The Cattlemen’s Beef Board and the American Farm Bureau Federation have joined forces on a nationwide effort to teach students where their food really comes from.
“It’s basically a science based educational program,” says Secretary Treasurer of the Cattleman’s Beef Board, Terry Quam. “They go into science classes in our high schools and our middle schools and teach about beef. And it’s funded by the Beef checkoff. And all they do is teach beef.
The in-school educational program sends farmers, ranchers, and agricultural experts directly into classrooms. Their mission is to help kids understand how beef is raised, how ranchers care for their animals, and the role cattle play in food production and sustainability.
Quam added, “Last year they just won one of the most prestigious next gen science awards, which is only given out to the top 1% of educational material programs, and that is in our high schools. Today we have 1.3 million students being educated by our checkoff dollars and getting the message out there of to those kids by us through science based backed curriculum that is out there counteracting, because we all know we got people out there giving them data that maybe is incorrect and they have a political motive behind them.”
The initiative includes hands-on learning tools, online resources, and free curriculum materials for teachers. Lessons range from grazing and pasture management to beef nutrition and environmental stewardship.
“We’re not only telling them the nutritional benefits and the environmental benefits of beef, but think about what’s one of our biggest problems in the industry. Labor. We need help. We need workers. and we can grow in and develop both a consumer that wants to eat our product and maybe somebody that can come and help us. And to me, that’s exciting,” said Quam.
The goal: build understanding, spark curiosity, and create a stronger connection between the next generation and the nation’s food system.
