Beef Producers Work With Leadership Program to Increase Consumer Understanding of Beef

South Dakota’s beef producers continue their long-standing partnership with a program designed to develop strong agriculture and rural community leaders. The South Dakota Beef Industry Council (SDBIC) works with South Dakota Ag and Rural Leadership (SDARL) to help ensure program participants gain an understanding of the beef checkoff program, the work it does to educate consumers about beef as a nutritious and wholesome food choice, and how market research is used to gain a better understanding of consumer needs.

“In our curriculum, we work on beef education, we work on beef advocacy so that they in turn can educate in the classroom, they can educate consumers, and they can talk farm-to-table,” said Lori Cope, executive director, SDARL.

In addition to hands-on educational opportunities, the leadership students also complete the online Masters of Beef Advocacy (MBA) course, a checkoff funded online course addressing modern beef production, beef safety, beef nutrition, animal care, and environmental stewardship.

“The idea is to provide them an extremely solid foundation regarding beef,” said Suzy Geppert, executive director, SDBIC, after a recent SDARL training in Chamberlain. “We want to equip them to become effective spokespeople so when they return to their communities across the state, and the leadership positions they have within those communities, they have a very strong understanding of beef, and the role it plays not only in the agriculture industry, but in our everyday lives as consumers.”

To learn more about SDARL, visit sdagleadership.com. To learn more about the SDBIC, visit sdbeef.org.