YPC? Is that some sort of rap music group?

BY WALKER MILHOAN, YPC Leadership Board

THE INTERNET AGE

Hadoop, Mustache, Java? Exabyte, Zettabyte, and Yottabyte! Excuse me, but did you just say, “Crazy Horse and a creature from Star Wars, were drinking from a Hadoop, and Crazy Horse got coffee on his mustache?” You’ve gotta be kidding me, right?

Have you ever pondered the thought of “what exactly, is the internet?” It’s location, it’s infrastructure, how much it weighs? This “Twilight Zone” phenomena can strike fear into the imagination. To others, a simple blue and black, Linksys router with dual antennas, nestled dust-covered and blinking behind a couch comes to mind. All physicalities aside, what the internet really is, is life. Without it CattleFax and risk management would cease to coexist, Safeway and Cargill couldn’t produce Rancher’s Reserve branded beef, and the screens of Superior Livestock would look like millions of diminutive marching ants. Yet we as a nation, as individuals, know so little about the single most intrusive and important aspect of our lives.

INTERDISCIPLINARY DEGREES

I recently read an article by Tom Friedman in the New York Times aptly named: Need a Job? Invent it. From within the neatly formatted web page, Friedman notes “My generation had it easy. We got to ‘find’ a job. But, more than ever, our kids will have to ‘invent’ a job.” Sound like an accurate prediction? I’d bet the farm on it! With modern technology controlling the show at every corner of the ranch, simply “finding” a job will become harder and harder to do as we compete against more and more technology. Smart tractors will replace the need for an operator, precise data accounting systems will eliminate office receptionists, and advanced algorithms will lock in profit margins at a predetermined price point, eliminating both the cell phone call to your broker, and eventually the broker himself.

In 2011, after graduating from TCU Ranch Management I yearned for more education, which lead me to The University of Montana. It was at Montana that I was introduced to Management Information Systems, a degree I’m certain will change my life forever. Over the last three semesters I have learned how to program computers, talk to databases, create amazing videos for YouTube (the second largest search engine behind Google), optimize websites with Search Engine Optimization, and precisely target Facebook users with Analytics.

But by far the most interesting project that I have had the opportunity to work on while studying at the U of M is creating a disruptive innovation with a team of four other classmates. Our current technology project couples cloud-based data systems and search engine algorithms into a ranch management software suite that will help producers manage their resources more efficiently. We are very hopeful that this new product will be given a trial run this summer on ranches in Ghana, Panama, Brazil and France. Talk about inventing a really sweet job for yourself!

THE FUTURE

What’s in store for the youth of agriculture in America? Personally, I would argue an extreme amount of opportunity, especially if those youth are open-minded enough to learn about computer technology, world travel, and getting involved with groups like Collegiate Stockgrowers and the YPC. Tomorrow’s leaders in agriculture will be required to harness a very broad and deep set of skills, and having a solid understanding of how to manage massive amounts of information with computer science technology coupled with a knowledge of how to make things grow, will dovetail nicely into feeding 9 billion people.

 

Choosing Beef: Meet YPC Member Zeke McCarty

BY ZEKE McCARTY, YPC Leadership Board

I’m just your typical small town, country boy from NE Texas that found his way to colorful Colorado through beef.

My background may not be your typical cattleman’s or cattlewoman’s story. I didn’t grow up on a family farming or ranching operation. I always thought of my background as more along the lines of “Old MacDonald had a farm.” My parents were either extreme animal enthusiasts or just allowed me and my siblings to be. We had pigs, chickens, dogs, cats, cattle, goats, rabbits, a turkey, and many more odds and ends critters. I believe my interest in cattle, specifically, began at an early age mostly due to hanging around my best friend’s family cow-calf operation. That, in turn, led to joining FFA which turned into signing up for the Animal Science degree at Texas Tech University. Within the four years I spent in Lubbock, TX, I found my passion for agriculture and my desire to be involved in the beef industry.

My reasoning for getting involved in YPC was two-fold. First, it is my belief that what sets our industry apart from others is the people. I can’t imagine surrounding myself with anyone other than the down to earth, genuinely good-hearted people with great values and ethics that are involved in NCBA and YPC. Although I only have a year and a half of experience in YPC, I’ve developed great relationships with great people and look forward to many more in the future. Secondly, I wanted to understand more of the policy side of NCBA. What actually happens in the organization and how do things get done? How is the neighboring stocker operator linked to the lobbyist in Washington D.C? Those were the type of questions I wanted to learn the answers to and the best way I’ve discovered to learning is jump right in and start asking.

All in all, I’ve enjoyed the beginning stages of education and involvement in NCBA and YPC. I look forward to learning more about our great industry all the time and hopefully can contribute to the success of something that’s bigger than me.

 

The BEEFMAN Bloggeth For Cattle Call

BY LAUREN CHASE, YPC Communications

If you ever have a question about how best to talk about beef, Daren Williams is your guy! I met Daren serving on a judging panel for the National Beef Ambassador Contest and after a few days discussing best media practices, I knew that he was a gem for our industry. Today on the Cattle Call, we feature Daren and how he educates not only cattle producers on beef messaging, but also how he uniquely teaches consumers about beef through exercise. 

I was born in Plains, KS, near where my great, great grandfather homesteaded in 1886 and cousin still farms that land, mostly wheat (my great grandfather invented the first minimum tillage plow on the great plains. I wrote about it for Ryan Goodman’s blog). When I was born my dad was the grain elevator manager at the Plains Co-Op. He and my mom were newlyweds. They met at Ottawa University (also my alma mater) and moved back to her hometown after school. We moved away when I was three when my dad became state director of the Farmer’s Home Administration in Topeka. Those are my roots in agriculture.

I grew up in the big city of Topeka and moved to VA/DC in 1979 when my dad went to work on the Senate Ag Committee staff for Sen. Bob Dole (R-KS). That was my first real exposure to the big city! I didn’t particularly like it at first but have to admit it grew on me. I graduated from a large high school in the VA suburbs (2,800 students) and immediately headed “home” to Kansas to attend Ottawa U, where I met my wife, got married, graduated and moved back to DC (apparently whatever grew on me was still growing). My first job was on Sen. Bob Dole’s 1988 presidential campaign. It was an amazing experience I would never trade. At age 23, I was running around New Hampshire in January running get-out-the-vote efforts in the Republican primary. Unfortunately we lost (Dole took second to then-Vice President George Herbert Walker Bush in the primary).

I spent the first ten years of my career in DC. Following the campaign I went to work at Agri/Washington, a public affairs firm representing food and ag clients in DC. That’s where I got my start in communications and issues management, working on the Alar crisis in the apple industry (one of the first big food safety scares driven by activists and the media, which led to today’s food disparagement laws under which BPI is suing ABC over their “pink slime” coverage). In 1997, we left DC to go home to Kansas where I joined the ag division of Fleishman-Hillard public relations in Kansas City. FH is where I first began work in the beef industry, developing the first industry-wide crisis communications plan for E. coli-related recalls for the Beef Industry Food Safety Council. Over the next nine years I helped beef industry clients communicate during E. coli recalls and the first BSE case in the U.S. (2003), before joining NCBA in 2006.

I was hired at NCBA to create a spokesperson development program to train farmers and ranchers to serve as media spokespeople. But when social media sites like Facebook and Twitter took off in the last 2000s we saw a need to train a large number of farmers and ranchers to be grassroots advocates for beef and created the Masters of Beef Advocacy (MBA) program.

You have been a part of a lot of different industries throughout your career…what do you like about working for cattle producers? 

My grandpa once told me to never trust somebody wearing pointed boots and a cowboy hat (he was a farmer who wore work boots and a cap). My uncle who took over the farm from my grandpa still gives me trouble about working for the guys in the “white hats.” But my experience is a guy wearing  white hat represents honest American values of hard work and integrity. As a public relations counselor I represented clients in the health care, automotive and consumer products industries, but I kept coming back to my roots in food and agriculture. The best part of my job is traveling to farms, ranches and feedlots across the country and meeting the people who make up the beef community and helping them find a way to connect with consumers. I like getting to know the people who produce the beef I eat and feel like I represent other consumers yearning for the same experience.

The Masters of Beef Advocacy Program is one of your greatest successes…why is it important for young producers to participate and earn their MBA? 

The MBA program is not my success. It is the success of the farmers and ranchers and chefs and retailers and others who earned their MBA and are working every day to connect with beef consumers. It is also the success of the farmers and ranchers on the checkoff committee who had the foresight to develop and approve the MBA program five years ago, just as social media was exploding.  Of course, Facebook and Twitter are now THE source of information for millennial consumers. And we have more than 4,000 MBA graduates who are well-equipped to engage consumers in conversations about beef through social media. Of course we need as many voices as possible to connect with more consumers, particularly young producers. We need millennial farmers and ranchers to connect with millennial consumers!

From the Young Producers’ Council perspective (raising cattle and advocating for beef), what are some of the most important things we need to know about how to effectively communicate with each other and with consumers?

The most important part of a conversation is listening. Today’s consumers, particularly millennials, want us to listen to their concerns. All too often we rush into a conversation in person or on Facebook and start telling someone why they are wrong. I catch myself doing it. Just recently a registered dietitian I follow on Twitter said she only eats grass-fed beef because “the other stuff makes me sick for days.” I wanted to tell her that was ridiculous. But I didn’t. I started by thanking her for eating beef then engaged in a conversation about the differences between grass-finished and grain-finished beef. We had a good conversation. I tried to clear up some of her misconceptions about grain-feeding and I think she listened to my point of view because I listened to hers first.

You are involved with Team BEEF…can you please explain what that is and why it’s an important activity for the beef community?

I think Team BEEF is one of the most positive, non-controversial ways to promote the role of beef in a healthful lifestyle. By showing up at a race in a Team BEEF jersey you are showing, not telling, fellow athletes that beef-eaters can be healthy people! Beef has gotten such a bad rap over the years that many people just don’t think of beef as a good food. Sure, it tastes great but it can’t be good for you. The beef checkoff has worked hard to reverse that image through research, education and advertising. And it’s really working. More and more consumers view beef as a good balance of taste and nutrition. Team BEEF literally takes that message to the streets.

I am living proof that beef fits in a healthful diet. At age 30 I weighed 270 lbs., got little to no exercise, and had terrible eating habits. I consumed a lot of empty calories (three cans of Pepsi a day), ate a lot of fried, high fat foods. I ate beef but also lots of “lean” chicken, thinking it was healthier (and it was cheaper). Of course I didn’t just grill a boneless, skinless chicken breast plain. It was always slathered in bbq sauce or covered in cheese or gravy. What I didn’t think about at the time is that I’d been a lot better off fat-wise grilling a steak with a little salt and pepper. Today, At age 48, I weigh 210 lbs., get plenty of exercise and eat beef every day, with a lot of fruits and veggies, whole grains and other heart-healthy foods (I love avocados and almonds!).

You have a great opportunity to travel the country and speak with cattle producers in just about every state…what are some of your most memorable experiences on the road? 

I love traveling and meeting with cattle producers. When I joined NCBA there were only four U.S. states I had not visited: North and South Dakota, Montana and Idaho. It wasn’t long before I had been to all four and could say I have visited all 50 states. My favorite road warrior story is getting stranded in Sidney, MT, in the dead of winter. I flew to Sidney on a small Great Lakes Airline puddle jumper and was met at the airport by Jim Steinbeisser, my host for the trip. After a detour through Jim’s ranch to break the ice off several water tanks, we headed into Sidney for the MonDak Stockgrowers meeting. I spoke at the meeting and we closed down the bar with a number of the attendees before heading back to Jim’s ranch (where I was staying). After about three hours sleep Jim taxied me back to the airport for my 6:00 a.m. flight to Denver. Unfortunately, there was no airplane. And there would be no plane until Monday. It was Friday and my only option to get home was to drive to Billings. And my only mode of transportation was Jim. Either Jim is a really nice guy (which he is) or he didn’t want a guest for the weekend, but regardless, he made up some excuse about needing to visit a ranch of his near Billings and drive me six hours across the state in an ice storm.

Why should a young person get involved with their state and national YPC groups? 

My experience is if you want to be a mover and shaker you hang around other movers and shakers. YPCers are movers and shakers. State and national YPC groups are a great place to develop relationships and leadership skills that will benefit you in your career, no matter which direction that takes you.

What is a fun fact about Daren Williams?

I have a degree in English Literature and my favorite writer is Ernest Hemingway. I love his simple, straightforward writing style and strive to write more like him every day. I have a tendency to overstate, belabor and use way too many words to say what I want to say. See what I mean? I think that’s why I like Facebook more than Twitter! 140 characters just isn’t enough. Hemingway would have been great on Twitter. My favorite book is Hemingway’s “The Sun Also Rises.” I even love the title. The sun also rises implies the opposite, that it sets. But it also rises. Every day comes to an  end, but just as surely the sun rises and a new day begins. Or, as my favorite band (Pink Floyd) says in one of my favorite songs (Time) on one of my favorite albums (Dark Side of the Moon), “So you run and you run to catch up with the sun but it’s sinking, racing around to come up behind you again. The sun is the same in a relative way but you’re older, shorter of breath and one day closer to death.” So that’s more than one fun fact, but it all leads to a point: I try to live each and every day as an adventure, traveling to new places, meeting new people, setting new goals, trying new things, a never-ending party. I revel in each sunset and look forward to the sunrise. Wow, that was deep.

What’s your favorite beef dish? 

I love brisket. Whether slow-cooked for 12 hours on a smoker or in the oven the way my mom made it when I was growing up. It’s just so dang good. I like to smoke mine with pecan wood after marinating it overnight in a mixture of half-empty bottles of barbecue sauces from my pantry. Then I’ll throw in a bottle of hot sauce or some peppers to give it a kick. I like the combination of sweet and hot

If you would like more information on the Masters of Beef Advocacy Program, click here. 

To keep up with Daren’s adventures, check out BEEFMAN Bloggeth, @REAL_BEEFMAN, and Facebook.