Sharing Beef’s Story From Pasture to Plate

Before consumers pick up a pack of steaks at the grocery store, a lot of questions run through their minds, such as how will they taste and are they easy to prepare? For many families these are the primary decision-making points when shopping. There are, however, consumers who are also concerned about how their food is raised and grown and that information helps them decide what to buy.  

For those consumers who are interested in learning where their food comes from, what information do they really want to know? Based on consumer insights, beef buyers want to hear about the positive environmental and economic impacts of cattle production, how cattle grazing preserves the environment and helps prevent wildfires and understand how cattle play a role in the carbon cycle.¹ From animal care and greenhouse gas emissions to upcycling and resource conservation, consumers want to know how cattle are cared for and their impact on the environment.  

To increase awareness of how beef is raised safely, humanely and sustainably, NCBA, a contractor to the Beef Checkoff, implemented the Raised and Grown Campaign in spring 2022. The campaign utilized a multi-faceted approach to reach targeted consumers through video, audio, native advertising, social media as well as public relations efforts. The campaign featured Environmental Stewardship Award Program and Beef Quality Assurance award-winning producers across the country to give consumers the opportunity to connect personally with the people producing their food.  

Throughout the campaign, the popular interactive map on the Beef Checkoff-funded Beef. It’s What’s For Dinner. website featured producers in every state and guided consumers on their beef sustainability journey. To kick off raised and grown efforts, agriculture influencers celebrated National Ag Day on March 22 by sharing what the day meant to them and highlighting sustainability practices on their own farms and ranches. These social posts alone reached nearly 2 million people.

Earth Day on April 22 brought the next big touch point with consumers and the “Beef and The Earth” video series was launched. Five short videos featuring ESAP regional winners celebrated the people behind the beef and shared beef's sustainability story through websites and social media channels. In addition, Chef’s Roll, a peer-to-peer network of chefs and foodservice professionals, shared a video showing how producers utilize spent brewers’ grains as cattle feed.  

To engage kids in the sustainability conservation, NCBA partnered with kid-focused media outlets, such as The Week Jr. and ScoutLife. Through these partnerships, kids and parents were directed to the newly created Beef Sustainability for Kids page on www.BeefItsWhatsForDinner.com. On the page, kids found videos, graphics, games, articles and kid-approved beef recipes to learn more about beef production across the country.  

Through sponsored news content, multimedia news releases and content partnerships, media outlets from coast to coast included information about the role cattle play in preserving resources for future generations. Well-known publications such as Texas Monthly, Seattle Pi and Parade shared stories of ranchers across the U.S. who utilize practices that make beef sustainable.  

This integrated effort shared beef’s positive sustainability message with consumers across the nation and generated nearly 85 million impressions, including 5.3 million video views and 2.5 million audio ad listens. Learn more at www.BeefItsWhatsForDinner.com.