Target Grade Level / Age Range:

6-8

Estimated Time:

  • Activity 1 – What are Beef Cattle? 25 minutes
  • Activity 2 – How are Beef Cattle Raised? 30 minutes
  • Activity 3 – Beef Cattle Supply Chain 40 minutes
  • Activity 4 – Nutrition 30 minutes
  • Activity 5 – Beef Foods and Marketing 90 minutes

Purpose:

Students will understand beef production, nutrition, and marketing, through interactive activities, projects, and resources. 

Materials:

  • Activity 1 – What are Beef Cattle?
    • No materials
  • Activity 2 – How are Beef Cattle raised?
    • Marshmallows 
    • Jell-o
    • Football
    • Glue
    • Chalk or crayons
    • Writing Utensil and Paper/Student Computer
  • Activity 3 – Beef Cattle Supply Chain
    • Sticky Notes
    • Writing Utensil
  • Activity 4 – Nutrition
    • Student Computers
    • Writing Utensil and Paper
  • Activity 5 – Beef Foods and Marketing
    • Digital art software - Paint, Publisher, Canva, etc. (optional)
    • Word processor or similar (i.e. MS Word, Google Docs, etc.)

Essential Files:

Vocabulary:

  • Bovine - relating to or resembling cattle, such as cows, bison, and buffalo. 
  • Bull - cattle that are male and capable of breeding.
  • Heifer - cattle that are female and have not had a calf.
  • Cow - cattle that are female and have had a calf.
  • Calf - cattle aged 3-12 months.
  • Life Cycle – the series of stages an organism goes through including the beginning of life, reproduction, and the start of a new cycle. 
  • Supply Chain – the series of processes, businesses, and resources it takes to take a product from the first stage to the consumer. 
  • Weaning – the process of separating calves from their mothers so that calves stop nursing and start eating solid food. 
  • Byproduct – Something that is produced when you are making something else. For example, when cutting wood sawdust in the byproduct.
  • Energy – the ability to do work or cause change. The different forms of energy include kinetic. energy, potential energy, thermal energy, chemical energy, electrical energy, and nuclear energy. 
  • Credible Source – A source you can trust to provide accurate, reliable, and unbiased information.
  • Decompose – the process by which dead organic substances are broken down into simpler organic or in organic matter.

Background – Agricultural Connections:

This unit is written to provide information about beef production, nutrition, and marketing for students in grades 6-8. This unit is part of a scaffolding series aimed at different ages groups. For lessons aimed at grades 3-5 or 9-12, visit https://www.iowaagliteracy.org/Tools-Resources/General/For-Students/High-Steaks. In Activity 5, students will leverage all their newfound knowledge to “market” a beef product. Marketers learn about a product, determine the intended demographic to purchase the product, and create a plan to sell the product. Students will create a poster or other advertisement to advertise their product and its nutritional value. An effective project contains the product nutritional information for the product and enticing marketing. To make this an interclass marketing contest, use the provided rubric.

This unit includes five activities that can be broken up into 25-to-40-minute sections. 

  • Activity One introduces students to the beef life cycle. 
  • Activity Two shows students the role of beef cattle in the energy cycle and how they are raised. 
  • Activity Three illustrates the beef cattle supply chain.
  • Activity Four covers beef nutrition and beef food products. 
  • Activity Five allows students to engage in the marketing process by creating their own High Steaks! Beef Marketing Projects. This activity is 90 minutes in length and is designed to be broken up over a few workdays or use as a take-home project. 

Please refer to the Middle School Pacing Guide to view participation options for 1-, 2-, 3-, and 5-day timeframes. Each timeframe details activities and their order to be completed, as well as essential questions, materials, and artifacts for those activities.   

There are two basic groups of cattle raised in agriculture: beef cattle and dairy cattle. Beef cattle have been bred over many years to be better at yielding meat. Dairy cattle have been bred over many years to be better at yielding milk. Certain cattle breeds tend to be better at different things. Angus, Hereford, Limousin, Charolais, Maine Anjou, and others are beef breeds. Holstein, Jersey, Guernsey, Brown Swiss, Ayrshire, and Milking Shorthorn are dairy breeds.

Cattle gestate for nine months, like humans, and generally have single births. The calf is born at about 70 pounds and can walk within an hour of birth. Cattle farmers generally coordinate and schedule their herds to all calve (give birth) at about the same time, so that care, feeding, and marketing of the calves can be more efficient. Farmers may choose to calve in the spring or in the fall.

For beef cattle, the calf will typically stay with the mother for the first part of their life. The mother will care for the calf, provide milk, and teach the calf how to graze and drink water. When the calves are old enough to be weaned from their mother’s milk, they will be taken to a separate pasture where they will get fresh grass, feed, and water.

Here in Iowa, this portion of the life cycle is very important for farmers. Many cattle farmers in Iowa would describe themselves as “cow/calf” producers, meaning they care for the mother cows and the calves. Some years they might “feed out” calves or raise them until maturity and sell them to a meat packing plant, but some years they might sell the calves shortly after weaning to a different type of producer that specializes in feeding out calves.

This type of production is called a feedlot. Calves in a kind of teenage era of growth will be brought to a large lot and raised primarily on grains and other high-energy materials that help them grow in the most efficient way possible. These high-energy diets can be a part of a sustainability plan – calves that grow faster will in the long-term drink less water, use fewer resources, and emit less methane. Iowa has more feedlots than any other state, partially because of the state’s ample supply of corn and soybeans (two of the main ingredients in cattle feed).

Though cuts of beef can vary in nutrition information, in general, beef is a good source of protein, zinc, and iron. Globally, markets show that as the wealth of a group of people increases, so does their demand for beef. It is a well-loved product from cheeseburgers and pot roasts to oxtail soups and bobotie.

There are a plethora of jobs available in the beef supply chain. Students may be most familiar with jobs like farmer and veterinarian, but there are many “office” jobs in agriculture, too; jobs like marketing, advertising, public relations, communications, logistics managers, software engineering, mechanical engineering, food science, trucking, grocery store workers, and way, way more, all exist – many of which are in Iowa! About 5% of Iowa’s population are farmers, but about 20% of Iowa’s population works in agriculture. That huge difference includes all the other agricultural jobs supporting farmers and our food supply chain.

In lesson five, the High Steaks! unit capstones with an immersive study of one such career, marketing. Though marketing includes advertising, it also encompasses more than that. Marketers learn about a product, pinpoint a demographic they want to buy the product, and come up with plans to influence those people to purchase the product. (To learn more about different aspects of what marketers do, visit here: https://www.allbusinessschools.com/marketing/job-description/). For this project, students will create an in-depth marketing plan for a specific beef product. They will need to research the nutritional content of their product, the costs associated with producing it and come up with an advertising campaign to effectively target their key demographic.

Interest Approach – Engagement:

  1. Begin class by watching this FarmChat® on Nick Bowden’s beef farm in Gilmore City. If you cannot watch the whole video, it is recommended to watch from 2:07 to 8:43. Ask students to record their observations throughout the video. Use the prompts below if needed.
    1. What color are the cattle?
    2. Where do they live?
    3. What kind of features do they have? 
    4. How do they act? Do they like to be together or by themselves?
  2. Write down some key points about cattle on the board as they come up:
    1. Domestically raised beef cattle are generally either all black, black with white features, or red with white features – not black and white spotted (those are dairy cows)
    2. Beef cattle are generally raised outside, but can sometimes be indoors
    3. Cattle are gregarious, meaning they like to stick together

Procedures:

Activity 1: What are Beef Cattle?

Preparation

  1. Before class time, print and cut out the four sets of Apple Life Cycle Cards and Beef Life Cycle Cards. 

Activity

  1. Show this short video about Mini Hereford cattle and ask, “What behaviors did you notice in cattle?”
  2. Foster a discussion around behaviors that lead beef farmers to choose certain cattle to reproduce. Examples may be from what they’ve seen in the video or from their own ideas. Some examples may include:
    1. Reproductive Efficiency: Cows that don’t have trouble rebreeding.
    2. Health Issues: Cows with ideal health and a lack of physical defects.
    3. Temperament: Non-aggressive or difficult cows.
    4. Genetic Traits: High milk production, good reproductive performance.
    5. Temperament: Calm and easy-to-handle cows.
    6. Physical Health: Healthy cows with sound udders, feet, and legs.
  3. Place students into four groups and hand out the Apple Lifecycle Cards to each group. Have groups begin placing the cards in the correct order (seed, seedling, sapling, tree, blossom, pollination, fruit).
    Note: There is no start or end to the cycle. Students can start anywhere in the order above.
  4.   Once groups have begun wrapping up, discuss why students chose the order they did. Give students time to compare with other groups and adjust. As a class, collaborate to  
      put cards in the correct order of the apple lifecycle. Keep apple lifecycle cards to refer to later.
  5. Hand out the Beef Lifecycle Cards to each group and have groups place this set of cards in the correct order (calf, weaning, heifer, pasture, cow).
          Note: The order for the beef cattle life cycle can be organized different ways based on how students interpret each step. Explore as a class the reasoning behind what each group decided.
  6.  Discuss why students chose the order they did. Give students time to compare with other groups and adjust. As a class, collaborate to put cards in the proper order of the beef 
    lifecycle. Keep the lifecycle cards to refer to later.
  7.  Have students observe both lifecycles. Discuss what similarities and differences they observe.
  8. Ask students how a bull’s life cycle (male) would be similar to or different from a cow’s (female).
    1. “Bull” would replace Cow in the life cycle and Heifer would change to “Bull calf (young male cow that is not castrated) or “Steer” (young male cow that is castrated). 

Activity 2: How are Beef Cattle Raised?

  1. As students walk into class, distribute a copy of Iowa Ag Today, Issue 2 to each and have them read page 2. As they finish, have your students pair up and discuss the question on the bottom of page 2 (If you were one nitrogen atom or one water molecule, how many places might you cycle through in a cattle system?). You can either have students read this virtually on their devices or read the physical copy of the magazine.
    Note: Physical copies of Iowa Ag Today are available to all Iowa teachers upon request.
  2.  Display the Activity 2 presentation. Show slide two of the presentation and have students provide a basic review of photosynthesis. Ask the students, “Who (or what) do you
       think can use the glucose, or sugar, produced by the plant for energy?” Students may answer with humans or animals, and these are both correct. Tell students you will be  
    exploring cattle and their role in our energy chain today. 
  3.  To better illustrate how energy transfers from plants to cattle to humans, have students watch What Cows Eat from slide 3. Point out that cattle can obtain nutrients from plants that humans cannot digest.
  4. Ask students the following:
    1. How does the process differ between the dairy cattle featured in the video and the beef cattle we’ve been learning about. 
    2. Why do you think cattle have the ability to process grass? Help guide students to cattle’s digestive system that is different from our own.
  5. Review slides 3-4 with students, highlighting cattle’s multi-chambered stomach that allows cattle to digest and gain nutrients from food that humans cannot.
  6. Show slide 5 featuring pictures of some of the different plants that cows eat. 
  7. Ask students, "How do humans use plants?" Use the examples on slide 6 to discuss a few plants that humans use.
  8. Ask the class what the items (jello, chalk, etc) you’ve collected all have in common. They all contain beef by-products! Define a byproduct as an incidental or secondary product made in the manufacture of something else and ask students if they can identify the origins of the products collected. 
    Note: For other ideas of byproducts you may have around, check out this graphic.
  9. Explain that in addition to the plants on slide 5, cattle also eat byproducts from plants that humans use for other first (slide 7). 
    • Cotton: After cotton is used for clothing, there is a seed byproduct that cows can eat. When it is fed to cows, it is known as cottonseed meal.
    • Wheat: When wheat is processed, the byproduct of the grain not used in flour is called distiller’s grain. 
    • Alfalfa: This crop is grown, cut, and dried out to make hay. (This is only a byproduct if the primary purpose of the crop is not hay production.)
    • Corn: Explain to students that unlike humans, who only eat the kernels on the cob, cows can eat the entire corn stalk and cob. The corn stalks are chopped into small pieces and kept very moist. This is called silage. Corn used for cow feed and silage is not the same variety of corn as sweet corn grown in gardens.
  10. Explain to the students that a cow’s diet is 75–80% food that humans can’t digest or is part of the plant that we don’t use. This is another great thing about cows—they help us use all the energy produced by plants so none of it goes to waste. Once cows break down these foods through digestion, their body then uses the nutrition and energy from the plants to grow, move, and stay healthy. In cattle’s case, their body also uses the energy to produce a product that we can use, and it happens to be the next step in our energy chain (slide 8).
  11. Ask, "What food product is produced by a beef cow?" (any beef product) and reveal the steak on slide 9. 
  12. Now the final step in this energy chain is who eats the beef products- humans! Ask the students to identify the beef products on slides 10-11 and marking those that don’t come from cattle.
  13. Explain to the students that cows eat and digest all the different plants we talked about to get the energy and nutrients their body needs to grow and stay healthy. Beef foods are just one of the food groups they can eat to get energy and nutrients their body needs to stay healthy and grow strong.  
  14. Have the class imagine what happens at the end of a cow’s life. While typically beef cattle are harvested to eat, imagine a cow that dies of old age and is left in the field. Go to slide 12 and walk through the decomposition cycle of the cow. Elaborate on each of the steps. The cow would decompose. Decomposition is the state or process of rotting or decaying. It is an essential process for recycling nutrients into the ecosystem. Decomposition positively impacts soil health. Decomposition helps with nutrient cycling, soil structure, microbial activity, and soil fertility. This leads to improvement of yield and quality of the byproducts we talked about earlier.
  15. As an exit ticket, have students write a short summary of the role of beef cattle in the energy cycle and how they can utilize forms of energy that are not accessible to humans.

Activity 3: Beef Supply Chain

Preparation

  1. Print four copies of From Farm to Table cards. 

Activity

  1. Place students into four groups and provide each group with a set of the From Farm to Table cards. 
  2. Have students work together in their groups to determine the correct order of the cards – getting the cow from the farm to the table. If your class did the interest approach, remind students of the farm visit video to help them order the cards.
  3. Once groups have begun wrapping up, discuss with students why they chose the order they did. Give students time to compare with other groups and adjust. As a class, collaborate to put cards in the proper order from farm to table.
  4. First, explain that this is an example of a supply chain. Then, ask students what they think a supply chain is and allow them to come up with ideas individually.   After students have had a chance to think on their own, allow them to share with a partner near them.  
  5. When pairs are done sharing, ask for volunteers to provide their thoughts. Use thoughts from volunteer groups to create a class definition for supply chain.
    1. To help guide discussion and definition development, the National Geographic defines a supply chain as, “A network of people and activities that help move a product from start to consumption by the end user.”
  6. Ask students to brainstorm a list of jobs in the beef industry and beef supply chain. Encourage students to think outside of the box to positions that might not be obvious and record answers on the board.
    1. Potential Responses: 
      1. Farmer/Rancher
      2. Truck Driver
      3. Inventory Manager
      4. Butcher
      5. Meat Cutter
      6. Grocery Store Clerk
      7. Marketer (Note: Be sure to include if doing Activity 5)
      8. Nutritionist
      9. Accountant
      10. Agronomist

Note: Add in careers students might not recognize when appropriate. For example, in the distribution center step careers could include government officials controlling exports of beef.

   7. After creating the list, have each group write these careers on a sticky note, one per note. Then, students should place these careers along the supply chain. Some careers may need
       an additional “stop” in the supple chain. When groups have placed all careers, review as a class where they placed each career.
  8. After the class has reviewed careers at each step, wrap up the activity by referring to the record of careers discussed. Highlight that all these careers, activities, and people represent
      all the work it takes to get beef to consumers.

Activity 4: Beef Nutrition

  1. As students are walking into class have the Ground Beef comparison photos on the board. The ground beef patty on the left is 93/7, on the right is 80/20. Do not label the photos. Instruct students to write down what they notice are the same and different about each photo. 
  2. Now, label the photos and explain that the differing numbers represent the ratio of lean meat to fat content in each blend of ground beef. Ask students to identity where the fat and muscle are in the ground beef. Next, show students the Muscle and Fat Cells image and again ask students to identify the muscle cells are and the fat cells. Ask students how the cells compare to each other and the function of each.
  3. Discuss why someone would choose one ground beef blend over another. Some possible answers:
    1. Higher fat content ground beef is less expensive
    2. Lower fat ground beef has a higher ratio of protein to calories
    3. Lower fat beef has more flavor
    4. Some recipes need more fat content than others
  4. Have students generate a list of foods with beef in them. Try to encourage more ideas outside of burgers and steak, like tacos, chili, jerky, etc.
  5. Help the students brainstorm enough ideas so that a group of 3-5 students could be assigned to one of the topics. (For example, in a class of 17, generate 4-5 ideas for topics.)
  6. Tell students that they will now be assigned to one of these food items.
  7. Assign students to one of the food items, creating groups of 3-5 and distribute the nutrition worksheet. When all students are in a group, be sure to note which group students are assigned to. Instruct students to also note which product they have and their groupmates. There is space for this on their nutrition worksheet.
  8. Have students do research online for their specific beef product with their groups and fill out the nutrition worksheet with information from their food product. When complete, spend a few minutes discussing which of these nutrition facts are important to the students.
  9. Go over questions together as a class. Discuss the impact of the stats especially the role of calories in making food choices.
    1. Calories measure energy, protein builds muscle, fat and sodium are necessary but are easy to over-eat, carbohydrates provide energy, and vitamins help keep us feeling and functioning our best. 
    2. Sweets, candy, and junk food have lots of calories, but not a lot of protein or vitamins. This makes food like beef, with more protein and vitamins per calorie, a more nutrient-dense food and a good choice for a healthy diet.
  10. Facilitate a class discussion for the last question: “How do you think the price of beef impacts individuals, businesses, and society?” Some perspectives you may wish to include:
    1. If the price of beef goes up people will have to decide if they will spend more money or choose to purchase alternative sources of protein and other nutrients like iron and zinc. (individuals)
    2. Beef prices directly impact businesses in the beef supply chain. Fluctuation in price can lead to greater profits and expansion on one end or the shuttering of a business on the other. (businesses)
    3. The price of beef indicates to some extent the supply and demand of the product. Higher prices may mean more profit is being made or it could mean that the supply is low due to problems for farmers like tight profit margins, disease, or severe weather conditions like drought leading to a lower supply and higher prices. (society)
  11. As an exit ticket, have students write a 3-5 sentence response to the following prompt. “Based on today’s discussion, if you were shopping for ground beef, which blend would you choose and why? Consider factors such as nutrition, price, and intended use in a meal.”

Elaborate 

Activity 5: Beef Products and Marketing


  1. Ask students to recall the marketer career from the Farm to Table activity (Activity 3). If they did not complete this activity, have them brainstorm the role of a marketer.
  2. Facilitate a discussion on why marketing is important in the beef industry. Possible answers include: 
    1. Helps consumers make purchasing decisions
    2. Increases product sales and brand recognition
    3. Expands product availability in stores and restaurants
  3. Distribute the informational text, Source Sleuth: How to Identify Credible Sources and instruct students to read the text and answer the reflection questions. Decide how students should respond to the reflection questions—independent writing, small group discussion, video or audio recording, online discussion thread, or class discussion. 
  4. Divide students into small groups and ask each group to find 6 words/phrases a marketer might use to advertise and label beef products and what each means. Possible answers include:
    1. Fresh 
    2. Grass-fed
    3. Premium
    4. Local
    5. Lean
    6. Natural
    7. Organic
    8. Hormone-free
    9. Prime (Grading Label)
    10. Choice (Grading Label)
    11. Select (Beef Grading Label)

    Note: Using the AI prompt “Come up with a list of terms used in beef marketing.” yields a good starting point.

          5. Have groups share their lists while recording responses on the board.
          6. Choose a word from the list and ask students what comes to mind when they hear it. (Example: Grass-fed – healthier, environmentally friendly, more expensive.) Ask students if they think the term is regulated, meaning companies must follow rules to use it.
          7. Inform students they will be investigating USDA regulations for common beef labeling terms.
          8. Assign each group a term from the list generated earlier and have them research and record its meaning. Students should identify the source of the information and evaluate its reliability.

    Note: USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service’s Meat and Poultry Labeling Terms and the USDA Check the Label graphic are great sources of reliable information.

          9. Have each group presents their findings to the class. Ask students if they were surprised by any regulations and which terms they might use for their own beef product 
              advertisements.
        10. Have students return to their groups and develop a marketing plan for a beef product or recipe of their choice. The plan should include: 

      1. Product name
      2. Key marketing terms and why they were chosen
      3. Target audience
      4. Advertising strategy (commercial, social media, packaging, etc.)

        11. Using the plan created, students should then “market” their product to the class, explaining their choices and how they aim to attract consumers.


    Evaluate

    1. Projects may be judged in a class or grade wide competition. 
      1. Projects may be scored using the official middle school division High Steaks! Rubric.
      2. Note: Iowa Agriculture Literacy Foundation is no longer hosting a statewide contest, but posters may be sent in for feedback from IALF’s team.

    Did you know?

    • Iowa has the nation’s 7th largest cattle inventory.
    • Iowa has more cattle feedlots than any other state in the U.S.
    • Cattle are ruminant animals, meaning they have a four-compartment stomach.

    Extension Activities:

    • Have virtual (Zoom, Skype, or Google Hangout) class conversations with industry professionals, like farmers, veterinarians, marketers, advertisers, food scientists, butchers, or more!
    • As a class, make one of the beef products! Include steps like food safety, nutrition of the product, safe use of kitchen tools, and a taste test.

    Suggested Companion Resources:

    Sources/Credits:

    Author:

    Madison Smithson

    Organization Affiliation:

    Iowa Agriculture Literacy Foundation

    Agriculture Literacy Outcomes:

      T3.6.8 Food, Health, and Lifestyle Outcomes
      • T3.6.8.b. Evaluate food labels to determine food sources that meet nutritional needs
      • T3.6-8.c. Evaluate serving size related to nutritional needs
      • T3.6-8.j. Identify the careers in food production, processing, and nutrition that are essential for a healthy food supply

      T5.6-8 Culture, Society, Economy & Geography Outcomes

      • T5.6-8.b. Distinguish between careers in production (farmers and ranchers) with those that directly involve consumers (business and nutrition)

    Iowa Core Standards:

    • MS-LS1-4 Use argument based on empirical evidence and scientific reasoning to support an explanation for how characteristic animal behaviors and specialized plant structures affect the probability of successful reproduction of animals and plants respectively.  
    • MS-ESS2-1 Develop a model to describe the cycling of Earth’s materials and the flow of energy that drives this process.  
    • MS-LS2-3 Develop a model to describe the cycling of matter and flow of energy among living and nonliving parts of an ecosystem.   
    • SS.7.18 Explain and evaluate how economic decisions affect the wellbeing of individuals, businesses, and society.
    • SS.7.19 Explain how external benefits, costs, supply and demand, and competition influence market prices, wages, and outcomes.
    • MS-LS1-1 Conduct an investigation to provide evidence that living things are made of cells; either one cell or many different numbers and types of cells.
    • SS.8.15 Evaluate how economic decisions affect the wellbeing of individuals, businesses, and society.
    • SS.7.15 Distinguish and apply the powers and responsibilities of global citizens, interest groups and the media in a variety of governmental and nongovernmental contexts.
    • SS.7.17 Describe the roles of political, civil, and economic organizations in shaping people's lives.