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NATIONAL CATTLEMEN
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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.
Enthusiastic Response Seen to Beef Has Starring Role at 77th Tennessee Culinary Tour Sturgis® Motorcycle Rally™ This past spring the Tennessee Beef Industry Council (TBIC) hosted an informationpacked and energetic four-day culinary tour that provided information about beef to teachers across the state. The checkoff-funded tour focused on three post-secondary culinary schools in Tennessee, and included a High School Culinary Teachers Workshop. At the workshop, NCBA beef cutting expert Bridget Wasser provided a cutting demonstration to the group, while Chef Dave Zino shared an umami presentation to show how beef complements many tastes and menus. Teachers prepared beef recipes using beef Wasser had cut during her demonstration, with the intention of sending teachers
home with new and innovative beef ideas for their classrooms. TBIC’s Janna Sullivan shared with the group the resources available to them from the Beef Checkoff Program, including TBIC’s new “Beef for the Classroom” grant program, which provides incentives to teachers to feature beef in their food education efforts. The remainder of the tour to post-secondary schools focused on umami and included interactive sessions where students developed new and interesting recipes from different cuts, with surprise competitions allowing students to win beef prizes. Tremendous response to the tour from schools was received, Sullivan says, with stronger relationships with culinary schools established. As a result, an expanded TBIC culinary tour in coming years is under consideration.
was also handed out. Kita Roberts, who Celebrating beef promotes beef and other meats as Girl as the Official Meat Carnivore on social media and online at of the 77th Sturgis® Motorcycle Rally™, www.girlcarnivore.com, was on hand to the South Dakota Beef visit with the participants. Industry Council (SDBIC) showcased With almost five cows for every the taste, convenience, nutrition and resident and raising about 3.85 million tradition of America’s favorite protein cattle and calves in the state annually, to the Rally’s hundreds of thousands of South Dakota was a natural setting for visitors in August. this beef promotion, says Geppert. About The South Dakota beef community half of the South Dakota farms and made a special effort to engage with ranches raise beef cattle, and the beef rally goers on Monday, Aug. 7, said industry makes an almost $4.5 billion SDBIC Executive Director Suzy Geppert. economic impact on the state. Meanwhile, beef images appeared throughout the event on materials, signs and banners. In addition, South Dakota beef producers helped man a beef booth along Highway 34 near Belle Fourche that featured information about the beef industry SDBIC’s Holly Swee (left) and Suzy Geppert (right) welcome in the state and the Jessi Combs back to the state. A television personality and metal value of beef in fabricator in (state), Combs is originally from South Dakota and the diet. Beef jerky was Grand Marshal for the 2017 Sturgis Motorcycle Rally.
Many culinary students, instructors and professional chefs got a chance to experience beef in many ways at the American Culinary Federation 2017 National Convention at Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort in Orlando, Fla., in July (see Dave Zino’s column on page 19). State beef councils from Texas, Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Iowa and South Dakota extended national beef checkoff efforts at the event. Among the programs was a “Beef for Breakfast, Brunch & Beyond” session, where beef for breakfast menus was promoted to more than 50 participants, who were encouraged to contact their state beef council for more ways to feature beef in their operations. Participants in the 2017 TBIC Culinary Tour were excited to learn more about how they could use beef in their classrooms and had tremendous fun at the organization’s events.
Chefs from throughout the country and representing numerous outlets – including the U.S. Air Force – participated in the ACF convention sessions in Orlando that featured beef. ACF represents about 17,500 culinary professionals across the United States.