Youth Beef Team

Youth Beef Team (YBT)

Involving younger generations is crucial to keep the industry alive and flourishing. The Iowa Cattlemen’s Foundation fosters involvement of youth through the Youth Beef Team. This program trains and educates young beef industry advocates to positively promote Iowa’s beef industry.

A training session equips youth with the knowledge and skills to conduct beef promotional activities in their own and surrounding communities. Activities include presentations, letters to the editor, farm tours, brochure and recipe distributions, beef grilling events and more.

High school seniors who have participated in Youth Beef Team are eligible to apply for a scholarship as well.

“Involvement in the Youth Beef Team was beneficial to me. I felt I was helping to promote my family’s livelihood and I gained speaking skills, rewards and friends across the state.” - Charise Carstensen, Odebolt

Guidelines

1. Any youth, ages 12-18, is eligible to participate in the ICF Youth Beef Team.

2. To become a member of the Youth Beef Team, students are strongly encouraged to take spokesperson and industry issues training offered by the ICF staff.

3. Following training, Youth Beef Team members agree to conduct five public relations/promotional activities during each year of participation. Five activities must be completed to be eligible for rewards.

4. Activity report forms must be filled out and submitted within two months of the activity to receive points for the activity. The member should keep a copy of the report form for their records.

5. Youth Beef Team members will receive a regular newsletter with tips and issue updates. The ICA magazine has a youth page that focuses on activities.

6. County Beef Queens are encouraged to take Youth Beef Team training so they can take advantage of the rewards program. County Queens are eligible to participate in the scholarship contest.

7. Scholarship recipients will be chosen based on Youth Beef Team participation.

8. Scholarship winners will have the opportunity to make public appearances and participate in promotions on behalf of Iowa’s beef industry. They may also be asked to assist with training younger members.

Rewards

Once Youth Beef Team members have completed training, they may begin to earn points. Points are accumulated for one calendar year.

Members may choose awards based on their year-end point totals. Point accumulations start over on August 1 each year.

*Rewards may change from year to year, based upon availability.

Diamond Level - 100 points

Platinum Level - 75 points

Gold Level - 60 points

Silver Level - 40 points

Bronze Level - 25 points

Commitment Level - Completing five suggested activities

Points are accumulated from August 1 to July 31.

Activity reports must be sent in by July 15 to receive credit for the previous year.

Activity Form

Activity report forms must be filled out and submitted within two months of the activity to receive points for the activity. The member should keep a copy of the report form for their records.

Activity forms may be sent in the mail, faxed or emailed to:

Iowa Cattlemen's Foundation

2055 Ironwood Court

Ames, IA 50014

Fax: 515-296-2261

Email: [email protected]

Need an activity form? Download a static PDF or Word doc and email back to [email protected].

Suggested Activities

The following list is an example of activities you can do for the Youth Beef Team program. Any activity* that educates a person about the beef industry, promotes beef to consumers, or increases your knowledge about our industry or product can be turned in for points. Activity sheets must be turned in to receive points for an activity. If a group of members participate in an activity, each member needs to submit an activity form as each member would receive points for the group activity.

Masters of Beef Advocacy

The free Master of Beef Advocacy (MBA) program is a great opportunity to learn more about how to be a better advocate for the beef industry.

MBA consists of six online training modules and a hands-on spokesperson training where you learn how to work with media, from a T.V. interview to posting comments online. The Checkoff funded Master of Beef Advocacy program is being offered by the National Cattlemen's Beef Association.

To enroll, send an e-mail to [email protected] with your name and email address. Please be sure to carbon copy [email protected].

Iowa Cattlemen's Association Membership

Youth Beef Team members are encouraged to work with their local county cattlemen's group in recruiting ICA members. ICA has resources to assist you in identifying potential members and special recruiter cards that point out benefits of being an ICA member.

• 4 points will be awarded for each new ICA member (Anyone not a member in the previous 12 months will constitute as a new ICA member)

• 2 points will be awarded for each ICA member renewed

Promote Beef

Examples:

• Give beef certificates to local radio stations for an on-air trivia prize! (The purchase of advertising is NOT required.)

• Hand out samples at a grocery store or farmer's market and enter people in a drawing to win $25 in beef certificates. Take the same opportunity to handout recipes and educational information.

• Work with restaurants to allow those who purchase a steak to enter to win $50 in beef certificates.

Note: Beef certificates must be purchased by youth, not supplied by ICF.

Cattlemen Care License Plates

The initial ICF Cattlemen Care license plates are free of charge. Individuals simply go to their county courthouse and purchase a Cattlemen Care license plate. Then they send ICF a copy of the Cattlemen Care license plate registration and ICF will mail a refund check of $35 for the cost of the license plate. The renewal fee is an additional $10 annually.

Cattlemen Care vouchers can be handed out at many events. YBT members will receive 2 points for handing out vouchers. If a voucher is redeemed with your name listed on the back, you will receive 5 points.

Other Activities

*Points awarded are based on promotional merit of the activity. The most points will be earned by activities where a strong positive beef message is presented to an audience with little knowledge of the beef industry. Points are awarded based on your activity. Be very detailed in your explanation of your activity to achieve the maximum points possible.

1. Make a presentation on beef to an audience that knows less about the beef industry than you do. This could be your 4-H club, your speech class, or any class at school, any group of non-farm adults (Lion’s Club, Rotary).

2. Take a display to a shopping mall, grocery store or booth at a fair where you talk to people about the beef industry. (This is a good team activity.) You can use brochures and recipes. The most important part is to say something positive about the beef industry to as many individuals as you are comfortable with.

3. Write a letter to the editor or an article to your local paper with some positive messages about the beef industry. You might try this around Ag Week (March 20) or Earth Day (April 20) or May Beef Month. If you provide ICF a copy of the letter, you can get credit even if it isn’t printed.

4. Take topic appropriate brochures to a local business and ask to leave them in the waiting room or put it on a bulletin board. You will need to explain whom you represent and why the information is important.

5. Take recipes to local grocery stores for them to hand out to customers.

6. Hang up beef nutrition posters to schools, YMCA, Boys or Girls Club or other organizations.

7. Submit a beef recipe or beef trivia to your local newspaper; send in a copy with activity form.

8. Participate in community parade or festival and hand out beef recipes or stickers.

9. Take beef information to an elementary classroom or pre-school and talk to them about how beef is good for them or about how cattle are good for the environment. You can show them pictures of your cattle or farm and handout coloring pages or hamburger stickers.

10. When you’re at the county fair and on barn duty, make an effort to talk to people walking through the barns that you don’t know. Find out who they are, and use the opportunity to say something positive about the beef industry in your county.

11. Write a paper for school on some aspect of the beef industry and how it’s important. If you have a research paper assignment, use your information. If it’s a personal experience assignment, write about what your involvement in raising beef cattle has meant to you.

12. “Adopt” a younger kid in your 4-H club or FFA group and help him/her to find out more about the beef industry. Share some of your information and spend some time helping them understand the importance of the industry.

13. Attend a county or state meeting involving beef production. This might be through your local extension office or something at Iowa State University, Hawkeye, Kirkwood or some other school.

14. Help your county cattlemen grill for a community event.

15. Help your county cattlemen with a demo promotion of heat-and-serve products at a grocery store.

16. Invite someone who isn’t from a farm to your farm and show them what you do when you care for your animals.

17. Self-Determined Project: Thoroughly explain how you promoted beef or the cattle industry in the project or activity and points will be assigned accordingly.