Agricultural News
Kayln McKibben of Wyandotte Selected as National Beef Ambassador for 2014-15
Tue, 30 Sep 2014 11:45:27 CDT
A new set of National Beef Ambassadors named this past weekend at the competition in Colorado. Kalyn McKibben of Wyandotte was one of five individuals that was selected for the National Beef Ambassador Team for the coming year. In June, Radio Oklahoma Network Farm Director Ron Hays interviewed McKibben at the state beef ambassador competition in the media interview portion. She told us about her family's background in ranching.
"We raise cows and calves, so I come from a commercial cow-calf operation and its a family operation," McKibben said. "It feels like it has been in my family for thousands of years, it feels like, but yes sir, every single day its my family and I. We go out there and we work the land together."
As part of the family, McKibben's responsibilities on her family's ranch have grown, where she has been involved in a wide variety of ranch activities from hauling hay, to buying cattle, to checking cows and feeding cattle in all weather conditions. When it comes to telling beef's story, McKibben shared insight into the protein source.
"First of all we can be absolutely confident that all of the beef that we have in the United States is safe, wholesome and nutritious," McKibben said. "We have to look at beef's big ten, they call it beef's big ten, it's 10 vital nutrients that come in large amounts of that come from beef."
"First of all we have vitamin B12 and vitamin B6 to help our brain function, we have half of our daily value of protein needed just in one single three ounce serving of lean beef," she said. "There are 29 options of lean beef out there for our consumers and I think we just need to realize that for the price and for the nutrients your getting, its the best value."
Hays also asked McKibben about the sustainability issues of cattle and of the environment. Click on the LISTEN BAR below for the full feature.
"Today we are producing more beef with less resources than ever, of course we have to meet that growing population demand that is supposed to reach us at 2050," McKibben said. "We are using less water and less energy and we are continually improving on that with new technology, but yes sir, we can always be confident that we are doing the most because we have to in order to meet the growing beef demand."
McKibben said today's mothers should be considering beef in feeding their families.
"We can feel confident that we are giving our children the most healthy and the most jam packed nutritious item that we can," McKibben said.
The other members of the 2015 National Beef Ambassador Team include Rachel Purdy (Wyoming), Will Pohlman (Arkansas), Alicia Smith (Texas) and Demi Snider (Ohio). The 20 senior contestants ages 17-21, were judged in the areas of consumer promotion, education and outreach strategy, media interview technique and issues response at the event held in Denver.
Contestants from throughout the country vied for a place on this elite team of agriculture advocates and $5,000 in cash prizes sponsored exclusively by Farm Credit. Additionally five educational scholarships totaling $5,000 were given by the American National CattleWomen Foundation, Inc. and Monsanto.
This year's contest also hosted a junior competition for youth beef industry advocates ages 12-16. 10 passionate contestants vied for cash prizes, competing in three judged categories: consumer promotion, media interview technique and issues response. The first place winner was Phillip Saunders (Virginia). The second place winner was Bret Lee (Louisiana), and the third place winner was Abbey Schiefelbein (Minnesota). They all took home checks sponsored exclusively by Farm Credit for their top scores.
The Beef Buzz is a regular feature heard on radio stations around the region on the Radio Oklahoma Network- but is also a regular audio feature found on this website as well. Click on the LISTEN BAR below for today's show- and check out our archives for older Beef Buzz shows covering the gamut of the beef cattle industry today.
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