Beef and Dairy Unite to Tell Their Stories
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Suggested Lead: We recently caught up with Stan Erwine (pron. er win), vice president of producer relations for Dairy Management, Inc., who spoke to us about the importance of the dairy and beef checkoff’s working together to train farmers and ranchers on ways to effectively tell their modern production story. Erwine travels the country, leading farmers through interactive working sessions designed with the future of the dairy beef operation in mind. It is more important than ever before for farmers and ranchers to establish positive relationships with the community, and with that in mind, his sessions teach new skills and provide farmers with a number of tools they can use to help communicate about their operation.
Erwine recently collaborated with the beef checkoff to train a group of dairy/beef farmers.
Erwine 1: “Only 1.8 percent of the U.S. population is now involved in agriculture, so that would make dairy a fraction of that 1.8 percent. As such, most consumers are two to three generations removed from dairy farming and as such, are unfamiliar with what today’s modern farm looks like, the management practices, the individual care that we use. And I think they equate values of animal care, care for the environment, with the dairy in the 60s when those same values are in place today, more-so using technology and management practices that actually deliver better animal care and those values are on those dairies whether they have 250 cows or 1,500 cows.” (44 seconds)
A farmer’s checkoff investment supports many programs, including protecting the industry from false information and telling consumers the true story of American agriculture. These checkoff-funded “issues management” activities include providing consumers, media and other influencers with factual information about animal welfare, producer practices, beef safety, Beef Quality Assurance, nutrition and the impact of beef production on the environment. These issues management programs also help give individual farmers and ranchers the tools we need to help us tell our story. Erwine discusses what programs are available and why they’re important.
Erwine 2: “Today, with the advent of the internet and the ability of information, or misinformation, to get out, we’ve got to tell our story. So that’s the basis of the Telling Your Story program. And then on the beef side, the beef industry has the Masters of Beef Advocacy to do the same thing – step into that gap – that information void and tell our story. It’s pretty exciting and it’s often very well-received.” (21 seconds)
To sign up for the beef checkoff's MBA program, e-mail MBA@beef.org. Contact your state and regional dairy promotion organization (www.dairycheckoff.com) for more information about the dairy checkoff’s “Telling Your Story” program.
For information on other efforts being funded with your beef checkoff investment, visit www.MyBeefCheckoff.com.
The Beef Checkoff Program was established as part of the 1985 Farm Bill. The checkoff assesses $1 per head on the sale of live domestic and imported cattle, in addition to a comparable assessment on imported beef and beef products. States retain up to 50 cents on the dollar and forward the other 50 cents per head to the Cattlemen’s Beef Promotion and Research Board, which administers the national checkoff program, subject to USDA approval.
Funded by the Beef Checkoff.
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