Masters of Beef Advocacy Featured in Wall Street Journal

Fellow ARCers: In case you missed it...the beef checkoff-funded Masters of Beef Advocacy (MBA) program was featured in the Wall Street Journal this past Monday. The MBA program is administered by the National Cattlemen's Beef Association, a contractor to The Beef Checkoff Program.

Following is an excerpt from the article, "Beef Industry Carves a Course":

Nearly 2,000 graduates have completed the program. The cattlemen aim to train at least 20,000 more, in the hope of building a forceful counterweight to the animal-rights advocates who denounce beef production as inhumane, and the vegetarian activists who reject beef consumption as unhealthy.

Their goal: convince skeptical consumers that the shrink-wrapped sirloin tips in the supermarket aren't artery-clogging commodities mass-produced on factory farms, but wholesome meals turned out with great care by hard-working families. To that end, MBA students are encouraged to strike up conversations with strangers.

Ranchers are urged to talk about the hours they spend caring for cattle—all those trips to the pasture at 3 a.m. to help a laboring cow give birth. Retailers could mention nutritional facts—that a three-ounce serving of eye-round roast has just slightly more fat than a skinless chicken breast, for example.

WSJ writer Stephanie Simon approached us about doing the story and we worked with her to ensure the MBA program was portrayed accurately as an effort developed by beef producers for beef producers through the beef checkoff.

The recipe for the success of the 2010 Golden ARC Award-winning MBA program is simple: start with a great story -- the story of American agriculture -- mix in the passion of 2,000 farmers and ranchers and top it off with factual, science-based information. Combine this with the tools they need to connect with consumers like Facebook, Twitter, blogs and good old fashioned one-to-one communications and watch the results pour in! 

I'd like to invite all ARC members to enroll in the MBA program and join in the effort to reclaim our legacy as stewards of the land, caretakers of animals and producers of safe, wholesome and nutritious food. It doesn't matter what segment of American agriculture you represent. We are members of Team USAgriculture!

Daren Williams
National Cattlemen's Beef Association
ARC member since 1988