Dear Editor; The Cowan family has been ranching and farming near Watonga for more than 75 years. Today, our third-generation ranching operation consists of me, my wife Carol, our son Lance, his wife Amy and their children. Our daughters, Ashley, Kelsey and Kari, also pitch in when we need extra help. Over the past few years, I knew I wanted to become more involved in the beef industry. So, last year, when the American Farmers and Ranchers organization asked me to serve on the national Cattlemen’s Beef Board, the governing arm of the $1-per-head Beef Checkoff, I was honored and enthusiastic.
Raising beef is my passion and my livelihood. When I hear the media or anyone else sharing misinformation about beef, it doesn't sit very well with me. I’m just one producer out of nearly 800,000 in the U.S., but I believe consumers need to hear the truth about beef from me and others who raise beef throughout this country.
You may know that the Beef Checkoff drives demand both here and internationally through various promotional efforts. However, you may not realize the Checkoff is also constantly addressing misinformation about beef. You’ve probably seen and heard a lot of chatter about beef recently, from dietary guidelines and sustainability claims to meat substitutes and animal welfare and everything in between. Of course, much of that chatter is not factual. However, it still has the potential to affect beef purchases at grocery stores or restaurants, which impacts not just my livelihood, but that of the nearly 800,000 other beef producers in the United States today.
During my relatively short time on the CBB, I’ve learned how the Beef Checkoff actively monitors television, online and social media to discover emerging issues that could threaten consumer confidence in beef. By knowing what issues are out there in real time, the Checkoff can fund research that will help the beef industry uncover and share the facts about our product’s sustainability, nutrition, safety and quality.
Those efforts come to life through Checkofffunded initiatives like middle and high school curriculums about greenhouse gases and cattle, attendance at New York City’s Climate Week conference and immersion events that bring inner city teachers to real farms to learn about how much we producers care for our land and cattle.
There are partnerships with the American Heart Association to educate consumers about beef’s role in a healthy diet, as well as programs providing health care providers with educational content through webinars, inoffice visits and at professional conferences. By sharing information through both consumer and professional outreach, the Checkoff can also respond to questions about how beef compares with other proteins, including the plantbased, alternative proteins that have emerged in recent years.
I’m proud to be on the CBB. It’s giving me an opportunity to share cattle producers’ perspectives from right here in Oklahoma with the rest of the country. And I know the Beef Checkoff will continue to focus on funding projects that have a tremendously positive impact on the American beef industry.
Not everyone is aware of how the Checkoff works, and that’s why I encourage my fellow producers with questions to get involved. Go to the meetings – they’re open to all producers. Come chat with me as one of your state’s CBB representatives. It’s by making our voices heard that we get the most value from this program we help fund.
Rodney Cowan Watonga, Oklahoma