A Matter of Taste

May 22, 2025

The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, a contractor to the Beef Checkoff, kicks off summer grilling season and National BBQ Month in May by showcasing regional BBQ styles through Beef. It’s What’s For Dinner. social media channels. The cross-country odyssey features beef-centric BBQ in North Carolina, Kansas City and Santa Maria, three unique destinations with styles all their own. While flavors and styles may differ, one thing they all have in common is that beef is at the heart of BBQ.

“Our goal is to celebrate the groundbreaking pitmasters, history and flavors that make each BBQ style unique,” said NCBA Senior Director of Social Media, Becca Watters. “People travel great distances to savor the flavor of the best BBQ in the country, and we are glad that beef plays a starring role.”

Celebrity pitmaster Erica Roby serves as the Regional BBQ Tour series host. Roby walks Instagram and Facebook audiences through a series of interviews with restaurateurs/pitmasters and cooking demonstrations, all while highlighting the unique flavors and specific beef cuts of different BBQ styles.

The tour series highlights three regions known for BBQ:

North Carolina
While not often associated with beef, North Carolina’s BBQ scene is evolving, and beef has arrived. With new pitmasters introducing brisket and other beef cuts to consumers, North Carolina BBQ has changed in a big way and is making headlines on a national level.

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Video: WARNING! Rough Start To Breeding Season!!

WARNING! Sheep Breeding Season Begins With A Bang! Breeding season is officially underway at Ewetopia Farms, but it didn’t exactly start the way we planned!

This vlog begins with us sorting through our rams to find the perfect match for a customer’s breeding program. What should have been routine quickly turned dangerous when one of our more nervous rams panicked. In seconds, Arnie’s knee was injured, and then I was slammed hard onto the concrete floor — both of us taken down by one ram!

Thankfully, it was just bruises, but it’s a reminder of how unpredictable and powerful mature rams can be. Once we recovered, it was time to get back to the real work — the start of breeding season.

We sorted the ewes into four breeding groups (two Suffolk and two Dorset), checking parentage as they ran through the chute, deworming those that needed it, and setting aside thinner ewes for session two of breeding season in a month’s time.This staggered approach keeps lambing organized and prevents overcrowding in the barns.

From rogue rams to the excitement of new breeding groups, this episode is full of action. Stay tuned for the next vlog, where we’ll share how we chose the rams for each group!