As the Florida Cattle Enhancement Board wraps up their funding year, Deanne Maples with the Florida Beef Council reflects on the impact made in the beef industry.
“So we’re wrapping up another funding year with the Florida Cattle Enhancement Board. It goes up every year from about August to June or so,” said Maples.
“And so I want to take a moment to thank the board for its continued investment in the industry. Each year the board receives a legislative appropriation and they review proposals from the Florida Beef Council, from universities and researchers and other organizations working to strengthen Florida’s beef industry. And we are so incredibly grateful the Florida Beef Council was fully funded this year,” added Maples.
Maples also said, “You probably know Florida’s home to nearly 24 million residents and we see about 140 million visitors each year. And reaching those consumers takes strong partnerships just like this one with the Cattle Enhancement Board. And because of their investment in us, we’ve expanded both the scope and quality of our work.”
“Over the past 10 months we’ve carried out probably 150 programs and probably 100 of those are able to happen because of the funding from the Cattle Enhancement Board. Those partnerships allow us to work across nutrition and retail, food service, culinary, digital media, social media. I’m probably leaving out a few,” said Maples.
“And we’re working with health care professionals, with retailers, with educators and people who I like to call the trusted voices who influence millions of consumer decisions every day. And many of our biggest and most impactful initiatives that we’ve done over the last few months simply wouldn’t have happened without the support of the Cattle Enhancement Board. So for the members of the board, the legislative leaders who allow this appropriation, I want to just say thank you for your confidence in the Florida Beef Council,” Maples said.
Maples also added, “I know that together we are doing great work. We’re creating stronger demand for beef and also equally important, we’re helping to tell the story of Florida agriculture.”
Audio Reporting by Elizabeth Sanders for Southeast AgNet.