The REAL story is YOUR story - learn how to start sharing!

Before I started my blog, the whole idea of sharing my story seemed extremely overwhelming. I didn’t know where to start and with all the social media options, I wasn’t sure which was the best for me. While attending my first KLA (Kansas Livestock Association) Conference in December of 2009, I heard a lot of talk about beef advocacy, which was also overwhelming to me, and those conversations lead to the Master’s of Beef Advocacy program. I signed up for the program online and began watching short tutorial videos about modern beef production, the environment, animal care, beef nutrition, beef safety, and the Beef Checkoff. At the conclusion of each video, there are short assignments designed to help you “get your feet wet” such as writing a letter to the editor about a certain topic. Each session (there are 6 total) takes about 30-45 minutes to complete.

This program is free and you can work at your own pace. After you “graduate” it would be well worth your time to look for a MBA Commencement in your area. At the MBA Commencement you will have the opportunity to listen to several speakers from the industry, have “mock” conversations with consumers about the beef industry, learn how to respond to web comments (from articles, blogs, etc.), and write a letter to the editor to be published in your local newspaper! This program is also a great way to network with other producers from around the area.

As you can tell, I HIGHLY recommend this program and would encourage all producers, young and old, to participate! If you are interested you can go to http://beef.org/mba or call the Kansas Beef Council at (785) 273-5225. They would be more than willing to help you enroll in the program and answer any questions you might have. As always, comments are welcome and I will try to help in any way that I can!