FCS & ProStart Teachers
Support meaningful classroom experiences with beef-focused resources that combine nutrition, culinary skills and agricultural literacy to prepare students for success in the kitchen and beyond.
FCS Beef Grant Program
Receive funding to bring beef into your classroom. Iowa middle and high school foods classes are eligible for up to $750 per school annually to support hands-on lessons about beef nutrition, selection, storage and preparation.Basic Beef Tools for Teachers
Become a Beef Expert
Ready to make informed beef choices at the grocery store? Learn what separates quality grades, labeling terms, and how to select the best beef for your meal.
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Recipe Finder
Explore hundreds of beef recipes for every occasion, all backed by trusted cooking tips and nutrition information.
Explore Beef Cuts
A searchable beef cuts database to help you quickly find cuts, learn where they come from, and discover the best ways to prepare them.
Cooking with Beef for Kids Booklet
Discover kid-friendly beef recipes and fun activities designed to help kids build confidence in the kitchen.
FCS & ProStart Teacher Toolkits
Lesson: Beef Selection and Cooking
In these lessons, students learn how to read meat labels to identify the type of beef and where it comes from on the animal. They explore primal cuts and distinguish between locomotion and suspension muscles, then connect cuts to appropriate cookery methods. Lessons also guide students in selecting cuts and understanding how muscle type influences cooking choices. Developed by Megan (Aden) Ferguson, FCS educator.
Lesson: Ground Beef Taste Test
This lesson guides teachers through two lab-based ground beef experiments for middle and high school food prep and culinary students. Students compare patties and crumbles from different lean percentages, evaluating quality and cost using an inquiry-based Science Writing Heuristic approach aligned with Iowa Core Health Literacy and FCS National Standards. Edited by Kristie Kuhse, Waverly-Shell Rock Middle School.
FCS & ProStart Teacher Resources
True Beef Pasture to Plate
This guide contains 8 lessons for the High School Culinary Arts or Family and Consumer Sciences program. However, STEM connections have been included for all lessons making it easy for teachers to make connections across the curriculum.
Raw Truth About Beef
This interactive educational program for high school students explores the beef production process from pasture to plate through engaging videos and virtual tours. Teachers can also complete the curriculum to earn American Culinary Federation approved continuing education hours.
Beef: Processing to Plate, 3-Part Virtual Series
This three-part virtual learning series helps students understand how beef moves from processing to preparation. Through guided virtual experiences, students will learn about the steps involved in processing beef, basic meat science concepts and how beef is prepared in the kitchen.
Food Safety
These tips provide proper safe handling guidance, proper cooking instructions and storage of cuts and leftovers.
Beef Nutrition
With beef, every bite counts. Grab a plate and discover how beef is a delicious, nutritious powerhouse no matter what your wellness goals.
Beef Production
Get the full picture of Iowa's beef industry: from operations and rankings to economic impact and employment. Here are the facts that matter.
Culinary Resources
Explore resources that support beef education from selection to preparation.
Beef University
Beef University is a free, online training program which covers the beef basics that will help you market and menu beef. Your customers rely on you to be their expert source on the foods they purchase and consume. They expect you to know everything from how beef is raised, how to select and prepare beef, and the health and nutrition benefits of beef. Beef U will help you understand the ‘ins and outs’ of beef to deliver superior customer service, which translates to an improved bottom line.