In today’s Beef Buzz, senior farm and ranch broadcaster Ron Hays speaks with Executive Director of the Oklahoma Beef Council Heather Buckmaster about the long-running partnership between the Oklahoma Beef Council and the Oklahoma FFA Association to teach the Master of Beef Advocacy program in classrooms across the state.
Teaching the Next Generation About Beef
Buckmaster said the program, funded through the Beef Checkoff, is designed to help students better understand the beef industry and communicate confidently about it.
“The Masters of Beef Advocacy Program is a checkoff-funded project, and it’s designed to equip farmers, ranchers and our youth with the information they need to be advocates for the industry,” Buckmaster said.
She explained the curriculum covers topics ranging from nutrition to animal care and environmental stewardship. “They learn about the role of beef in a healthy diet, the care that animals are raised with, really talk about the environment, nutrition — really across the board — be able to be that advocate for the beef industry,” she said.
More Than 8,000 Students Reached
The partnership between Oklahoma FFA and the Beef Checkoff has now lasted for more than a decade, reaching thousands of students statewide.
“We’ve had a relationship now for over 10 years with Oklahoma FFA, in which we’ve been able to help integrate the MBA program into the classroom, and it’s just been a great way for us to reach this next generation of agriculturalists,” Buckmaster said.
In 2026 alone, more than 850 Oklahoma FFA members completed the certification program across 60 classrooms. Over the course of the partnership, Buckmaster estimates roughly 8,000 students have participated.
“We think probably about 8,000 kids have gone through the program, and I think that’s really amazing,” she said. “8,000 kids have learned about beef and can talk about beef to consumers, to their peers.”
Certification Program Builds Beef Advocates
Buckmaster noted the program is more than just coursework — students are tested and certified on the material they learn.
“It’s a tested program. It’s a certification program,” Buckmaster said. “We know that they’ve learned the content on beef nutrition, beef environment, animal care, and we’ve tested them on that.”
She added that while some participants may never work directly in cattle production, the knowledge they gain still benefits the industry. “We know most of these kids will probably not end up in cattle production,” she said. “They’re going to go out into the world, and they can be an advocate for beef no matter where they end up in their careers.”
Buckmaster said that’s especially important today as fewer Americans have direct ties to agriculture.
“In this day and age where the cattle industry is a tiny percentage of the population, anybody who can learn more about beef — that’s a positive.”
The Beef Buzz is a regular feature heard on radio stations around the region on the Radio Oklahoma Ag Network and is a regular audio feature found on this website as well. Click on the LISTEN BAR above for today’s show and check out our archives for older Beef Buzz shows covering the gamut of the beef cattle industry today.
