As one of the new board members for the U.S. Farmers and Ranchers Alliance (USFRA), Katie Brenny representing the Federation of State Beef Councils got the gold mic treatment at last week’s meeting in Kansas City. Katie and her husband Ted live on a beef farm outside of Mazeppa, Minnesota where they raise Charolais and Angus cattle, and she says …
Ag Foundations Reach Students at USA Science Festival
The American Farm Bureau Foundation for Agriculture (AFBFA) and Pennsylvania Friends of Agriculture Foundation were able to provide important information about where food comes from to approximately 9,000 students and families through their booth at this year’s USA Science & Engineering Festival. The festival, held every two years, is the nation’s largest STEM education event of its kind, with total …
I AM USFRA – Dawn Caldwell
Dawn Caldwell is a very busy woman. Besides helping to run her family’s cow-calf operation in north central Kansas, not far from where they live in Clay County, Nebraska, the wife and mother of two works as head of governmental affairs for the Aurora Cooperative. In addition, she serves on the board of the Federation of State Beef Councils, and …
Schmacon Inventor Ready for Retail
The inventor of Schmacon, Howard Bender, accepted a challenge to do better than the turkey bacon he and a friend were eating one day. So he invented “Beef’s Answer to Bacon – Schmacon.” If you attended this year’s American Farm Bureau Federation convention you might remember being able to sample it. You can read his full story here (pdf). Smokey, …
Schmacon Kickstarter Campaign
You’ve possible heard of Schmacon. After all AgWired brought it to your attention a while ago. This is an award winning product that I’d like to find in my local grocery store. Apparently there is a big fan base that has been started from Schmacon tastings and via social media. Now, Howard Bender, chef and inventor, is ready to get …
“Rev It Up” My ROI Checkoff Challenge
The Beef Checkoff Program has a unique opportunity to encourage checkoff investors to share how they personally benefit from checkoff efforts, thanks to a generous donation from Yamaha of a three-passenger VikingT EPS 4×4 with specialized accessories and a total value of $21,728.07? Starting March 16, beef and dairy producers can enter the “Rev It Up” My ROI Checkoff Challenge …
USDA Seeks Input on New Beef Checkoff
The USDA Agricultural Marketing Service is seeking input on the development of a new industry-funded promotion, research and information order for beef. The new order would be in addition to the existing beef checkoff program, providing American beef producers with more resources for the marketing of their products and research to help strengthen the country’s beef industry. “Beef industry representatives …
2015 National Beef Ambassadors Selected
Rachel Purdy (Wyoming), Will Pohlman (Arkansas), Alicia Smith (Texas), Kalyn McKibben (Oklahoma), Demi Snider (Ohio) were chosen as the 2015 National Beef Ambassador Team at the annual National Beef Ambassador competition, which is funded in part by the beef checkoff and managed by the American National CattleWomen, Inc, contractor to the beef checkoff. Contestants from throughout the country vied for …
NCBA CEO Expresses Upbeat Spirits Towards Next Fiscal Year
Cattlemen’s grassroots organization, National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA), held their annual Cattle Industry Summer Conference in Denver, CO. last week. Producers and state organizations gathered to tackle and plan the coming year. Forrest Roberts, NCBA CEO, commented on the event and shared what we can see throughout the next fiscal year in terms of policy and markets. “This conference is …
James Garner Original Beef Spokesman
With the passing of film and television actor James Garner over the weekend, many are remembering his popular roles such as Bret Maverick in the 1950s western-comedy series Maverick and Jim Rockford in the 1970s detective drama The Rockford Files. One great role he played for the Beef Checkoff was the voice and face for some of the very first …