As the Chair of the Cattlemen's Beef Board here in 2016, Texas Cattle Rancher Anne Anderson has a vision for today's beef cattle industry. And she is hopeful that beef cattle producers from all across the country will take the challenge of stepping up to tell consumers about how we raise our animals and produce a safe, wholesome product for both the domestic and international markets.
Anderson says in this installment of an interview that she did with Radio Oklahoma Network's Ron Hays that "My greatest goal is that research has told us is that the only way we are going to survive long term is for producers to be the face of the industry" Anderson says there are several steps that must happen, starting with equipping them with the message, then motivating them to do it and then keeping the process front and center with producers so that people who want to encounter a rancher or talk to a rancher or feeder will have the ability to hear about our business first hand and have a chance to clarify misconceptions that consumers not connected to agriculture have.
Anderson says the problem is that so many producers are not comfortable in engaging consumers- and her answer to that is start close to home. She suggests "you don't have to deal with an audience- deal with one- deal with the person in front of you in the grocery store." That one on one in person conversation is a great start- but Anderson says it will take more than that since most of our consumers are miles removed from our producers. She adds that's where social media can be a positive force- she envisions checkoff and others utilizing real ranchers and stocker producers and feedlot operators online- perhaps making them available in chat rooms and special virtual town halls events to answer questions and explain how cattle are handled, fed, doctored and more
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