Omaha state senator joins Nebraska livestock farmers in radio commercials

A-FAN Promotes Value of Livestock Production to State; Commitment to Responsible Animal Care

LINCOLN, NE— A Paxton cattle feeder.  A Sumner pork producer.  A Belden farm wife.  A state senator from north Omaha.  It sounds like something from Sesame Street: “One of These Things is Not Like the Others.”

As it turns out, all four are featured in a new series of radio commercials being aired in Lincoln and Omaha by A-FAN, the Alliance for the Future of Agriculture in Nebraska, to help urban Nebraskans understand the economic value of the state’s livestock production as well as livestock farmers’ commitment to high quality animal care.

State Senator Brenda Council, who represents north Omaha, participated in an A-FAN bus tour of livestock facilities in eastern Nebraska.  She immediately saw the connection between urban and rural areas of the state.  “Our issues aren’t dissimilar, you know, in terms of what we want to do.  We want to create and maintain wealth,” she says. “We have to know where the revenue will come from to enable us to do that; and so much of the State’s income is derived from work in agriculture.”

Livestock producers featured in the commercials include Jon Holzfaster of Paxton, Bart Beattie of Sumner and Janet Miller of Belden.  Each of them talk about their unwavering commitment to taking good care of their animals and the direct link between responsible animal care and consistent, high quality meat products for consumers. “I want to provide to the consumer the highest quality product that I can…and that means taking care of the animal the best that I can,” Holzfaster says.

Each of the commercials refers listeners to a series of on-farm videos available for viewing on the A-FAN website at www.a-fan.org. Videos include unscripted comments from Nebraska family livestock farmers, tours of livestock operations and comments from visitors to livestock facilities.  The radio commercials are also available on the website.

A-FAN is a non-profit agriculture promotion, education and producer assistance organization. It was formed in 2006 by Nebraska producer organizations to support the expansion of responsible livestock production across the state.

Farmers, ranchers and communities interested in learning more about the services provided by A-FAN are encouraged to visit www.a-fan.org or call toll free 1.888.580.AFAN (1.888.580.2326).

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