Beef cattle and calf production is big business in the state of Tennessee with $548.8 million in cash receipts in 2019. As of January 1, 2020, there were 1.8 million cattle and calves inventoried in the state coming from the 38,000 farm families that work full or part time to produce top-quality cattle for healthy and tasty beef.
That’s something to celebrate!
Tennessee Farmers Co-op and the Tennessee Beef Industry Council (TBIC) partnered once again to celebrate July Beef Month by hosting “Beef Days” across the state. Co-op employees helped grill and wrap burgers, pack lunches, and safely serve local beef to producers and other Co-op customers at Hawkins Farmers Co-op, Maury Farmers Co-op, and Henry Farmers Co-op on select days during the third week in July.
“It’s a good way to show appreciation to our farmers and customers, to give something back, and help somebody,” says Ryan Pilkinton, Maury Farmers Co-op Columbia branch manager. “We wanted to give them a free lunch and recognize our producers as much as we can. We know how hard it is to be a farmer right now, to raise animals, and be in agriculture, so we just want to help our customers.”
This year has been hard on all sectors of the economy, but especially on the American farmer. Cattle going to market continue to see low prices while beef prices at the retail level continue to climb. The unbalanced supply and demand chain have made farming more difficult than ever.
“Farmers are having a hard time,” says Brian Julian, Hawkins Farmers Co-op manager. “Beef is one of the best nutritional products you can have, and we wanted to highlight that. The majority of our business is beef related, in some form or fashion. So, we are very supportive of the beef industry and are thankful for TBIC for coming and helping us thank our beef producers.”
Co-op and TBIC were not going to let a pandemic stomp on the celebration. Precautions were made to keep everyone as safe as possible with opportunities to social distance. Safety was a priority this year during Beef Days because of the COVID-19 pandemic. TFC and Beef Council employees sported masks and gloves and practiced social distancing throughout the event, but fun (and burgers) were had by all.
Each location grilled and served 300 hamburger meals for local producers, Co-op customers, and Co-op employees. At the Henry Farmers event, they even invited the neighboring Weakley Farmers Co-op and other surrounding Co-ops to join them for lunch.
“We work with all of the counties close to us; we’re neighbors,” says Kenny Kingins, General Manager at Henry County. “We work as one team; we all work together. We don’t try to compete; we just try to support each other. We’re blessed to have a facility here where we can hold it, and maybe the other Co-ops around us can utilize it.”
Kingins said his Co-op "jumped at the opportunity" to be involved when approached by TFC. We are proud to be a big part of the community and want to do anything to support Beef Days and our farmers moving forward.”
July Beef Month is a big event in Tennessee for good reason. And these Beef Days are just a few of the many celebrations throughout the month held by TBIC.
“We celebrate July Beef Month because it is the height of grilling season, and it’s just a family month,” says Valerie Bass, TBIC executive director. “A lot of families are getting together during this time because kids aren’t in school. And what’s better than a burger or steak on the grill? While we’re celebrating beef with our consumers, we also want to thank the farmers who raised that food. I think it’s fitting to celebrate cattle producers and consumers all in the same month.”
Valerie says during this month-long celebration, the council usually presents a tray of Tennessee beef to the governor as he makes the proclamation of July Beef Month. This year it wasn’t possible due to restrictions associated with the virus. However, the council was able to host children via Zoom for a virtual youth culinary camp.
“We’ve been doing a lot of things differently, and I know everyone has,” says Valerie. “We’ve adjusted our marketing strategies to incorporate more social media and virtual meetings and other activities. However we do it, July is a good month to celebrate all of the good things that we have.”
Culminating the July festivities, TFC, along with the TBIC, Tennessee Department of Agriculture, and University of Tennessee Heifer Development Center concluded their Heifer Giveaway promotion. The goal of the promotion was to further highlight the importance of beef to our state’s economy throughout the year and to recognize one lucky winner during July Beef Month.
“This promotion was a joint effort among all the partners to promote beef and highlight and help producers,” says John Houston, TFC Feed and Animal Health sales manager. “That partnership ultimately led into these Beef Days at Co-op stores to tell people about agriculture, thank our producers, and to promote beef in Tennessee.”
“TFC and TBIC partnered this year with the Department of Agriculture and the University of Tennessee Heifer Development Center,” Houston says. “Together, we are giving away five bred heifers. We believe this promotion helped raise awareness of the quality beef we have in the state, and we were able to share information with folks about beef and the importance of beef check off dollars.”
Houston County producer Jeremy Cook was announced as the winner in late July from the thousands of entries as the winner of the five bred heifers.
“Grow the Herd / Have You Heard" was a great partnership and promotion that highlights best practices in cattle production, thanks the cattle producer, and highlights the Beef Checkoff, all at the same time,” says Valerie. “Those animals are going to be a top quality, wholesome product in the end for Tennessee consumers as well as those across the US. We are so excited to be part of the promotion and are looking forward to seeing those heifers be placed."