42 NEBRASKA CATTLEMAN September 2024 PEERS NBC SUMMER PROGRAMMING HIGHLIGHTS MADISON DOESCHOT | NEBRASKA BEEF COUNCIL COMMUNICATIONS CONSULTANT The Nebraska Beef Council has been actively involved in various educational initiatives to enhance understanding and confidence in beef production and nutrition. Here’s a summary of the organization’s recent summer activities. BRIGGS FEEDYARD DIETICIANS TOUR Graduate-level students from the University of Nebraska Medical Center and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln aiming to become registered dieticians visited Briggs Feedyard this summer. They also participated in a Zoom session with a dairy producer to learn about dairy production practices and conducted dairy product testing at the Food Innovation Center on the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL) Innovation Campus. The tour offered students a firsthand look at beef and dairy production and practices. “The benefit to the students is that they may not have any experience with agriculture or maybe just at an arm’s length distance,” says Mitch Rippe, Nebraska Beef Council director of nutrition and education. “This experience helps answer potential concerns when it comes to raising beef and dairy.” The feedyard tour emphasized cattle nutrition, showcasing the precision in cattle rations and micronutrient administration. Mike Briggs, who led the tour, provided insights into feedyard operations, cattle comfort and the responsible use of hormones and antibiotics. Students were impressed with the circular economy and the technology used in feedyards, gaining a deeper appreciation for the industry’s efforts in sustainable and responsible beef production. NEBRASKA SCHOOL NUTRITION ANNUAL CONFERENCE At the Nebraska School Nutrition Annual Conference in Kearney, school food service professionals learned about the value of beef in school meals. The presentation, built in collaboration with other state beef councils and the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, a contractor to the Beef Checkoff, highlighted beef’s role in filling nutrient gaps during key growth periods, increasing meal participation and reducing food waste. Attendees were introduced to economical muscle cuts and innovative recipes like beef birria tacos, which can be incorporated into school menus to improve operational efficiency and student acceptance rates. FARM-TO-TABLE CLASSROOM WITH NEBRASKA FARM BUREAU A collaboration with the Nebraska Farm Bureau’s Ag in the Classroom program provided high school family consumer science (FCS) and agriculture teachers with farm tours and hands-on beef product lessons. The 24 teachers visited UNL’s Eastern Nebraska Research and Extension Education Center (ENREC) at Mead, learning about grazing, feedyard practices and their impact on beef quality. They then participated in practical activities, such as preparing mini meatloaves to develop lesson plans for their students, emphasizing the versatility and importance of ground beef. BEEF EXPERIENCE TOUR June 24-26, dietitians, retailer meat category managers and online beef suppliers from states like New York, Michigan, Connecticut and Nebraska participated in the Beef Experience Tour hosted by the Nebraska Beef Council. The tour educated attendees on various segments of the beef community and showcased the collaboration among farmers and ranchers to produce quality beef products. “The guests on our tour work with beef products every day but don’t necessarily have the background on how beef is raised,” says Adam Wegner, director of marketing for the Nebraska Beef Council. “They are also influencers because of their ability to share their experience and knowledge through their communication with consumers.” The tour began with a visit to Switzer Ranch near Burwell, where the group learned about the early stages of beef production on a cow-calf ranch, including the use of genetics to improve efficiency and beef quality. They then toured Adams Land & Cattle, a 125,000-head feedyard near Broken Bow, to understand the feeding process, animal care and the use of technology in reducing resources needed for finishing cattle. “Visiting Adams Land & Cattle was an amazing experience, and I am humbled by the opportunity to get to learn how they utilize data with all the variables that affect feeding cattle such as the weather, the economy and feed costs,” says Jesus Pedraza, a meat and poultry merchant at Fresh Direct in Bronx, N.Y. CONTINUED ON PAGE 44
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