CALF_News_October_November_2021

30 CALF News • October | November 2021 • www.calfnews.net By Burt Rutherford Contributing Editor Darlin’, it’s time we talk. Nope, it’s not that kind of talk. In fact, for many beef producers, it may be harder than“that kind” of talk. That’s because this kind of talk is telling your story to the people who buy your product. And your product is beef on the plate. Yes, you’ve read about this before. Yes, you know that’s something you should do. And yes, you’ve told yourself that social media is something you don’t understand, don’t have time for, don’t want to do. That’s for the young folks, you think. Here’s why you might want to think again. Because the social, cultural and consumer landscape is changing and changing quickly. If beef producers are to enjoy the strong demand we’ve seen the past several years, we need to continue to let consumers know that it’s OK to eat beef. That was one of several messages that members of the Colorado Live- stock Association (CLA) heard during the group’s annual convention this past summer. Those messages came through loud and clear from a panel of speakers that spanned the continuum of commu- nications efforts, including beef pro- ducers, an animal scientist and a news reporter. The genesis behind the panel was two Colorado initiatives that shook beef pro- ducers to their boots—The Pause Act and a Meat-Out proclamation signed by Colorado’s governor. The Protect Animals from Unneces- sary Suffering and Exploitation, or Pause Act, would have mandated that live- stock live a certain portion of their lives before they could be harvested. That would have eliminated cattle feeding in the state. The measure also would have expanded the definition of “sexual act with an animal,” criminalizing common breeding practices used in animal agriculture. Fortunately, the Colorado Supreme Court struck down the measure. The Supreme Court ruling was only a setback, however, not a death knell. Animal rights groups will certainly try again. And it’s not out of the question that they’ll try something similar in your state. Then there was the Meat-Out proc- lamation sent by an animal rights group to all 50 governors. Colorado’s governor was the only one to sign it and declare a meat-free day for the state. Beef produc- ers declared a Meat-In day and held grilling events in towns across the state and at the State Capitol. How did the media find out about Meat-In? Through a tweet, said Jennifer Brown, reporter and co-founder of The Colorado Sun , an online news organiza- tion that covered cattlemen’s response to Meat-Out. She asked the crowd how many had a Twitter account. Not very many hands went up. “Unfortunately, that’s where we get a lot of our information, from social media,” she said. One hand that did go up was that of Jordan Levi with Five Rivers Cattle Feeding. “Back in 2018, we started a social media page that’s gained tremen- dous amounts of success,” he said. “Our question that we ask ourselves, Who’s our target audience? Are we con- tinuing to tell each other all the great Finding Common Ground with Consumers Social media may seem a dark and ugly place but that’s the best way to hold a conversation with consumers. Jennifer Brown, The Colorado Sun Jordan Levi, Five Rivers Cattle Feeding Keith Belk, Ph.D., Colorado State University For many consumers, sustainability is a big issue. For many beef producers, sustainability is just something they do and they don’t see why it’s such a big issue. But it is and that’s one of the important messages that beef producers need to convey.