You’ll be seeing some new faces in the management of the YPC Cattle Call. Cari Rincker is proud to hand over the reins to new head editor, Lauren Chase, and co-editors Jesse Bussard, Danielle Schubert, and Meghan Wooldridge. We thank Cari for all her work in helping to start the YPC Cattle Call and nurturing it over the past few years. Our goal as the new editorial staff for the Cattle Call is to tell the story of our members, the young producers, which are the future of the cattle industry. Jesse Bussard will also be taking over as the new YPC Public Relations Task Force Chair.

Lauren is the Multimedia Specialist for the Montana Stockgrowers Association and resides in Helena, MT. Her job is traveling to member ranches to take photos and conduct video interviews for use on MSGA’s social media sites. She will also be producing a series of photo books featuring Montanan ranchers. Lauren graduated from the University of Iowa with two majors: Journalism and Mass Communication and Anthropology. To stay up on the latest beef news news, check out her list of "agvocates" on Twitter and also, follow her multimedia work on MSGA's Facebook page. 

Jesse Bussard is pursuing her M.S. and Ph.D. in Plant and Soil Science, focusing on forages and livestock grazing systems, at the University of Kentucky in Lexington. She is also an Animal Science graduate of Penn State University and a native of Pennsylvania. You can find out more about Jesse on her blog, Pearl Snaps’ Ponderings. 

Danielle Schubert is a junior at South Dakota State University where she is working toward a degree in both Animal Science and Ag Business.  She grew up on a commercial cow/calf operation in central Minnesota and is passionate about being an advocate for agriculture.

Meghan Wooldridge graduated from Colorado State with a degree in Animal Science. She currently works for AgInfoLink in Verified Services.

We are currently looking for new submissions from Young Producer Council members on topics that are in keeping with your daily lives in the cattle industry. Photos, videos, opinion articles - you name it, we want it! This is a great way to tell your story to the world and having the young producers, the future of the industry, talk about it from their perspective is the goal. We will be changing the blog from its current platform to Wordpress soon which will make for easier submissions. We will let you know when that change occurs. As for now, tell us your story! Thank you for your continued dedication to the beef industry. If you know of anyone else who might be interested in this blog, please pass the word along.

Please email one of us to let us know if you are interested in submitting content to the blog. Even if you can only submit one photo or article per month, that would still be great! Our contact information can be found below.

Head Editor: Lauren Chase (Lauren.chase4@gmail.com)

 Public Relations Task Force Chair & Co-editor: Jesse Bussard (Jrb5218@gmail.com)

Co-Editor: Danielle Schubert (dlschubert@jacks.sdstate.edu)

Co-Editor: Meghan Wooldridge (Meghan.wooldridge@aginfolink.com)

Again, thank you and til next time, Happy Trails!

~ The YPC Cattle Call Editorial Staff

I was on Twitter yesterday and read some great media tips from the American Farm Bureau Federation (@FarmBureau).  The YPC Public Relations Task Force is getting organized to launch a local media program to help connect young cattlemen (and women) with their local media.  Whether you are partaking in an interview with traditional media platforms (e.g., radio, newspaper, television) or social media platforms (e.g., Twitterview), it is good to keep the following media tips in mind:

Tip #1: “Determine your interview goal in advance.”

Tip #2: “Practice what you plan to say and how to say it.”

Tip #3: “Focus on and repeat your key messages.”

Tip #4: “Think and speak in headlines.”

Tip #5: “Keep your answers brief.”

Tip #6: “Say what you want to say, then stop.”

Tip #7: “Avoid industry jargon and acronyms.”

Tip #8: “Remember who your audience is.”

Tip #9: "Never go off the record."

Tip #10: "Be respectful of reporters & meet their deadlines."

If you are interested in being a local media contact for YPC, please email me at cari.rincker@gmail.com.  These YPC members are required to go through the Masters of Beef Advocacy ("MBA") program.  There will also be a second level of beef policy training for these individuals.  It is a big commitment for these folks but I think it will have long-term benefits for the industry.  It is important to get young cattle people prepared to speak to the media about the policy issues that affect the entire industry.

YPC has launched a Twitter account (@YPCBeef) so please start following, and spread the word! We are still looking for additional members for the Twitter subcommittee, and would like some more input on creating the How-To-Tweet-For Beef guide. Please let Jena Swanson, Twitter Sub-Committee Chair, know if you have interest in being on the subcommittee. If you have a Twitter account, and have not been added to our recommended followers, please send Jena your username by emailing her at jswanson@crinet.com.