2010 National Beef Ambassador Team Sharing The Message About Beef
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Suggested Lead: We recently caught up with three of the five 2010 checkoff-funded National Beef Ambassadors and asked them what they believed their role was in sharing the good news about beef. We began by talking with Jackson Alexander, high school senior from Anadarko, Oklahoma, whose enthusiasm for the beef industry came bellowing through:
Alexander 1: “I felt like as a cattle producer and a young rancher in this nation, I have an obligation to stand up for what’s right for this industry and what I believe in.” (9 seconds)
Alexander highlighted a few top-line experiences he’ll be privy to this upcoming year as a Beef Ambassador.
Alexander 2: “Throughout the year, the Ambassador team and I will travel to a number of destinations across the country, including the Pennsylvania Farm Show, Certified Angus Beef training, the summer Cattle Industry Convention, and we’ll talk to people from a wide range of areas, whether it be the producer or the consumer, people in urban areas or out on the family farm.” (22 seconds)
Alexander said he looks forward to the traveling, meeting new people and making more connections within the industry.
Alexander 3: “I truly enjoy being able to get out and talk to people, educating people about the way of life that we truly enjoy so much. And I plan to major in agricultural communications at Oklahoma State and I feel like this program can benefit me in the career I want some day.” (16 seconds)
We also were able to speak with Malorie Bankhead who resides on her family’s cow/calf operation in Livermore, Calif. Bankhead says the beef industry is the largest sector of the agricultural industry and she’s proud to be a part of it.
Bankhead 1: “I believe that the Beef Ambassador Program is a great opportunity for youth in our organization to tell our story and to help advocate for the beef industry. If I had one thing to tell a consumer, I’d ensure them that beef is a safe, wholesome and nutritious product and that the farmers and ranchers that raise these cattle care about our product.” (19 seconds)
Ellen Hoffschneider from Arlington, Neb., had her first calf named “Pinkie” when she was three, and that passion for the industry has ultimately carried her through to be a 2010 National Beef Ambassador. She said her three primary messages to consumers are: 1) beef producers care about their animals; 2) beef producers are capable – they create a great product for consumers; and 3) as an Ambassador, I aim to communicate the great message about beef.
Hoffschneider 1: “That’s really a lot of what we do is communicate with consumers and give more of kind of a passionate excitement to the beef industry for young people and for consumers. We also have a Facebook page and a Twitter account and a blog that we’ll update at least once a week. So we really are just trying to catch the consumer out there and tell them the great story that beef is. ” (22 seconds)
For information on other efforts being funded with your beef checkoff investment, visit MyBeefCheckoff.com. You can follow the 2010 National Beef Ambassadors at www.beefambassador.com www.twitter.com/beefambassador and www.facebook.com/ beefambassador.
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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