Young Cattlemen’s Conference Focuses on Future Beef Industry Leaders

Future cattle industry leaders had their knowledge of the cattle and beef business broadened recently, as 42 young cattlemen and women participated in the 25^th annual Young Cattlemen’s Conference tour.  The program is a comprehensive, nationwide tour of most of the industry’s sectors, and is designed to enhance leadership skills in young beef industry leaders.  The tour is sponsored by the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA), NCBA affiliates, Tyson Fresh Meats, Conti Beef and John Deere.

Participants in the 8-day tour were nominated by their respective NCBA affiliates.  Also attending the event were other cattle and beef industry representatives.

“The Young Cattlemen’s Conference is an opportunity for us to focus on the future leaders of the industry and build a foundation for grassroots leadership,” says NCBA President Jan Lyons, a cattle producer from Manhattan, Kan., who traveled with the group.  ”We are dedicated to the industry’s future and committed in developing leadership.”  

The June 3-June 11 tour started at the NCBA headquarters in Denver, Colo., with an organizational overview of the association with NCBA CEO Terry Stokes, an industry case study presented by ContiBeef, Cattle Fax industry outlook session, checkoff program updates and a spokesperson training seminar.  Participants had the opportunity to see first hand the work of the Beef Checkoff Program and interact with the senior management team of NCBA. 

The group traveled from Denver to Greeley, Colo. for a tour at Magness Farms/ConAgra Better Beef, a strategic marketing alliance and genetics partner, and then on to Swift & Company headquarters for discussions with Swift CEO John Simons and his management team.  The group teleconferenced with McDonald’s corporate management to gain their sense of the beef industry. The group also toured a King Soopers retail store in a Denver suburb and gained insight on the food service industry during a stop at Applebee’s, whose head beef buyer was on the tour.

Once leaving Colorado, the group stopped in Ulysses, Kan., home of Grant County Feeders, a 112,000 head feed yard.  After an extensive tour of the feeding operation and feed mill, the group traveled to Tyson Fresh Meats in Sioux City, Nebraska for a tour of their 5,000 head per day processing plant and hide tannery operation.  Following the tour, the group spent an afternoon with Senior Vice President Gene Lehman and the senior management team of Tyson’s beef division.

In Chicago, the group met with the senior management and several traders on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange floor to experience firsthand the pace of the trading floor. Participants visited The Bruss Company, a beef product fabrication facility, which offered them a view of turning boxed beef into custom order portions for major food service and retail customers.

From Chicago the group traveled to Washington D.C., where participants received an issues briefing from NCBA’s policy staff and Congressman Butch Otter (R-ID). The participants were then joined by more than 400 congressmen and Hill staffers for a Beef Caucus Picnic at the Russell Senate Park next to the Capitol 

That afternoon these future leaders were given the opportunity to visit one-on-one with their respective congressmen, expressing their viewpoints regarding the beef industry and their cattle operations.   The group then traveled to Aldie, Va., for a tour and barbeque at Whitestone Farms, one of the nation’s elite purebred Angus operations. 

Later in Washington, the group met with Secretary of Agriculture Anne Veneman as well as USDA staffers Dr. Chuck Lambert, Deputy Under Secretary of Marketing and Regulatory Programs; Dr. Eric Hentges, Executive Director, Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion; and Dr. Jim Butler, Deputy Under Secretary for Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services. 

At the Canadian Embassy, John Masswohl, Ag and Fisheries Counselor and NCBA Chief Economist Gregg Doud discussed trade and animal ID with the group.  Participants also received a one-on-one White House briefing with Special Advisor to the President Barry Jackson, Asa Hutchinson, Under Secretary, Department of Homeland Security; and James Griles, Deputy Secretary, Department of Interior. Several participants also participated in the Ronald Reagan memorial events while in Washington.

Participants in the Conference were Chad Ellingson, St. Anthony, N.D.; Kevin Schultz, Haviland, Kan.; Scott Kelly, Maricopa, Ariz.; John Bury, Olathe, Kan.; Jamie Cornwell, Paso Robles, Calif.; Scott Johnson, Kit Carson, Colo.; Mike Jacobson, Ulysses, Kan.; Judd Butler, Stratford, Texas; Alan Kelley, St. Cloud, Fla.; Henry Kempfer, Melbourne, Fla.; and David Gazda, Athens, Ga.

Also attending were Mike McCravy, Bowden Ga; Brian Caires, Kamuela, Hawaii; Joe Greig, Estherville, Iowa; Scott McNeley, Grand View, Idaho; Rander Faber, Sublette, Ill.; Randy Shortridge, Garden City, Kan.; David Haresnape, Oberlin, Kan.; Don Pemberton, Hopkinsville, Ky.; John Spitler, Elk Grove, Calif.; Kevin Wallace, Jayess, Miss.; Howard Hardecke, Bolivar, Mo.; Jeremy Kueffler, Miles City, Mont.; Alan Gross, Ord, Neb.; and Julie Karavas, Lincoln Neb.

Other participants included Rachel Buzzetti, Lamoille, Nev.; Todd Leland, Sidney, Mont.; Andy Lohr Bucyrus, Ohio; Kay Teisl, Salem, Ore.; Sam Shaw, Caldwell, Idaho; Brian Brockel, Selby, S.D.; Ben Brophy, Amarillo, Texas; Tommy Hefner, Hereford, Texas; Donnell Brown, Throckmorton, Texas; Kevin Younger, Dakota Dunes, S.D.; Ron Christensen, Sterling, Utah; David Secrist,  Moses Lake, Wash.; and Jan Lyons, Manhattan, Kan.  Four NCBA staff also participated: Michele Peterson and Marvin Kokes from Denver and Errol Rice and Leah Wilkinson from Washington D.C.

For more information on the NCBA Young Cattlemen’s Conference or to nominate someone for next year’s tour contact Marvin Kokes at 303-850-3339 or mkokes@beef.org.