The Partnerships in Action Conference was held recently. Deanne Maples with the Florida Beef Council (FBC) sat down with Southeast AgNet to tell us more.
“Yeah, that’s the annual gathering that brings State Beef Council staff from across the country together to meet in Denver with the team at the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, the team out there that works on the beef checkoff programs, and it’s really a conference designed to discuss how we can strengthen our beef checkoff programs and make the most of our producer investments,” said Maples.
“And it’s one of, I think, one of the most important gatherings that we hold in the year. It brings together this year 70 staff members representing 32 State Beef Councils. And one of my favorite parts is it’s a great opportunity for us to collaborate with the other State Beef Councils, exchange ideas, learn about the national programs, of course, and then the resources available to us through those programs,” Maples added.
Maples also mentioned, “And some great takeaways from this year’s conference, you know, just the consumer trends. That’s really an area that I see is so important. What influences purchasing decisions and how we can continue positioning beef as the protein of choice.”
“And, of course, also a big focus on the national strategy that we’ll see over the next year, which is working on taste, trust, well-being, and ease. And without diving into all of those, you know, they each represent a different component of influencing consumer decision making and behavior. And so, you know, those are things that we can bring back on the state level to some of our individual campaigns,” Maples further explained.
“And so really, you know, Florida is a unique market. Our consumers aren’t necessarily the same as those in other parts of the country, but that research and those resources that we gain during this conference, I can bring right back here to Florida and we can put them to work to meet our consumers, the Florida consumers, where they are,” said Maples.
Audio Reporting by Elizabeth Sanders for Southeast AgNet.