LETTER from the editor
When I was growing up, I showed twice a year at the Oklahoma City Fairgrounds. Then, Barn 3 was “The Big Red Barn” and some shows were held where commercial exhibits are now displayed during Cattlemen’s Congress. I was often stalled right next to this show ring. With the excitement of live shows in The Big Red Barn, my stalls seemed to be ground zero for people wandering through to see the action. At nine years old, I was thrust into the role of “agvocate.” I often explained that my horned heifers were not bulls just because they had horns. And, many parents asked if their kids could pet my animals. It may not have been convenient, but I started talking to consumers about the beef industry and agriculture the best I could. Now, people have moved even farther away from having any knowledge about agriculture, and our industry is increasingly taking on having to defend ourselves when what you see on social media or the news isn’t always factual. We can’t expect consumers to know our story if we stay silent. In a Washington Post story about a dairy industry survey, the study found that 16.4 million Americans think chocolate milk comes from brown cows — that’s more than Ohio’s population. The same article told of kids interviewed in a California school. More than half didn’t know pickles were cucumbers or that onions and lettuce were plants. Four in 10 didn’t know that hamburgers came from cows, and three in 10 didn’t know cheese was made from milk. The disconnect with consumers is real. I saw this firsthand a few years ago when I was marketing a movie in the film industry. Traveling to film festivals in Hollywood and upscale towns across America, I realized how agriculture has lost its standing to biased, anti-ag documentaries. When I listened to a filmmaker in upstate New York, people at a food truck park at Michael Moore’s Michigan festival or took an Uber through an upscale L.A. neighborhood, it really struck me how much of this world makes decisions based on emotions instead of facts. I was uneasy in these settings. In the movie I marketed, a Native American storyteller explained the untold story of Native Americans to the urban masses in 1920s. Just as she took uncomfortable action in audiences unfamiliar with her story, we in the beef industry must do the same. The agriculture experts I’ve listened to preach, “SCIENCE, SCIENCE, SCIENCE.” I don’t believe science is the way to change the hearts and minds of people, so we must learn how to wrap science into our emotional story. In this issue, you’ll see several scholarship winners (page 20) who list misinformation as the greatest industry challenge. Red Angus producer, Macey Mueller, addresses how to tell your story on page 16. I certainly don’t have the answers to this decades-old dilemma, but I do know that each of us who exhibits at a show or takes on a 4-H or FFA beef project has a duty to start telling your story, one person at a time. If you can’t take a big action, start with a small step. In closing, let me be the first Okie to welcome NAJRAE exhibitors to my home state of Oklahoma! As we celebrate the “Legend of the Reds,” I leave you with a quote from one of our state’s most legendary sons. Live your best life,
“Even if you’re on the right track, you’ll get run over if you just sit there.” — Will Rogers 4
BUCKLE & BANNER | SUMMER 2022
18335 E. 103rd Ave., Ste. 202 Commerce City, CO 80022 940-387-3502 | FAX 888-829-6069 info@redangus.org | RedAngus.org Chief Executive Officer Tom Brink, Ext. 4, tombrink@redangus.org Director of Breed Improvement Ryan Boldt, Ext. 12, ryan@redangus.org Beef Cattle Geneticist Dr. Lindsay Upperman, Ext. 29, lindsay@redangus.org Director of Office Operations Halla Pfeiff, Ext. 10, halla@redangus.org REDSPro & Registry Specialist Billie Boyd, Ext. 6, billie@redangus.org REDSPro & Registry Specialist Nicole Rebitski, Ext. 5, nicole@redangus.org DNA Data Programs Coordinator Alana Skelton, Ext. 14, alana@redangus.org DNA Customer Service Specialist Kai Miranda, Ext. 24, kai@redangus.org Database and Registration Consultant Kenda Ponder, Ext. 15, kenda@redangus.org Director of Commercial Marketing Harold Bertz, 816-661-2289, harold@redangus.org Assistant Director of Field Services Katie Martin , Ext. 16, katieochsner@redangus.org Commercial Marketing Specialist Nolan Woodruff, Ext. 9, nolan@redangus.org Commercial Marketing Specialist Rachael Oliver, 406-480-1569, rachael@redangus.org Commercial Marketing Specialist Cale Hinrichsen, 785-456-3969, cale@redangus.org Assistant Director, Value Added Programs Chessie Mitchell, Ext. 20, chessie@redangus.org Value Added Programs Specialist Jeananne Drouhard, Ext. 18, jeananne@redangus.org Director of Education & Junior Programs Dr. Kim Heller, 515-851-2019, juniors@redangus.org RAM Publisher & Advertising Director Tracey Koester, 701-391-5440, tracey@redangus.org RAM Editor & Director of Communications Brandi Buzzard Frobose, 785-448-0239, brandi@redangus.org B&B Publisher & Communications Specialist Lisa Bryant, 405-766-8942, lisa@redangus.org Show Specialist Erin Dorsey, 970-396-5420, erin@redangus.org Accounting Director Janet Russell, Ext. 11, janet@redangus.org Membership and Receivables Specialist Margaux Midas, Ext. 7, margaux@redangus.org Receptionist Marilyn Imthum, Ext. 3, receptionist@redangus.org
