Senior Farm and Ranch Broadcaster, Ron Hays, is talking with Kara Lee of Certified Angus Beef about Beef Quality Assurance.
“When we look at consumer demand today, I think everyone can admit that one of the most regularly heard buzzwords today is sustainability,” Lee said. “If you poll 100 different people on what sustainability means to them, you probably get at least 99 different answers.”
Lee said consumers consistently continue to align sustainability with humane cattle care.
When one of Certified Angus Beef’s largest partners, Sysco was looking for ways to invest in the cattle industry, Lee said the company wanted to help producers better communicate their cattle care effort to consumers.
As one of the largest animal protein providers across the nation, Lee said relaying this message to consumers is just as important to Sysco as it is for cattle producers.
“As we look at an opportunity to communicate the amount of cattle care that producers are putting into their animals, the Beef Quality Assurance program gives us a nice outlet for that,” Lee said. “We have partnered with Sysco on our ‘Raised with Respect’ campaign, which encourages producers to update or renew their Beef Quality Assurance certification or get it for the first time if you haven’t had the opportunity to do so.”
While BQA is not a new program, Lee said it is important for producers to realize the level of consumer confidence that is boosted when cattle producers utilize this program.
“Roughly 70 percent of consumers say they have a heightened level of confidence in the beef they are purchasing when they know that the producer is BQA certified,” Lee said.
Lee said the BQA program’s main goal is to help cattle producers receive credit from the consumer for the excellent cattle care they have stewarded.
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 for today’s show and check out our archives for older Beef Buzz shows covering the gamut of the beef cattle industry today.
