OKEMOS, Mich. – Mention Michigan and visions of Great Lakes shorelines, Mackinac Island, the Henry Ford Museum or Motown might come to mind. Mention Michigan agriculture and visions of Traverse City cherries, apples and blueberries might occur.

The Michigan Beef Industry Commission (MBIC) wants to remind its residents and visitors alike that Michigan is also a beef state, and is doing this with its new grilling promotion, “Great Lakes, Even Better Steaks.”

“Michigan is pretty much on par with what we see across the country,” said MBIC Director of Communications Katie Serbinski. “Michiganders love beef and buy beef.”

The MBIC promoted its advertising message “Great Lakes, Even Better Steaks” throughout the summer months with a series of roadside billboards. The billboards are located alongside some of the busiest summer-travel highways in Michigan, include U.S. 127, M-115 and I-75. Each of the billboards were displayed this summer, garnering millions of impressions among Michigan consumers. But the messaging doesn’t stop there.

The MBIC has a web page that offers recipes, tips on cooking with beef and nutrition.

“While online brand awareness has become a large part of our marketing strategy, offline awareness, like billboards, is just as important when trying to reach different target audiences,” Serbinski said.

“We’re out to tell Michigan consumers that while no Michigan summer is complete without visiting or exploring the Great Lakes, the added sound and smell of beef sizzling on the grill will make for one unforgettable summer. Great Lakes, Even Better Steaks is a nod to our state’s iconic shape, framed by four of the five Great Lakes. Nothing says summertime in Michigan like a real beef burger or a juicy steak on the grill, minutes after dipping your toes in any of Michigan’s great lakes or inland lakes.”

Currently, there are more than 700,000 cattle farms and ranches in the U.S., with an average herd size of 40 cattle. Those farms and ranches produce 19 percent of the world’s beef.

Texas and Oklahoma rank 1-2 in beef cows with 4.3 million and 1.98 million respectively. Missouri was third with 1.94 million and Kentucky is eighth with 895,000. Michigan is 39th with 98,000 beef cows. By comparison, Ohio has 290,000, Illinois has 341,000 and Indiana has 183,000. Rhode Island trails the pack of 50 with just 1,100 beef cows.

According to the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service, there are 12,000 farms with beef and dairy cattle in Michigan. The economic impact of cattle in Michigan totals $541 million. With a consumer population of 9.9 million, the industry meets about 33 percent of the local demand.

“The unique thing about our producers and our story here in Michigan is that many of our beef producers are multi-livestock farmers,” Serbinski said. “In addition to beef, these beef producers will be involved in raising corn, soybeans, dairy cows, hogs, potatoes and so much more. For this reason, we do a lot of cross-industry promotions.”

Promoting Michigan beef is Serbinski’s aim. Along with the billboards, additional print materials, including a “Beef for Grilling” brochure and a “Together, We Bring More” bookmark for youth, are being distributed.

“We’re all trying to get the word out that not only are we doing our job well, we do it because we care and we’re doing things thoughtfully and sustainably across all sectors of the industry,” Serbinski said.