The Arizona Beef Council (ABC) conducted a Gate to Plate tour with Northern Arizona University dietetic interns on May 20, 2022. This tour is the first time the ABC has conducted an in-person experience with this group of interns, and now every university dietetic intern program in Arizona has toured a ranch, feed yard, or both! 

The NAU dietetic intern class is small, but no less impactful. Eight interns were welcomed to the Bar T Bar Ranch in Winslow, AZ by owner and operator Judy Prosser. Members of the Diablo Trust, a collaborative land stewardship group, also joined the tour. Judy shared the ranch’s history, how cattle are raised, and how beef from their cattle is distributed. Topics of interest covered pasture rotation to conserve and use forage wisely and water development projects to ensure water was accessible in many areas of the ranch, allowing cattle (and wildlife) to distribute across the landscape and prevent overgrazing in areas around limited water sources.  

Lunch was catered by Chef Dineh Tohe of Diablo Burger, a local Flagstaff restaurant, that serves beef from the Bar T Bar Ranch. Following lunch and great conversations, the participants loaded back on the bus bound for the NAU campus. There participants heard from Riley Peterson, RDN, of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, a contractor to the Beef Checkoff, about beef and its role in a healthy diet. Riley and ABC staff fielded many hard-hitting questions, leaving participants with facts and resources to take out into their careers to help answer the same questions from clients. 

Arizona’s Gate to Plate Tour Series is funded by the Iowa Beef Industry Council to reach beef consumers in high population states. Dietetic interns are graduate students who are studying to become registered dietitians and will serve clients in many fields including hospitals, schools, health and wellness, and private practice.

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About the Beef Checkoff Program      

The Beef Checkoff Program was established as part of the 1985 Farm Bill. The checkoff 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. States may retain up to 50 cents on the dollar and forward the other 50 cents per head to the Cattlemen’s Beef Promotion and Research Board, which administers the national checkoff program, subject to USDA Approval.        

About the Arizona Beef Council     

The Arizona Beef Council is a non-profit organization served by a nine-member board of directors representing cattle growers, cattle feeders, and dairy farmers, and are appointed by the Governor of Arizona. These volunteers oversee Arizona’s beef checkoff and checkoff-funded programs.