“Know Farming, Know Beef” was the theme of the checkoff’s Northeast Beef Promotion Initiative (NEBPI) 2011 Beef Boot Camp. The one and a half day conference was held in Hadley and Hatfield, Massachusetts, May 10 and 11. A total of 46 retail meat buyers, managers and directors participated in the event, the highest boot camp attendance for the NEBPI program to date. Retailers came from Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut and Pennsylvania.

During the morning portion of the conference, participants learned about beef industry trends, watched a cutting demonstration of the most recent beef value cuts from the beef round, heard about the results of the 2010 National Meat Case Study, and received information about beef and veal merchandising opportunities.

They also gained valuable information about the USDA’s FSIS Nutrition Labeling Rule and how they can implement the program in their meat cases using the various websites and tools made available through the Beef Checkoff Program.

The panel of speakers included Laurie Bryant, Meat Import Council of America; Kari Underly, Range, Inc.; Dean Conklin and Cheryl Hendricks, National Cattlemen’s Beef Association; Chris Marcocci, Streetmarc Advertising and Marketing; and, Jean O’Toole, New York Beef Industry Council.

A farm tour at Luther-Belden Dairy Farm, owned and operated by Darryl and Lucinda Williams of Hatfield, Massachusetts, concluded the event. With the majority of attending retailers having little to no understanding of a dairy operation, the tour of the William’s family farm provided them with an opportunity to see a modern-day working dairy farm and learn how the beef and dairy industries are intertwined. PD

—From Beef Checkoff news release