Agricultural News
EVP Richard Wortham Says Extra Dollar is Beefing Up Programs for Texas Beef Council
Tue, 19 Jul 2016 15:58:31 CDT
Over the last 20 months, the Texas Beef Council has 'beefed up' its programs, so to speak, with the added resources being collected by the state's Checkoff. Almost two years ago, Texas cattle producers voted to collect an extra dollar for the Checkoff and TBC Executive Vice President Richard Wortham says it is making a world of difference.
"The state Checkoff has enhanced everything we've been able to do in the last 20 months," Wortham said. "It has made all of our programs more robust then they have ever been before."
For example, eight months ago the TBC implemented MD Outreach, a program designed to educate physicians and medical professionals on the nutritional benefits of beef. The supplemental funding has allowed the TCB to actually hire contracted advocates with experience as pharmaceutical representatives who have established relationships with doctors that often treat patients with high cholesterol. Patients with health issues like this often receive instructions from their physicians to omit red meat from their diet. These advocates are successfully educating doctors one-on-one in the Dallas and Houston areas that beef is not what it was 30 years ago and that there is simply a lot of misinformation out there.
While the TBC's local efforts are admirable, the new funding has also helped to boost its contributions nationally as well. Wortham says that if all the state's contributions are looked at as a whole, Texas is the fourth largest investor in the US Meat Export Federation (USMEF).
"If you look at our investment for 2016, it's a little over $3 million going to help grow demand in international markets," Wortham said.
Listen to more of what Richard Wortham had to say on beef advocacy by clicking the LISTEN BAR below.
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