More than a taste of the beef industry

Each year we’re lucky to get to work with bright young students at the beginnings of their communication careers. This year we have two Kansas State University students joining the Black Ink crew for the summer. Forget the chance to “get their feet wet,”—the second day on the job we threw them right into team coverage we had guests in cattle country. 

Today we hear from Kaitlin Morgan, who grew up on a livestock operation in southwest Kansas. Enjoy! –Miranda

Barren, flat and stormy; like a scene from the movie Twister. This is just one image participants of the Master’s of Brand Advantages (MBA) program may have expected with a trip to Kansas, but instead they got the bright sunshine, cooling breeze and lush green pastures of the Flint Hills.

Participants came from all over the United States including Alaska, New York and Oregon.  We even had some of our partners along from Manitoba, Canada. But no matter where they came from, everyone had the same goal: to learn more about the beef industry so we can better serve the consumer.

This will be the seventh class to complete the MBA program since 2010.

Don Ellis works in Business Development for Sysco in Anchorage, Alaska; an area with more moose than cattle.  His job requires him to help train marketing associates, restaurant chefs and business owners.

“I hope to have a better understanding of where beef comes from, how it’s packed and why Certified Angus Beef is the best so when a customer asks me then I can tell them,” says Don. “I have a culinary background…I basically only know the bare bones of what beef is. I can identify it but as far as how it got to this package, I have no idea. That’s why I’m here to get a better understanding of what all that means.”

The MBA tours began at the purebred Angus ranch owned and operated by Dwayne and Debbie Blythe and their five children, where we learned about the genetics that form the foundation for high-quality beef.

The next day we broke into smaller groups touring commercial cow-calf operations to learn how proper management practices, such as pre-conditioning and vaccination, lead to better adaptation in the feedyards and higher carcass quality.

Dr. Dale Blasi treated us to a chuck wagon lunch on Wednesday before the groups headed north to visit the JBS Swift packing plant in Grand Island, Neb., and Eisenmenger Farms, Inc., a feedyard in Humphrey, Neb.

Lindsay Ritter is a chef for Sysco Kansas City in Springfield, Mo., but she grew up around the beef industry and her husband’s family raises cattle. However, she still found the session valuable.

“Every rancher does things differently so there’s always something new to learn,” says Lindsay. “I didn’t know much about the seedstock industry but after this program I have a better knowledge of that sector.  When you’ve been on trips like this you can give a more sincere answer to the consumer because you just have that much more experience.”

No matter your background, whether you grew up with hay in your hair (as I often did) or never touched a cow in your life, everyone in the beef industry shares the same goal: to create a safe, high-quality product for the consumer.

~Kaitlin

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