New York Beef Council, with support from Iowa Beef Industry Council, supports four NY Team Beef groups representing beef and competing in curling, BMX, hockey, and running. NYBC recently engaged with the BMX and hockey Team Beef athletes to provide beef learning experiences to better prepare the athletes. Team Beef members are trained advocates promoting the beef industry while they compete.
Team Beef promotions provide a unique opportunity to highlight beef and educate athletes who may not have otherwise been reached. In August NYBC hosted a virtual farm tour and cooking demonstration for the New York Team Beef BMX team. During the Live Zoom call attendees prepared beef jerky trail mix and a beef wrap perfect for their race days. Team Beef members also had the opportunity to ask questions directly from a farmer and learned about how cattle are raised.
Members of “The Beefers” hockey team who also represent New York Team Beef were invited for an in-person farm tour hosted by John and Anita Kriese of Spring Pond Farm. The Team Beefers learned about beef production from pasture to plate and were also trained on beef information and resources available to assist them in advocating for beef. One attendee shared that “the tour allowed me to realize there are responsible people that are farming beef for our consumption and that they care about the product they are producing.” Another attendee added, “The owners of the farm were super passionate and informative. It's a good feeling to have these types of people working strong and hard for something I usually take for granted.”
“Providing influencers and consumers with direct connection to beef farmers is a cornerstone of Beef Checkoff funded programming”, explains New York Beef Council Executive Director, Jean O’Toole, “We work to continuously share beef’s story be bridging the gap between beef producers and our consumers. NYBC facilitates unique and impactful opportunities for farmers to share their stories both online and in person.”
To learn more about the New York Beef Council and Beef Checkoff efforts visit www.nybeef.org or NY Beef Checkoff on Facebook. For updates on Beef Checkoff funded efforts in NY and nationally subscribe to The Drive newsletter at www.beefboard.org/the-drive-sign-up-form.