CONNECTING WITH CONSUMERS Engaging with Students at ThinkAg Career Competitions

By Jennifer Kyle, Manager of Public Engagement and Digital Strategy jennifer@ontariobeef.com • www.ontbeef.com

Wehave some big plans for 2023 and with the budget recently approved, work has begun. One project, among many others, is a supercharged BBQ Battle. With this being the fourth iteration of the Battle, we wanted to kick things up a notch, so stay tuned for more information as we get closer to the summer kick-off.

While we waited to get rolling with our plan, we were able to participate in a couple of events and complete our first microinfluencer wave of the year. Though it was quiet, we saw great success with the few activities we did undertake during the lull in activity. Check out some of the highlights below.

We Need You!

As we get under way with our consumer engagement plans, a big part of those plans is sharing the story of the farmers and how they raise their cattle and care for the land. They say a picture is worth a thousand words, but we might argue, in this day and age, a picture is worth a million and a video is worth more! With that in mind, we are currently looking for beef farmers interested in having us come to the farm for a photoshoot this summer, as well as those willing to let us highlight them on our social media through mini profiles throughout the year. If you are interested, please connect with me at the BFO office.

Toronto Food and Drink Fest

In April, we had the opportunity to partner with The Chef Collective and Samurai Media to have a presence at the Toronto Food and Drink Festival. While participating in the show would not have been feasible on our own, this partnership allowed us to have a presence and, of course, show off delicious Ontario beef for a very reasonable sponsorship investment.

Chef Joe Friday was grilling up some delicious Ontario beef Butter Burgers, while well-known mixologist Brenton from @CheerstoHappyHour mixed up tasty cocktails to complement.

Darby from the BFO office went to check it all out and reported back that the burgers were indeed delicious - there was definitely a reason there was a never-ending line up and they ran out of product completely by the end of day two!

ThinkAg Career Competitions

In March, BFO had the opportunity to participate as station leaders at four of AgScape’s ThinkAg Career Competitions. The events are designed to have students in grades seven through 12 rotate through the stations and learn about different careers related to agriculture and food production by way of interactive activities.

The first event was held at Waterloo-Oxford District Secondary School in Baden, while the other three were part of a four-day tour of schools in Lambton County. Altogether, we interacted with over 1,700 students across the four events.

game. The students worked in small groups to earn carbon and wildlife points by rotationally grazing their herd of cattle and working with the wildlife and plant species in the area. The game was a huge hit with the students AND the teachers! The record for carbon points earned by a group in 10 minutes was 12. Not bad since 15 are needed to win!

The career competitions were a great way to engage with an audience that we normally are challenged to reach, so we look forward to the opportunity to participate at more events in the future.

Restaurants Canada Show

Ontario Beef was well-represented at the recent Restaurants Canada Show in Toronto. John Baker and the Ontario Beef Market Development Program team had a great booth set-up in the Ontario section of the show, which also had several Ontario beef brands with booths on-site.

For those who have not been to or heard of the Restaurants Canada Show, it is the restaurant and food service tradeshow equivalent to the Outdoor Farm Show. Instead of farm machinery, crop inputs and livestock feed, food service folks can source their restaurant furniture, ingredients and even robots to deliver food to tables.

We’re Looking for Beef Ambassadors

We are currently seeking enthusiastic beef advocates to serve as Beef Ambassadors at the Ontario Beef booth in “The Farm” building at this year’s Canadian National Exhibition (CNE) being held in Toronto August 18 – September 4, 2023. The Beef Ambassadors will be responsible for greeting visitors at the Ontario Beef booth, answering questions and talking about beef, beef cattle and beef farming, and handing out materials and, of course, some fun swag! If you might be interested in helping for a day or two, contact Jenn at the the province announced two welcomed initiatives to improve access to large animal veterinary care in the years to come. Although the announcements did not come with in depth details, the following information has been shared:

• Funding to train an additional 20 veterinary students a year through a collaborative program between the OVC and Lakehead University, located in Thunder Bay. Recruitment would be targeted at students from northern, rural and Indigenous communities, and students would spend their first two years at Lakehead University and their final two years at the OVC in Guelph.

• The Veterinarian Incentive Program will look to incentivize recently graduated veterinarians to practice large animal veterinary medicine in an underserviced area. Those eligible will receive grants of up to $50,000 over five years for working in an underserviced area, treating large animals. The program has an eight-year timeline and will invest $900,000 over the first three years and increase to $5 million over the following five years.

We were pleased to see these initiatives announced and although the impacts of these programs will not be felt immediately, we certainly believe they will help to improve access to large animal veterinary care in Ontario in the years to come. BFO is also participating in the review of the Veterinarians Act, which should also aid in improving the scope of practice for veterinarians and veterinary technicians. We will continue to raise this issue with government and work with our industry partners to advance other recommendations to improve access to large animal veterinary care. OB