News Update
Nov. 19, 2010

Checkoff Releases Millennial Movies

Food production has become one of the most publicized topics in this decade, yet many consumers don’t know where to find accurate information about the people who grow, cultivate and raise the food they eat. By utilizing beef checkoff resources, America’s cattle farmers and ranchers initiated Close-Up on Modern Beef Production to provide consumers with a “behind-the-scenes” view of how beef gets from pasture to plate. The project is a collection of three videos made by student filmmakers showcasing different areas of beef production.

To inspire awareness and encourage all consumers to take charge of their food choices, the Beef Checkoff Program selected three student filmmakers to receive funding to produce 20-minute documentaries on various aspects of U.S. farming and ranching. This enables the viewer to explore the beef production process along with the student, none of whom were raised with close ties to agriculture or the food industry.

The filmmakers include Michael DeTerra, a senior at Washington State University in Pullman, Wash.; Katie Griffith, a recent graduate of West Virginia University in Morgantown, W.Va.; and Kevin Smith, a graduate student at Central Michigan University in Mount Pleasant, Mich. DeTerra’s video examines animal welfare today and how it has evolved during the past 30 years; Griffith’s video explores families who work in beef production and their motivations for doing so; and Smith’s video discusses the environmental impact of beef farming and ranching.

“To give viewers a holistic and objective view, the student filmmakers interviewed more than 30 beef farmers, ranchers and experts in 10 different states,” says Daryl Berlier-Owen, cow-calf producer from Amarillo, Texas, and chair of the industry’s Public Opinion & Issues Management Group. “The films were commissioned with the hope that farmers and ranchers could be afforded the opportunity to tell their story. And, the program was purposely created to spark the interest of younger filmmakers in order to allow them to craft a story that objectively represents modern beef production and the components involved.”

The three student documentaries can be viewed on ExploreBeef.org and will be screened at a series of industry and consumer education events across the country.

For more information about your beef checkoff investment, visit MyBeefCheckoff.com.

— Release by the Beef Checkoff Program.

Missouri State Fair “Youth in Agriculture” Scholarship Application Now Available

Applications for a Missouri State Fair Youth in Agriculture Scholarship are now available online at www.mostatefair.com for Missouri high school seniors graduating in 2011. Applications submitted to the Missouri State Fair must be postmarked by Feb. 1, 2011.

“We are happy to award scholarships to youth who have participated at the Fair,” said Wayne Yokley, Youth in Agriculture Committee chairman. “With the support of companies and individuals whose contributions make these scholarships possible, the Youth in Agriculture committee is offering thirty $1,000 scholarships and one $2,500 supreme scholarship sponsored by Sydenstricker John Deere of Missouri/Sydenstricker Angus Genetics.”

To be eligible for a scholarship, applicants must be a high school senior and an active 4-H or FFA member, have participated in the Missouri State Fair as a 4-H or FFA exhibitor, enroll in an accredited Missouri college or university with a major in agriculture and have not sold livestock in any past Missouri State Fair Sale of Champions.

The Missouri State Fair scholarships are funded through the generosity of Youth in Agriculture sponsors and buyers of the livestock sold during the annual Sale of Champions with a percent of each animal’s sale price earmarked for scholarships.

For more information please call the Missouri State Fair at 1-800-422-FAIR (3247) or e-mail questions to mostatefair@mda.mo.gov.

— Release by Missouri State Fair.

Workshop Will Address the Future of Colorado Ranching

Ranching has been a part of Colorado’s culture and vital to its economy since pioneers moved West. But this tradition is slowly declining as a growing number of ranchers face a series of new and complex challenges.

The Western Center for Integrated Resource Management in the College of Agricultural Sciences at Colorado State University (CSU) along with the National Western Stock Show Scholarship Trust Fund is pleased to host the 11th annual Nick Petry Workshop Friday, Dec. 3, with topics designed to help Colorado’s ranching community carry on its legacy.

This year’s workshop is “Creating a Lasting Legacy: What Every Rancher Needs to Know about Continuing the Operation.” Topics include:

• leaving a legacy: more than money and real estate;
• including your family in succession planning;
• sharing your values and life lessons;
• dealing with possessions of emotional value;
• estate planning, long-term care, and tax considerations; and
• panel discussion on estate planning experiences.

Speakers include Jeff Tranel and Rod Sharp, CSU Extension agriculture and business management specialists; and Cliff Polk of the Rocky Mountain Financial Group. A panel discussion will include Scott Johnson from the Flying Diamond Ranch; Eric Peterson of Peterson, Rosenberg; Linly Strum from Thunderbird Livestock and Land Inc.; and James Walker of Rothgerber, Johnson and Lyons.

The one-day workshop begins at 8:30 a.m. at the National Western Stock Complex, Centennial Room, 4655 Humboldt St., Denver. Registration is free but required before Nov. 19. Registration is available online at www.wcirm.colostate.edu. Lunch will be provided to all registrants.

The workshop is in memory of Nick Petry, a longtime Stock Show president and chairman. Petry was dedicated to the Western way of life, especially ranching, Western livestock production and funding to improve National Western facilities.

The Western Center for Integrated Resource Management has a long history of providing education to Colorado farmers and ranchers. The focus of the center is to provide educational opportunities to equip producers and promote sustainability of agricultural enterprises. The center provides these opportunities through undergraduate courses, a one-year master’s degree, and various short courses.

For more information, contact Maggie Graham at 970-491-1610, Margaret.Graham@colostate.edu or visit www.wcirm.colostate.edu.

— Release by CSU.

Yamaha Outdoors Announces 2011 Annual Ag Comm Scholarship Program

Yamaha Motor Corp., U.S.A., is now accepting applications for its annual scholarship program that provides financial assistance to members of the National Agricultural Communicators of Tomorrow (ACT). ACT is a national college student association with more than 350 members located on 17 college and university campuses across the country. ACT’s mission of fostering professional development is at the core of the Yamaha-ACT Scholarship Program, now in its third year.

The Yamaha-ACT Scholarship Program is broken out into two individual student scholarships and one chapter scholarship. All three awards are aimed at helping students attend the annual Agricultural Media Summit (AMS), which is the largest gathering of ag media professionals in the country and is the ACT students’ primary career development networking opportunity each year. The conference is hosted by the American Agricultural Editors’ Association (AAEA), the Livestock Publications Council (LPC) and the American Business Media Agri-Council — potential future employers and colleagues of the students.

“This Yamaha scholarship program supports the professional development of ACT students while encouraging these future professional communicators to carry messages of safe, responsible ATV and Side-by-Side vehicle use into their future careers,” said Steve Nessl, Yamaha’s ATV/SxS marketing manager. “We encourage all ACT members to get involved and submit individual and chapter applications for the 2011 program.”

For the 2009-2010 program, the University of Florida received Yamaha’s chapter award for the second year in a row, while Kelsey Fletcher of Texas Tech University and Hailey Harroun of Oklahoma State University earned the individual scholarships. The University of Florida’s award helped cover costs in bringing six students to the 2010 AMS in Minnesota this year, while the individual scholarships covered all travel and accommodations costs, plus more, for both Fletcher and Harroun. The 2011 AMS will be in New Orleans — a city sure to attract students from around the country next summer.

Applicants are judged based on merit, need and quality of submission materials by a review committee consisting of Yamaha representatives and members of the AAEA and the LPC. The 2010-2011 application process will run through the end of February and winners will be announced in early May 2011. More information and guidelines, along with the application form, can be found online at www.nactnow.org.

— Release by Yamaha Motor Corp.

— Compiled by Mthew Elliott, assistant editor, Angus Productions Inc.