Virginia 4-H Contest Guide - Beef Ambassador Contest

Description of Contest

The Beef Ambassador Contest provides the opportunity for youth to educate consumers about beef nutrition, food safety and stewardship practices of the beef industry. This program utilizes youth to tell the beef production story to consumers through promotion, education, media and the online environment.

Virginia Beef Ambassadors will be the official youth representative of the beef industry. They are expected to be available for assigned events and speaking engagements and to conduct themselves in a professional and mature manner.

Levels of Competition

State & National Contests

Age categories and eligibility are as follows:

• Juniors – Must be at least 12 year of age by Sept 1 of the contest year, but not over the age of 16 of the contest year.
• Seniors – Must be at least 17 years of ago by Sept 1 of the contest year, but not over 20 by Sept 1 of the contest year.
• Division contestants are able to compete as many times as they are eligible, unless they are a senior contestant who attended the National Contest.
• National Contestants must be unmarried and cannot become married or a parent during their national term.
• Contact Dara Booher, 4-H Agent, Rockingham County (dbooher@vt.edu) for information on State Competition and eligibility for National Competition.

Awards to be Earned

Each of the top three Senior division winners and the top placing Junior division winner will be awarded prize money upon the fulfillment of the ambassador requirements. Additionally, the top placing Senior and Junior division winner will be sponsored to attend the National Beef Ambassador Contest.

Junior Division:
First Place - $250 and sponsorship to National Beef Ambassador Contest

Senior Division:
First Place - $400 and sponsorship to National Beef Ambassador Contest
Second Place - $300
Third Place - $250

Rules for this Contest:

Areas of Evaluation in the Competition – Seniors

1. Media Interview: The contestant will participate in a mock media interview. The interviewer will have pre-determined questions to ask each contestant with the option to ask follow-up questions in order to extrapolate additional knowledge or clarify a point. A panel of judges will observe the interaction for: knowledge, articulation, poise, and the contestant’s ability to “Tell the Beef Production Story” and present the industry in a positive light. Scoring will be done by the judges only. The contestants should be well versed in all areas of beef production and the beef industry relating to consumers. Special attention should be paid to all current industry issues.
2. Consumer Promotion: A mock consumer promotion event will be set up for the contestants. Each contestant will be provided with a “sample” to serve as well as beef industry production and nutrition literature and recipes. Scripted “Consumers” will approach the table to take the sample. They will ask questions to test the contestant’s knowledge, capacity to perform in the field and ability to present beef in a positive light. A panel of judges will observe and score each contestant on their ability to educate the consumer and provide the consumers with the appropriate information to answer their questions. Contestants are able to ask the consumers questions to engage a deeper dialogue about beef, and are encouraged to do so.
3. Issues Response: Contestants will be provided with a recently published news article regarding the beef industry. Using a provided computer each contestant will compose a brief (250 words or less) response to the article in a “Letter to the Editor” type format. The judges will score the contestants on their ability to respond to an industry article. Contestants will not be allowed to use any printed materials/resources during this section of the competition and will have 30 minutes to craft their responses.

Areas of Evaluation in the Competition – Juniors

1. Media Interview: The contestant will participate in a mock media interview. The interviewer will have pre-determined questions to ask each contestant with the option to ask follow-up questions in order to extrapolate additional knowledge or clarify a point. A panel of judges will observe the interaction for: knowledge, articulation, poise, and the contestant’s ability to “Tell the Beef Production Story” and present the industry in a positive light. Scoring will be done by the judges only. The contestants should be well versed in all areas of beef production and the beef industry relating to consumers. Special attention should be paid to all current industry issues.
2. Consumer Promotion: A mock consumer promotion event will be set up for the contestants. Each contestant will be provided with a “sample” to serve as well as beef industry production and nutrition literature and recipes. Scripted “Consumers” will approach the table to take the sample. They will ask questions to test the contestant’s knowledge, capacity to perform in the field and ability to present beef in a positive light. A panel of judges will observe and score each contestant on their ability to educate the consumer and provide the consumers with the appropriate information to answer their questions. Contestants are able to ask the consumers questions to engage a deeper dialogue about beef, and are encouraged to do so.

All information presented by the contestant in each judging area must be factual based on data provided on the Explore Beef website or through personal research (www.explorebeef.org, www.factsaboutbeef.org, www.beefnutrition.org, www.beefitswhatsfordinner.com).

Link to National Rules:

http://www.nationalbeefambassador.org/CMDocs/NBAP/NBAP_RULES_2014FinalUSDAapproved.pdf

Educational Resources to Help Prepare for this Contest

www.explorebeef.org

www.factsaboutbeef.org

www.beefnutrition.org

www.beefitswhatsfordinner.com

Score Sheets for this Contest

Other Guidelines, Suggestions, or Pertinent Information

State Contest is held in conjunction with the Virginia Cattleman’s Convention

Sample YouTube Videos of 4-H Youth in This Contest