Crushing meat myths

May 6, 2011

Earlier this spring, we talked a lot about the stocker field day we hosted out in Hamilton, Kansas at the Collinge Ranch. From feedlot owners to veterinarians to university educators, we brought in as many cattle production experts that we could to bring insightful and useful information to stocker operators. These folks were all very well-received; I know cattlemen left that day with new management ideas to implement on the ranch.

But as I skimmed through evaluation sheets that evening, I was a bit suprised that the presentation that continually came up as “most valuable” and scored a 10 out of 10 was the final session. Janet Riley, the senior VP of public affairs at The American Meat Institute, traveled all the way from Washington, DC to chat with our group about “crushing agricultural myths.”

Those evaluation sheets told me our industry continues to recognize that telling our story is just as important to our livelihood as the latest and greatest genetic technology, health practices or grazing strategies.

In these online communities, we talk a lot about the need to educate consumers about what we do in the livestock business. But sometimes I think we miss an important step — educating ourselves on how to do that!

I’m a huge fan of the Masters of Beef Advocacy program, and I know there are many other resources out there to help equip farmers and ranchers with the tools they need to advocate for our industry. This week, an exciting project that Janet shared with our group this spring came to fruition — The AMI’s Meat Myth Crushers website.  

The site is a wealth of information and ideas that speak to the issues consumers question most about our industry. If you need any more encouragement to check it out,read what your fellow cattle producers had to say about the value of Janet’s presentation:

• Myth crushers, this is an increasing global problem
• Meat busters, we need more information put out
• Janet Riley, she gives us hope that we can still educate the consumer.
• Janet Riley, it is nice to hear what people think and how they are fighting it.
• Busting agricultural myths, it gave me many tools to defend the cattle industry.
• Busting agricultural myths, everyone needs to promote beef with proper information
• Ag myths, new info
• Myth crushers, very interesting
• Update on meat industry “myth crusher”
• I really appreciated Janet Riley’s presentation, this was important.

What was the most important thing you learned today?

• Ways to educate consumers about our industry.
• Tell my kids to tell their friends what we do.
• That kids are not as educated as they need to be
• The AMI website has good myth busting information.
• Work to counteract people who say not to eat beef, meat
• There are excellent “myth crushing” resources available, much more.
• Some interesting myths about meat

My favorite part of Janet’s presentation? The fact that she brought her son along with her. Talk about “walking the talk” – Riley, in his early teens, has a keen interest in animal agriculture. They flew out to Kansas a day early, stayed at a nearby B&B and got to experience a day on the ranch. What a cool experience for Riley to be able to take back to share with his DC-area friends and classmates!

Where do you gather information about being an advocate for the livestock industry? Have you taken the MBA course? Have you ever thought about inviting students like Riley out to your farm or ranch? We’d love to hear how you’re investing time in this area of ranch management!

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