There is one thing ranchers and cattle producers have in common when they gather each year for the Sandhills Cattle Association convention: beef. It's on their minds. It's on the menu. And it even drives the entertainment and exhibition portions of the convention.

At the 78th annual SCA convention held recently at the Valley County Fairgrounds in Ord, getting locally raised beef into area school lunch programs was one of the major topics of discussion. Craig O'Kief, Wood Lake, has some experience with that topic. Speaking as the incoming SCA president and current president of the Valentine FFA Alumni chapter, O'Kief was one of the panelists on the topic that headlined the morning sessions of the convention program. "We try to get three head donated for the first half of the school year and three head for the second half," O'Kief told convention participants.

"We need to help students gain knowledge in agriculture," said Mitch Rippie, Nebraska Beef Council. "We take for granted that kids growing up in rural Nebraska understand agriculture," he said. "But the more I'm in schools, the more I believe this is a false assumption. We need to talk to students at a young age to let them know that beef is a nutritious and healthful product." Beef in the school is a program that helps bring such awareness to students, he explained.

Along with the panel discussing beef for schools, SCA also hosted the group's annual business meeting, as well as a large trade show with local vendors.

In the afternoon, SCA members chose a "People's Choice" award of the best of the Pen of Three show. They also heard a presentation from the Ord FFA chapter. In the evening, a live benefit auction was held to support the SCA scholarship fund.

The organization was founded in the 1930s to bring ranchers and cattle feeders in the Sandhills together to assist in the purchase and sale of Sandhills cattle and to promote a spirit of cooperation and understanding between ranchers and feeders. Those goals are still crucial to SCA, which has grown into a resource to promote education and communication about beef as well. In addition to the annual convention, SCA also sponsors a ranch tour in January, as well as a feedlot carcass contest for members.

Learn more at sandhillscattle.com or call 800-658-0551.