,300 meals for the state’s hungry, almost half of whom are children. “I’m really proud to represent Team BEEF in supporting this wonderful organization,” From left: Buck Boze, Food Bank of the Rockies; Tami Arnold, CBC; Brandy Atkins, Team says Karen Beef; Sharon Marchand, Team Beef; and Karen Waples, Team Beef.