Beef For Schools Update

Welcome to Open Range, I’m KayDee Gilkey. Stay tuned because after the break I’ll check in with our field reporter, Greg Martin for the AgriBeef Minute.

I’m Greg Martin with today’s AgriBeef Minute. We have talked in past about the Beef For Schools program and Martin Arritola, President of the Baker County Livestock Association in Oregon says the program just works.

ARRITOLA: Two of three ranchers in the Halfway-Richland area joined together to donate beef to put in Pine Eagle High School. They realized there wasn’t a lot of beef product in their local schools and this is cattle country so they set out to do something about that.

That and another donation of tri-tip went over so well that it got them thinking.

ARRITOLA: We got to talking about it in a cattleman’s meeting one night somebody threw out the idea what if we did it for the whole county. It took off and we’ve had tremendous support from the local ranchers. Since 2009 we’ve had 64 cows donated by 37 different ranchers. 29-thousand pounds of hamburger.

Arritola says they also add an element of education to it.

ARRITOLA: We’ve even put ranchers in front of kids. In addition to the school beef program we continue to do these cooking events where we’ll go to the school, the local cattle women organization will go in with ranchers and do educational training to the kids about the local industry and where the beef they’re eating comes from.

I’m Greg Martin and that’s today’s AgriBeef Minute.

Thanks Greg. Don’t forget Greg will be back each Wednesday with the AgriBeef Minute. Agri Beef Co - Real Families, Great People, Exceptional Beef. I’m KayDee Gilkey.