Students educated about the importance of beef

According to Britnell, reading to the first graders is part of a state-wide initiative by the Alabama Cattlemen’s Association to get a cattleman in every first-grade classroom in Alabama with the purpose of educating them on the importance of beef and cattle farming.

A member of the Franklin County Cattlemen’s Association will be at each of the seven elementary schools in the county doing their part for the initiative.

“It’s important for these children to learn where beef comes from and that animals are important to their well-being,” Britnell said. 

“If there weren’t cattle farmers here in America, we would have to depend on third-world countries to supply our beef – countries that don’t have the same standards as America.”

Britnell read a book about cows and farming and then answered questions the children had.

“Most of these kids have been around farm animals because we are fortunate in Franklin County to be in a country setting,” Britnell said. “We just want them to be familiar with cows and farming and know how important it is.”

Britnell said that in a time where less than two percent of the population are farmers, it’s more important now to get young children interested in farming.

“There’s a lot of process involved from the pasture to the plate,” Britnell said. “If we get children interested in that process now and get them to understand the importance, we’ll have people who continue to do this in the future, and reading to them and interacting with them is just one way to do this.”