For Immediate Release

CHEYENNE, WY - Wyoming Beef Council Executive Director, Ann Wittmann recently addressed the  Leadership Cheyenne Class of 2022-2023. Leadership Cheyenne has  one to two class sessions per month throughout the year.  Each session is dedicated to one topic that is important to the Cheyenne and the region, such as tourism, energy, military, etc. Last week's class session was the first for this group and the topic was agriculture.  

Wittmann gave a presentation about the history of the Wyoming Beef Council, how it is organized, how it operates and how it is funded. She explained that the goals of the Wyoming Beef Council and the beef checkoff program are to promote beef, educate consumers and the public about beef and fund research that looks at the nutritional value and taste of beef.

Wittmann discussed the importance of marketing beef outside the state of Wyoming. "In Wyoming, consumers eat more beef, more often than the average consumer in the United States." Wittmann said. "And, we have 1.2 million cattle in the state vs about 580,000 people. For this reason, it make much more sense to find ways to market to people outside of Wyoming." One of the marketing programs that she highlighted was a digital campaign that runs in the top 5 most populated states.

Wittmann also discussed the importance of beef exports to foreign countries. "Most of the beef livers produced in the United States go to Egypt." Wittmann said. "And most tounges go to Japan where they sell for $14 per pound. Wittmann said one of the highlights of her job is being able to participate in ranch tours for people from other contries that are interested in Wyoming's beef.

Leadership Cheyenne was formed by the Greater Cheyenne Chamber of Commerce in 1985 with the goal of developing leaders for the future with a focus on educating participants about the greater Cheyenne region and building a commitment for life-long civic trusteeship.

If you are interested in Leadership Cheyenne visit the Chamber's website cheyennechamber.org. For more information about the Wyoming Beef Council, please visit WYBeef.com.