Masters of Beef Advocacy Spotlight: Scott Niess

I feel the need to spread a little bit of sunshine on the blog today because that's exactly what the weather has been like for us all week! Finally, a little sunshine and dry weather to bring some optimism to the farmers and ranchers as they harvest crops and wean calves. This afternoon, I'm planning to head out to the ranch to start working on a few bulls for upcoming consignment sales, and I'm really excited that the weather is going to cooperate while I'm at it. In the meantime, I have a new interview with an outstanding individual in the beef cattle industry that I hope you will enjoy.

Throughout the past couple of months, I have been featuring some of the nation’s most dedicated cattle producers through the BEEF Daily Blog. These folks are members of the Masters of Beef Advocacy Program (MBA), and they are trained to quickly respond to negative media messages and promote beef cattle production to consumers.

I'm incredibly excited because I was recently selected to present the social media and agriculture advocacy workshop at the MBA Commencement Ceremony in January at the 2010 Annual Cattle Industry Convention and Trade Show in San Antonio, TX. I would love to meet some of you there, so be sure to complete the MBA program and make plans to attend the convention this winter! Producers wanting more information should contact Daren Williams at dwilliams@beef.org, 303-850-3346 or contact their state beef council.

In honor of the MBA program, I recently interviewed another standout: An Iowa beef producer who serves on the Iowa Beef Council, Scott Niess. Niess is from Osage, IA, and he was more than willing to discuss his diversified agriculture operation, as well as his experiences with the MBA program and sharing the agriculture story. Be sure to listen to our interview here.

BEEF Daily Quick Fact: There are four basic major (primal) cuts into which beef is separated: chuck, loin, rib, and round. (Source: Beef Facts Safety and Cooking)