New Program Focuses on Cultivating ‘Beef Advocates’ for Canada’s Beef Cattle Industry
By Amanda Brodhagen, Farms.com
A new program will make it easier for beef farmers to share their story – the story about Canadian beef.
Beef Advocacy Canada was launched at the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association’s (CCA) Annual General Meeting on March 6, 2014.
The program aims to provide industry supporters - or in this case “advocates”, with the necessary tools to support the beef industry in a digital age.
Beef farmers and ranchers stand to benefit from the program as it’s designed to help them feel comfortable talking to the media about a wide range of topics related to the beef cattle industry.
Over the course of about a year, there’s been growing excitement within the industry in anticipation of the launch, and it appears that it’s translating into results.
“In just the last few hours we have had numerous people register for the program as they keep coming in,” Annemarie Pedersen, Director, Industry Communications, Canada Beef said in an interview on Thursday.
The launch is considered the first phase of the program, and Pedersen says that stage two is expected to be completed summer of 2014.
The program works similar to a school course, and includes chapters that focus on various aspects of the beef industry from farm-gate-to-plate.
One you’ve passed level one, participants are encouraged to apply to the next stage to become a recognized beef advocate. Unlike phase one, only a handful of people will be chosen to advance onto the next level.
Beef advocacy graduates will be given media training and become part of an elite “beef ambassador club” able to answer consumer and media questions.
The program is a joint effort between Canadian Beef Inc., the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association and the Alberta Livestock and Meat Association.
“This has been a collaborative effort by many industry sponsors,” explains Pedersen.
Founders hope the program will create a unified voice for the beef cattle industry.