Q&A with Kaitlyn Swope, Director of Consumer Affairs for the Pennsylvania Beef Council
By George Berkheimer
Kaitlyn Swope’s familiarity with beef cattle didn’t start until she attended college, but she was a quick learner thanks to her family’s own background in agriculture
It was during her time at Penn State University that she met her husband, Ezra, whose family raised beef cattle in Bedford County. It was also during that time that she had an opportunity to begin working with the Pennsylvania Beef Council as a Millennial-to-Millennial Beef Ambassador, which exposed her to consumer events and interactions with customers who weren’t familiar with agriculture.
After graduating in 2015, Kaitlyn and Ezra started their Creekside Beef business in New Enterprise the following year. For the past eight years, Kaitlyn Swope has served as the Director of Consumer Affairs for the Pennsylvania Beef Council.
Q: What’s unique about your beef cattle business?
Swope: Our EK Angus operation is a grazing operation. We run between 40 to 60 registered Angus cows and market bulls to other producers for breeding purposes. We also ship finished cattle monthly through multiple local USDA-inspected processing facilities. We focus on genetics and management to create a premium eating experience and market beef directly to consumers to fill their freezers. We actively work to bridge the information gap between farm and fork by forging relationships with our customers.
Q: How else are you involved in the industry?
Swope: Ezra works full time as a Strategic Account Manager for an animal health company. He currently serves as treasurer for the Center for Beef Excellence and is a Beef Committee member for the Bedford County Fair. Most of my time is spent managing and working on projects and program initiatives surrounding the Northeast Beef Promotion Initiative, working regionally from Maine to Virginia.
Q: What are your duties and responsibilities with the Pennsylvania Beef Council?
Swope: I manage and execute our consumer programming. That includes sharing information via targeted ads on social media, aligning with athletics to highlight beef among student athletes, coaches, and athletic directors while also reaching out to the fan base. I have been able to cultivate and grow relationships with our athletic partners within the last few years. Through these efforts, beef was named the Preferred Protein of both the Seton Hall Pirates and the University of Connecticut Huskies. I network with beef producers from across the region and country and have had success in channeling national resources into the region to reach consumers with positive beef information to grow their trust in beef and the people who raise it.
Q: Do you think women are becoming more visible in agriculture?
Swope: Women have always played an integral part in the agriculture story. With the rise of social media, I believe their visibility has increased. There are numerous groups shining a positive light on the role women play. I also think that the increased interest in consumers wanting to know more about where their food comes from has led to more jobs related to marketing within agriculture, and these are often professional opportunities that women pursue and excel at.
Q: Did either of you experience a boomerang effect?
Swope: My father grew up in Hollidaysburg, but I grew up in Monroe and Wayne Counties. I moved to Ohio and joined Ezra in Bedford County. He grew up in New Enterprise and did have some internship opportunities in Nebraska and had plans to move west, but we were able to make our home here.
Q: What makes Bedford County a good location for you?
Swope: The topography and rolling hills of Bedford County are a great asset for grazing cattle with a nice mix of grazing opportunities close enough to high quality feedstuffs that allows us to feed cattle out efficiently. We rotationally graze our cows and calves from mid-April through Christmastime. On the beef side, we are far enough from urban environments for agriculture but close enough to reach the customer base, especially those seeking beef directly from a farm. Bedford County is uniquely positioned to allow easy access to multiple markets in multiple states, given our access to major interstates.
Q: Is there anything surprising about your industry that your customers might not know?
Swope: Bedford County consistently ranks between the second and third largest cow/calf county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. We believe there is tremendous opportunity to grow both cattle and direct-to-consumer beef businesses within Bedford County.
Q: With so many responsibilities, how do you relax?
Swope: Since Ezra and I both travel for our jobs, we honestly prefer staying home and enjoying the surrounding beauty of Bedford County that we’re immersed in. It is extremely hard to beat our views of Morrisons Cove.