Caledonia Argus

Local woman busy promoting beef

Posted: 5/21/02

by Jane Palen
Managing Editor

Whatís for dinner?

Judy Tollefsrud of Spring Grove hopes that the answer to that question is ìbeef,î and as president of the Minnesota Cattlewomenís Association, she is working hard to encourage more people to put beef on the table.

Judy was raised north of Mabel on a diversified farm. Her family had beef, dairy, hogs, and chickens. It wasnít until about 11 years ago that she became interested in the beef industry in particular, and that was due to the influence of her boyfriend, Jeff Gerard. He brought her along to a beef convention and was concerned that she would be bored. But as it turned out, she was anything but bored. She found that talking about the beef industry and meeting new people were two things she enjoyed, and she found she could do both by joining the Cattlewomenís Association.

At this yearís National Cattlewomenís annual award banquet in Denver, Judy was honored with the ìTop Promoter of Beefî award from the American National Cattlewomen. The award was given to Judy for her in-store demonstrations, booth work at various fairs and innovative ideas for cooking and serving beef. Judy also holds a position as Region III Director at the National Level.

Last year, Minnesota Cattlewomen attended 33 events and logged 700 hours. Judyís time is spent at womenís expos, conventions, farm and home shows, senior citizen expos, trade shows of the hospitality and restaurant industries, and nearly anywhere where she can promote the beef industry. A womenís expo in Minneapolis drew 50,000 people.

ìI just love it,î she said of her work. She hands out samples and answers peopleís questions about beef. Judy spent 47 hours at the state fair Moo Booth last year, handing out ìanything that fit on a toothpick.î

Judy balances her duties promoting beef with her other part-time job working for ABLE in Caledonia.

One product that is getting a lot of attention is the new fully cooked, pre-packaged beef products that can be on the table in minutes. It hasnít gone over well in the small towns, but the product is gaining popularity in the metro area where people enjoy the convenience. Although the product seems expensive, Judy says people tell her that it is less expensive than going out to eat.

The Minnesota Cattlewomen are also involved in education, and often present programs to school children. The programs are more oriented towards agriculture in general, she noted. ìKids and Cows,î an interactive workshop for educators, is being held in July in conjunction with Minnesota Cattlemenís Tour. Educators can earn continuing education credits by taking the course, which focuses on five major areas of agriculture and the beef industry.

As president of the Cattlewomenís Association, Judy works closely with Carol Abrahamzon of Caledonia who is the groupís vice-president; and Carolís daughters: Jennifer, who is a Minnesota Beef Princess, and Julie, who is a Beef Ambassador.

Although most of the political work is done by the Cattlemenís Association, the Cattlewomen are involved sometimes, too. They participated in a recent calling campaign to consumers after McDonaldís restaurants announced that they would be buying their beef overseas.

On a few occasions, the Cattlewomen have been confronted by animal rights activists when involved in beef promotion.

ìThey are not healthy-looking people,î observed Judy.

Being president of the Cattlewomen is actually an eight year commitment, explained Judy. There are two years as vice president, two years as president elect, two years as president and two years as past president. She will remain in the office of president until December, 2003.

In her position, Judy has been able to do a number of interesting things. She has worked as a time keeper for the National Beef Cook-off, the last event being held in Phoenix. The top prize is $50,000, and there are actually guards who are on hand to keep contestants from sabotaging other contestantís entries.

In February, Judy was within an armís length of President Bush when he attended the National Convention in Denver.

ìI never thought I would get that close to the President of the United States,î said Judy. Sheís been on the official NASCAR track, and has seen a lot of the country she might not have otherwise visited. But sheís not ready to take on being National President, which has been suggested.

ìThe national president is gone 200 days a year; Iím not ready for that,î said Judy.

Locally, the Cattlewomen sponsor the chili cook off at the county fair, help with the beef show at the fair, cooperated in the Beef Queen contest and and generally work to get the message out.

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