ALBANY — New York Agriculture in the Classroom and the New York State Beef Council have partnered to offer an exciting cross-curricular program for middle and high school students to engage with and understand beef production. This experiential learning contest will allow your students to creatively develop a marketing strategy for a product of their choice, while learning about the multitude of agricultural careers and skills it takes to develop and sell a product. Students will also be learning about the beef production industry and beef nutrition as a result of participation.
Objective
Students will work independently or as a group to develop a marketing and nutrition plan for a beef-centric product or recipe.
Eligibility
6th through 12th grade students working in groups or as a classroom in New York State are eligible to participate. Pre-registration is required in the respective grade divisions. Multiple groups or classrooms from the same school may participate. FFA chapters, home school groups, and private schools are also eligible to participate.
Divisions
Middle School (6th – 8th Grade) & High School (9th – 12th Grade)
Contest Timeline
Pre-Registration is open from October 1-31, 2017
Contest submissions are due January 12, 2018
Winners will be announced no later than February 23, 2018
Prize
The marketing plans will be judged by a panel of beef producers and educators (see rubric for judging criteria). The top three schools from each division will be listed, and two honorable mentions denoted. Prizes for this contest are generously awarded by the New York Beef Council.
- Cash prizes per division include:
- 1st Place – $250
- 2nd Place – $100
- 3rd Place – $50
- A banner to be displayed in the school or community
- 1st place classrooms will have a BBQ lunch brought to their school and catered by the New York Beef Council
Partnerships
You are encouraged to partner with a local beef producer to encourage your students to learn about the entire beef production system. If you would like assistance in identifying a beef producer in your area, please identify your interest on your pre-registration form or contact: Katie Carpenter.
Pre-Registration
All classrooms must pre-register to participate in the contest. With preregistration, your classroom will receive a True Beef DVD and paired curriculum guide valued at $30 provided at no cost courtesy of New York Agriculture in the Classroom.
True Beef: From Pasture to Plate (DVD) – This is an innovative educational documentary that follows high school students as they learn about the entire process of beef production. The documentary features culinary and agricultural high school students and is designed to teach students where their food comes from while learning the importance of farming and ranching.
True Beef Educator Guide – This series of lesson plans supports the documentary “True Beef”. The guide contains 8 lessons designed to follow along with the chapters in the documentary. STEM connections have been included for all lessons and it is easy for teachers to make connections across the curriculum.
–New York Agriculture in the Classroom
New York State Beef Council
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