Contact:          Carol Abrahamzon, ANCW                (507) 724-3905 

ANCW FOUNDATION RECEIVES SHARED SOLUTIONS GRANT

Altria Awards Grants Totaling $345,000 for Agricultural, Environmental Innovation

DENVER (September 26, 2005) — American National CattleWomen Foundation, Inc. has received a grant of $15,000 for training youth selected for the National Beef Ambassador Program in conducting an interest survey, exploring agriculture careers, identifying training or college requirements and resume building.

The skills learned by the Beef Ambassadors will then be utilized to demonstrate to peers all possible career opportunities available in the agricultural community.  Working in collaboration with major national youth groups, the beef ambassador team will present workshops addressing the need for young people to consider a career in agriculture and the way to achieve their career goals through education and preparation.

The National Beef Ambassador Program is funded in part by the national beef checkoff, which is administered by the Cattlemen's Beef Board. The American National CattleWomen, Inc. (ANCW) coordinates the National Beef Ambassador Program with the National Cattlemen's Beef Association (NCBA). Both ANCW and NCBA serve as contractors for the Beef Board for checkoff-funded programs.

The grant received by ANCW Foundation, Inc. is one of 15 individual grants from the Shared Solutions^SM Agricultural Contributions program. The grant program, an initiative of the Altria Group, Inc., awarded a total of $345,000 to not-for-profit organizations.  The grants will help support innovative projects benefiting the farm-to-consumer supply community. The National Beef Ambassador Program also received a Shared Solutions ^SM grant in January 2005.

“The ANCW Foundation is honored to receive another grant from Altria,” said Marlene Strickland, ANCW president. “It is gratifying to see that Shared Solutions  recognizes the value of the National Beef Ambassadors Program, and the importance of training young people to connect with key audiences.”  

The grant was awarded in the Leadership Sustainability category. Shared Solutions ^SM grants were also awarded in three additional categories: Environmental Sustainability, Economic Sustainability, and Product Sustainability and Security.

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The American National CattleWomen Foundation Inc. is a not for profit 501(c)-3 organization whose primary focus is to generate funds for charitable, scientific, or educational purposes.

Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE: MO) is the parent company of Kraft Foods, Philip Morris International and Philip Morris USA.  For nearly 50 years, Altria Group has provided sustained and wide-ranging support for organizations that feed the hungry, provide services to victims and survivors of domestic violence, promote the arts, and assist communities affected by natural disasters, as well as numerous programs that address important community needs. As part of this commitment to responsibility, Altria Group has awarded over $1 billion in the last decade alone.  Additional information about giving and community-focused initiatives of Altria Group is available at www.altria.com/media_programs.

The Beef Checkoff Program was established as part of the 1985 Farm Bill. The checkoff assesses $1 per head on the sale of live domestic and imported cattle, in addition to a comparable assessment on imported beef and beef products. States retain up to 50 cents on the dollar and forward the other 50 cents per head to the Cattlemen’s Beef Promotion and Research Board (Beef Board), which administers the national checkoff program, subject to USDA approval. The checkoff assessment became mandatory when the program was approved by 79 percent of producers in a 1988 national referendum vote. Checkoff revenues may be used for promotion, education and research programs to improve the marketing climate for beef.