I'm getting my MBA

One evening at Bob Evans at a time.

No, sitting at Bob Evens eating chicken and noodles by myself while using their free wi-fi will not earn me my Major BadAss certification any time soon. The good news is, I already got that. In case you didn't know, I was a dual major during my time as an undergrad at UW. COJO and MBA. But mostly MBA.

Yes. I seriously just wrote that.

You know it's true.

But today, I am working to earn a different type of MBA. It's one that might actually improve my lot in life. I started working on my Masters of Beef Advocacy program yesterday, and it's long overdue. It's a program put together by the Beef Checkoff that is working to empower agriculturalists to have a voice on the issues that affect them most -- consumer's perceptions of the beef industry. 

From Katie Couric's recent barrage against animal agriculture's use of antibiotics (twice) to [yellow tail]'s fall to [yellow fail] to the fact that well, everything the HSUS touches turns to muck, it is clear that agriculturalist need to have an educated, united voice to share our story.  

The program consists of six, 1-hour core courses on topics like beef safety, beef nutrition, animal care, environmental stewardship, modern beef production and the beef checkoff. They are interesting, easy to complete and forces folks in beef production to think like a typical beef consumer. It's all about equipping beef producers across the country to tell their story in presentations to schools and church/civic groups, through local media and in the “virtual” world of the Internet.

Some of the smartest, most incredible people I know are cattlemen and women. But it doesn't matter how smart you are or how great of a rancher you are or how right we know our way of life is if our story is told by groups like the HSUS and PeTA. So educate yourself on how to tell our story. Learn more about the MBA program here: http://www.beefboard.org/news/08_1010News_MBApressRelease.asp or by e-mailing Daren Williams at dwilliams@beef.org.

If you're reading this blog, I can only assume you are already a Major BA. Now go prove it with your MBA.