More than 650 cattle producers are expected to gather at the Cattle Industry Summer Conference in Denver this week to help set direction for industry programs. The conference will run July 30 - Aug 2.
The event includes meetings of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, Cattlemen’s Beef Board, American National CattleWomen and National Cattlemen’s Foundation. Among the purposes of the yearly conference is to create a framework for checkoff and policy efforts on behalf of U.S. cattle producers for the 2015 fiscal year, which for NCBA and the Cattlemen’s Beef Board begins Oct. 1.
Keynote speaker at Thursday’s Opening General Session is Steffan Tubbs, well-known Colorado reporter on KOA radio and co-host of a community affairs program on Colorado Public Television. Tubbs, who has nearly 25 years of news experienced and has received the prestigious Edward R. Murrow award four times, will talk about his soon-to-be-released documentary film called Droughtland, which focuses on the devastating conditions of the recent drought in Southeastern Colorado and what the drought has meant to a huge portion of the West.
Also during General Session I, W.D. Farr Scholarships will be presented to two graduate students by the National Cattlemen’s Foundation. The $12,000 scholarships are presented to students who want to further their educations in in meat science and animal agriculture. General Session I is sponsored by Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica, Inc.
During General Session II on Friday, Kevin Good of CattleFax will outline the state of the cattle industry, the factors that have gotten the industry where it is and what his organization expects to see in the future. The session is sponsored by Bayer Animal Health.
“We’re seeing unprecedented conditions in our industry, and the producers who understand all of the factors for how we got here will be best positioned for success in the future,” according to Bob McCan, a beef producer from Victoria, Texas and NCBA president . “The working sessions at the Summer Conference will not only help provide that understanding, but will give participating producers a chance to play a leadership role in determining where we go from here.”
Click here to see more...