Sustainability is one of the new buzz words in Agriculture and a recent media event tackled the topic with a Florida rancher and celebrity chef.
Last week, Blackbeard’s Ranch in SW Florida - the 2019 National Environmental Stewardship Award winner - hosted a satellite media event where rancher Jim Strickland and celebrity chef Hugh Acheson conducted 24 radio and television interviews to help educate consumers about sustainability efforts by America’s beef cattle producers to produce high-quality, delicious beef.
“We've been ranching here in Florida since 1860,” said Blackbeard’s Ranch Managing Partner Jim Strickland. “A lot of the topics have changed and we've had to embrace a lot of those topics. Sustainability is an easy sell. What you do on your ranch, whether it's 10 acres, 20 acres or 20,000 acres, what you do on that ranch, we need to tell that story. It's really important to tell that sustainability story and what you do on the ranch. Don't be afraid of it. You're doing a good job.”
Celebrity chef Hugh Acheson was the star of the media event at Blackbeard’s Ranch and has this message for America’s beef cattle producers.
“Connect with your consumers, connect with your chefs, realize that you're doing amazing work,” said Acheson. “It's the travel of beef from start to finish that's all of our concern. And we want to make sure that there's transparency and truth in it and that we're delivering great product.”
Hillary Makens is the senior director of issues management and public relations at NCBA and explains why Chef Acheson is the right chef for this job.
“Chef Acheson is actually a member of our Checkoff funded and NCBA Beef Export Network,” said Makens. “So, we're working with him on a variety of topics. He loves beef. He's excited about beef. We're taking that a step further with him and doing a lot more videos and messaging. And we train him up on the beef messaging. That was also one of the exciting things about this was to get Chef Acheson out here on a ranch to meet a rancher. Not only is it great for the consumer to see, but it's great for a chef to come out here and get even that much more immersed in beef and the culture and all of the great things we're doing.”
If you have questions about beef industry sustainability or need facts to help answer consumer questions, visit the BeefItsWhatsForDinner.com website.
