News Update
June 18, 2015
Farm to Fork
A widening disconnect between farm and fork will require more effort from farmers and ranchers to communicate their stories to consumers. A growing base of millennial purchasers are requiring more transparency and exploring sustainable beef, all in an increasingly challenging regulatory environment in Washington.
Kendal Frazier, National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, offers ways producers can stay ahead of consumer’s shifting mind-sets. He explains millennials were born between 1980 to 2000, and with 80 million strong, they are the largest population group segment in the country’s history. They demand, not only quality food, but food with an appropriate past.
“We’re starting to see some of the food marketers respond to some of their concerns, not only about the nutritional attributes of our product, beef, the safety of beef, but also how beef is produced,” he says. “Going forward, we as an industry are going to have to be much more transparent in how we produce beef from the farm to fork.”
See more ways producers can communicate their stories to consumers in Frazier’s full interview on this week’s The Angus Report. You can also tune in at 1:30 p.m. CDT Saturday, 7:30 a.m. CDT each Monday or 5 p.m. CDT Wednesday to catch the program on RFD-TV.
Meat Industry Hall of Fame Names Class of 2015
The Meat Industry Hall of Fame is proud to announce the members of the Class of 2015. A record number of nominees were on this year’s ballot, and a record number of votes were cast by current members and the organization’s Board of Trustees.
“The final tally was extremely close with more than a dozen extremely well-qualified people within just a few votes of becoming one of the six new members,” said Chuck Jolley, Meat Industry Hall of Fame president and principal of Jolley & Associates, Kansas City. “A tie in the voting resulted in an unprecedented seventh person joining this year’s group of honored individuals.”
The 2015 Induction Ceremony will take place Nov. 2 at the Fairmont Hotel in Washington, D.C., when the Meat Industry Hall of Fame’s current members, trustees and officers will welcome William Bucker, Jo Ann Smith, William McMillan, Edward C. Jones, James Lochner, Laurence Bettcher and Wolf Ludwig as the newest and distinguished members of the Meat Industry Hall of Fame.
For more information, please view the full release.
Canadian Angus Association
Announces New Board Members and Executive
The Canadian Angus Association (CAA) is pleased to announce the new board members who joined the board during the Canadian Angus National Convention in Calgary, Alta., in early June, as well as the new executive.
David Johnson and Tracey Willms replace retiring directors Kevin Blair and Jon Fox in Saskatchewan. The new directors will serve a three-year term and will be eligible for re-election for a second term. Tammi Ribey of Paisley, Ont., was elevated from the position of president-elect to president. Corinne Gibson of Fir Mountain, Sask., moved into the past president position and David Sibbald of Calgary, Alta., was chosen president-elect.
The members of the 2015-2016 board of directors are: Lorraine Sanford, B.C; Bob Hahn, Alta.; Doug Reid, Alta.; Brett Wildman, Alta.; Dave Sibbald, president-elect Alta.; Tracey Willms, Sask.; Dave Johnson, Sask.; Corinne Gibson, past president Sask.; Shawn Birmingham, Man.; Tammy Ribey, president Ont.; Ryan Currie, Que.; and Trevor Welch, Maritimes.
For more information, please visit the Canadian Angus Association’s website.
Canadian Angus Foundation Announces Awards
Canadian Angus Foundation award recipients were announced June 6 at the Angus National Convention in Calgary, Alta.. just before the fourth annual Building the Legacy Sale.
The 2015 Robert C. McHaffie Junior Ambassador is Patrick Holland of Montague, P.E.I. The Dick Turner Scholarship recipient is Allison Speller of Monte Lake, B.C. The Outstanding Young Angus Breeder is Michael Wheeler of Saskatoon, Sask. The first Junior Angus Stockman of the Year is Tyler Dietrich of Forestburg, Alta.
The Robert C. McHaffie Junior Ambassador program selects one Canadian Junior Angus Association (CJAA) member to be an ambassador for the CAA at events across Canada and one international experience. Four other CJAA members competed for the award: Brooke Bablitz of Cherhill, Alta.; Raina Syrnick of Gilbert Plains, Man.; Micheala Chalmers of Shanty Bay, Ont., and Katie Wright of Melfort, Sask. All the juniors deserve recognition for their impressive efforts in the competition.
Congratulations to all of the Foundation award winners for 2015. For more information, please view the full release online.
OSU Experts Offer Beef Quality Assurance
Training Workshop June 29
Ohio cattle producers can learn sound management practices and guidelines for beef cattle production during a Beef Quality Assurance (BQA) training workshop offered June 29 by the College of Food, Agricultural and Environmental Sciences at Ohio State University (OSU).
The workshop is targeted toward any cattle producer who is interested in learning proper management techniques to ensure a safe and wholesome beef product for consumers, said John Grimes, beef coordinator for OSU Extension and a member of the OSU Extension Beef Team.
The training, which will be hosted on a farm at 26450 State Route 104, Circleville, will offer participants live demonstrations of basic quality assurance practices, Grimes said. The program begins with dinner at 6:30 p.m., with the training portion beginning at 7:15 p.m.
“The demonstrations will include proper animal handling to ensure the safety of the animal and worker,” Grimes said.
Registration for the program is required by June 23 by phone at 740-203-3200 or by email at Guthrie.76@osu.edu. The program is free, but participants wanting Beef Quality Assurance Certification must pay a fee of $20.
For more information, please view the Angus Journal Virtual Library calendar of upcoming events here.
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