The day was led by Megan Richardson, UA Meat Judging Team Coach and graduate student, along with Tiffany Selchow from the Arizona Beef Council. Together they walked teachers through everything from how cattle are harvested to why we cook beef the way we do.

A Tour Worth Taking
The morning kicked off with a tour of the facility, followed by an overview of beef curriculum resources, including a live demo of the Umami lesson. Teachers got to experience the fifth taste firsthand, sampling parmesan cheese, arugula, onion jam, salt, lime, steak, and kimchi to discover why beef is naturally packed with umami flavor. It is the kind of activity that makes sense the moment you taste it, and teachers could immediately see why students would remember it. The Arizona Beef Council gave away prizes throughout both sessions to keep energy high and reward participation.

The lesson plans, developed by the Arizona Beef Council and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, are free and ready to use in any agriculture or culinary classroom. Each one comes with a lesson plan, a PowerPoint, and student materials. Teachers do not have to build anything from scratch.

The curricula cover topics like how much meat an animal provides, beef byproducts, reading food labels, safe cooking practices, and careers in the meat industry. Additional lessons developed by the Arizona Beef Council cover umami and the science of taste, muscle science and tenderness, spice blends, and how to plan a fancy steak dinner on a budget. All materials are free and available for immediate classroom use. Visit this webpage to download all lesson plans for free.

Knife Skills and Beef Science
After a short break, teachers came back together for an afternoon session, also led by Megan. The knife skills portion was not your typical cooking class demo. Megan walked teachers through how to properly sharpen a knife and shared the perspective of knife skills inside a real harvesting facility. She also gave practical ideas for how teachers could bring knife skills into their own classrooms in a safe and meaningful way.

From there, Megan moved into a Tri Tip demo that showed teachers exactly how to cut against the grain on a muscle to get the best possible eating experience. Teachers got to watch up close and then taste the results. The difference a proper cut makes on tenderness and enjoyment is the kind of thing that clicks immediately when you taste it yourself.

The session concluded with a look at beef and nutrition, covering the role beef plays in a balanced diet and the nutrients it provides.

The Reach Behind the Numbers
Thirty-four teachers attended the event. When you add up the number of students each teacher works with every year, that one day of learning has the potential to reach more than 4,000 students across Arizona per year. When that is multiplied across a teacher’s lifelong career the numbers are staggering. Those students come from schools all over the state, from large urban high schools to small rural communities. That kind of reach is exactly what the Beef Checkoff Program is designed to support. 

Why It Matters 
Events like this one put beef science directly into the hands of the people who shape how the next generation thinks about food, agriculture, and careers. Teachers left with curriculum they can use right away, skills they can bring back to their classrooms, and a better understanding of the beef industry from farm to fork. The Arizona Beef Council is proud to support this kind of education and looks forward to building on it in the years ahead.