Become a Master of Beef Advocacy
PHOENIX, Ariz. (Jan. 29, 2009) — You don’t have to go far to master beef advocacy. Producers, industry members, students and beef enthusiasts in general can participate in the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association’s (NCBA’s) new Masters of Beef Advocacy (MBA) program from home.
The program includes six, one-hour Internet courses: beef safety, beef nutrition, animal care, environmental stewardship, modern beef production and the beef checkoff. For large groups taking the program together, NCBA will send someone to present a one-day training following the courses. At-large participants will have the opportunity to receive similar training at a cattle industry convention or summer conference.
“The MBA program will be a voluntary, self-directed online learning environment designed for beef producers,” said Cattlemen’s Beef Board (CBB) member Daryl Berlier Owen, a cow-calf producer and feeder from Amarillo, Texas.
“It will provide them with facts about their industry and their product, beef,” he continued. “Producers who participate in the MBA program will be equipped to communicate those facts to fellow producers and consumers. This checkoff-funded program will help producers get involved and active in promoting their industry by telling the story about beef.”
The complete program includes homework assignments to give participants hands-on experience working with the media, online advocacy and public speaking. After the program, participants will receive weekly e-newsletters to keep them current on advocacy issues. They also can earn continuing education credits by reporting speeches, media content and online advocacy after graduation. This continued advocacy is the vision for the MBA program.
“We’ve got to be able to sell our product to consumers,” said Daren Williams, NCBA executive director of communications. He hopes that the MBA program will be a convenient and effective way to give people the tools they need to create messages and promote beef as a product and beef production as a way of life the public can stand behind.
For additional information contact Williams at dwilliams@beef.org or 303-850-3346.
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