PA Beef Council Annual Meeting Welcomes New Directors, Officers and New Technology

Bedford – The Pennsylvania Beef Council (PBC) Board welcomed four new directors during their annual meeting held on Wednesday, December 12, in Bedford.  Newly elected to the council’s board include Harrison Hartman, dairy producer from Lancaster County; Duff George, beef producer from Cumberland County; Marty Yahner, beef producer from Cambria County; and Joe Beaman, foodservice representative from Deer Lakes School District.

The officer team will be led by Chris Jeffcoat, beef producer from Adams County.  Jeffcoat will serve as Chairman and succeeds outgoing Chairman, Bobbi Dunn a Hereford producer from Crawford County who led the Board with excellence from 2017-2018.  Washington County beef producer and sale barn owner David Kearns, Jr., is the organization’s new Vice Chairperson. Statewide beef representative and Bedford County beef producer, Adam Kauf, will serve as Treasurer and Northampton County beef producer, Ned Hower, completes the slate of officers as Secretary.

Chris Jeffcoat, is ready for the opportunity and honor that awaits him as the organizations chairman. “I’ve enjoyed my time being involved with the Beef Council and serving as their Federation of State Beef Councils Director at the national level. I believe the council does a great job with consumer promotion and producer education,” noted Jeffcoat “I feel honored to be involved in this leadership role and look forward to giving back to the beef industry.”

In addition, the group welcomed keynote speaker Dee Likes, CEO Emeritus of the Kansas Livestock Association, to share the history of the beef checkoff.  The checkoff staff provided updates that included exciting information on a new device offering a digital experience for consumers to interact with beef checkoff materials that will be incorporated into future educational and promotional events. The new technology provides an ALL THINGS BEEF station giving future beef events an edgy twist. The kiosk will allow event attendees to engage with the beef booth to learn more about beef cuts, beef recipe inspirations and “how to” videos of cutting beef at home. This newly designed and interactive kiosk will lend an extra hand at large events while reducing print material cost by sending educational materials directly to attendee homes, digitally.

For a full list of the 2018-2019 board of directors, visit www.pabeef.org, and click on “About PBC.”

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The Pennsylvania Beef Council is a producer-controlled and funded organization, which administers the Beef Checkoff Program in Pennsylvania. The Beef Checkoff Program assesses $1 per head on the sale of live domestic and imported cattle, in addition to a comparable assessment on imported beef and beef products. Checkoff revenues may be used for promotion, education and research programs to improve the marketing climate for beef.