RancHERs retire after seven years

[grassfarmer]

Per, I was asking whether you would be happy green lighting the successor to this ad series as I assume the RancHers will be getting replaced. This would seem an opportune time to review the cost/benefit of the previous campaign before commissioning the next one. That is why I was asking for the cost.

[per]

No Grassfarmer they would not get an automatic green light from me.

[sagewood]

Good posts everyone and good comments. For my part on the RancHERS program, I was happy to see woman being acknowledged in the industry for more than just being able to cook a good steak for the family in a fluffy apron. With the beef industry in the position it has been for several years, the women on the ranch had to take over the reigns of the operation b/c their men were off working in the oilfield to make ends meet in order to continue the 'life style' of living and working a farm/ranch. Let's face it, the pay in the ag industry for many years now has not kept up with the cost of running the operation--not if one needed to upgrade machinery or do maintenance around the place.

Whether or not the RancHERS ad program gained us any more money, I do think that it gave our industry a cleaner front and actually got the consummer asking for meat that was not pumped full of antibiotics and hormones. Therefore, it did open up a niche market for those outfits who could and did cater to those requests from our consummers. I have never been a believer in feedlots and feel that a lot of the negative image that is upon the beef industry today came from feed lots operators going with the thought that 'bigger is better' and thus crowding cattle into dusty pens and having to fight the stress and disease with more and more drugs and having to pump the cattle full of hormones for the quick turn around. Left to their own devices, some quality grain and hay and water (and a good meat-producing genetics), cattle can and do finish without having to be pumped full of drugs etc. that only serve to make the drug/pharmaceutical companies wealthy. Do you ever notice the ocst of drugs coming down?

As for the ladies getting an eductaion--what is wrong with an education--I think that part of the beef industry problem for many years has been the lack of the educated people in it and having them look like a bunch of laughable hill billies in the eyes of the consummer. If we cannot be well spoken and educated in this business then we will never get our message out to the consummer that we do know what we are doing, that our product is safe, that our animals are not abused and that we too, eat this meat.

I know we are in terrible hard times, but I don't think that a negative ad campaign showing filthy feedlots and greasy, dishevelled humans is in anyone's interest--negativity breeds negativity.

I wish the ladies luck in their on-going endeavors. This old girl wishes that she had the energy (and youth) to be able to keep up with them and expand my business into ag.tourism or be able to market my branded product.

[grassfarmer]

And who in this thread said we should show pictures of farmers in dirty clothes as the next ABP advert?