Cattle Industry Convention

A Must-Attend Industry Event

Mon, 21 Apr 2025 17:18:00 GMT

Time is a limited resource and it’s easy to fill an entire year with ranch work. Yet, creating time to work on the business and continuously learn is of equal if not more importance when creating profitable businesses. One opportunity ranchers can take to brush up on industry challenges, peek into future trends and network with some of the industry’s brightest minds is attending the Beef Improvement Federation (BIF) Symposium June 10-13, 2025, in Amarillo, Texas.

BIF Executive Director Bob Weaber says, “We try to build the program to push everyone in their thinking, but they aren’t topics that are going to go way over your head.”

BIF is a membership organization consisting of many industry stakeholders and organizations. It was originally founded to standardize beef cattle performance data collection systems to collect reliable and unbiased data for genetic selection. Today, one of the great opportunities it creates for ranchers is its annual research symposium.

From the young producer seminar, to keynotes, panels, breakout sessions, tours and hallway conversations – each generation on the ranch can find value from attending.

“We noticed that parents and grandparents were coming to the convention, but the younger generation was staying home to work. We wanted to create an opportunity to connect the younger generation to mentors and these industry conversations,” Weaber says.

This opportunity is in the form of the Young Producer Seminar, which kicks off the event. The 2025 theme is about making your voice heard and will include conversations about entrepreneurship, transition planning, family business culture and advocacy.

Additionally, the seminar has speakers to help prepare young producers to find mentors, get engaged in hallway conversations and ultimately get the most out of this convention and others.

The following two days are filled with big picture conversations about different challenges and how they impact each industry sector differently.

Day two will focus on conflicting market signals and profit drivers throughout the supply chain, specifically the pressure for increased growth and carcass performance and how that impacts profitability for cow-calf producers, feedlots and packers. This conversation will start with consumer preference and work its way through the rest of the supply chain.

Additionally, there will be a beef x dairy panel discussion focusing on how to select genetics for Holstein and Jersey cows to build high-value carcasses.

Day three is another heavy hitter focusing on new technology and sustainability.

“Politically sustainability is in the crosshairs at the moment, but the consumer still thinks it is important so we should think they are important,” Weaber says.

Various speakers will address global and domestic perspectives of sustainability, including what other countries are experiencing as well as how focusing on sustainability impacts the entire beef value chain economically.

From the technology perspective, there will also be a focus on how AI and machine learning is entering the beef industry, especially to automate phenotypic record collection.

And of course, BIF Symposium wouldn’t be complete without a tour or two. There will be two tours this year. One will be focused on range and cow-calf and the other will be feedlot and packer focused.

As you consider whether to or not to attend the symposium, remember the power of networking. Connectivity is the main reason ranchers should attend the event.

“If you want to get connected to the people, thoughts and actions that impact beef cattle genetic improvement, BIF is the must-attend meeting,” Weaber says.

You can view the full agenda and register at BIFSymposium.com .

Watch the full conversation here.

Voting Open for NCBA’s National Anthem Contest

Mon, 04 Nov 2024 21:23:29 GMT

Four finalists have been selected in the 12th annual National Anthem Contest, sponsored by Norbrook®. The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) is inviting the public to vote for the winner through Nov. 15.

Introducing the four finalists:

Jaci Deitrck of Newcastle, Okla., is involved in her family’s registered Hereford cattle operation and is pursuing a master’s degree in international agriculture at Oklahoma State University.

Payton Goodman of Canyon, Texas, is majoring in agriculture media and communication at West Texas A&M University and looks forward to advocating for the beef industry.

Anah Higbie of Quenemo, Kan., helps with her family’s commercial Simmental cow-calf operation, enjoys showing cattle and considers being an animal agriculture advocate one of the biggest passions of her life.

Hayden Ladd of Waldron, Mich., is a fourth-generation cattle producer who enjoys showing cattle, playing guitar, singing at local venues, and roping on the Michigan High School Rodeo team.

Videos of the finalists are available for viewing and voting at convention.ncba.org . The public can vote once per day per person through Nov. 15, and the winner will be announced Nov. 21.

The winner will perform the “Star-Spangled Banner” at the Opening General Session of CattleCon 2025 and will receive round trip airfare to San Antonio, Texas, a hotel room for three nights, complimentary convention registration, plus a pair of boots, jeans and a shirt from Roper or Stetson.

For more information and to register for CattleCon 2025 and reserve housing, visit convention.ncba.org .

Two Days of Producer Education Headlines Cattle Industry Convention

Thu, 19 Nov 2020 05:06:01 GMT

The Cattle Industry Convention kicked off with two days of producer education on Feb. 3-4, 2015. Cattlemen’s College, sponsored by Zoetis Animal Health, has become widely known as one of the most thorough, in-depth educational events offered to cattlemen and women in the country. Celebrating its 22nd year, the event saw outstanding attendance with more than 1,350 attendees.

Hands-on cattle demonstrations kicked off the event Tuesday night, highlighting how beef producers can add value to their market cows. Industry experts, including Dr. Gary Smith, Dr. Keith Belk, and Dr. Dale Woerner, explained how cattlemen can improve the quality, consistency and competitiveness of beef produced from market cows through management decisions on the farm or ranch. Later, attendees were treated to some southern hospitality at a reception sponsored by Certified Angus Beef.

Also, as part of the industry effort to increase producer education, the checkoff-funded Beef Quality Assurance program introduced and updated Cattle Care and Handling Guidelines at the Producer’s Forum Tuesday evening. The guidelines, which are industry-wide standards for cattle care and handling, now include the 2014 BQA supplemental guidelines, advice on cold stress management, and guidelines for the judicious use of antibiotics in the cattle industry.

“Cattlemen take great pride in properly caring for their livestock and the BQA program has proven very successful in providing guidelines that producers can adapt to fit their needs,” said Josh White, director of producer education for the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association. “This refreshed handbook provides additional information with updated graphics and a revised look.”

Cattlemen’s College started back up early Wednesday morning with a keynote address by Chef Mike Erickson, who is a champion at connecting consumers to how beef is raised. Erickson advocates for the beef industry and dedicates his time to teaching others in culinary about how beef gets from pasture to plate.

“I think it is important for people in the culinary world to understand how beef is raised and get to know the people who spend their lives producing such a fine product for us,” said Erickson. “If those of us preparing the beef are educated on how it is raised, we can help spread the positive story of beef. The cattle industry has so much good going for it and we have to get that message out to people.”

Throughout the day attendees could choose from a wide range of informative, hands-on educational workshops designed for cattle operations of every size and sector. Classes ranged from understanding the economics of rebuilding the domestic herd, land and water rights issues in the United States, to proper cattle nutrition and the future use of antibiotics in food animals. Each session delivered stimulating and thought-provoking information to help cattlemen and women generate higher returns back home on the ranch.

For more information about the Cattle Industry Convention and NCBA Trade Show visit www.BeefUSA.org .

Source: National Cattlemen’s Beef Association

Is The Cattle Herd Growing? Producers Give Their Take

Fri, 13 Nov 2020 02:23:12 GMT

The government shutdown may be temporarily over but it still has a lingering impact on the cattle industry. The major Cattle Inventory report, which shows the size of the U.S. cattle herd, was supposed to be released this week but is delayed.

NASS announcing this week when reports will drop. Both Cattle on Feed and Cattle Inventory will be released until late February.

AgDay’s national reporter Betsy Jibben talks with cattle industry experts and producers about whether they think the herd grew in their areas. She talks with Don Close of Rabo AgriFinance; Angela Wilson, a producer from Henry County, Tennessee; Holly Foster, a producer from Oroville, California; Anthony Schwarck, a producer from Riceville, Iowa and Carl Pulver, a livestock producer from Albion, Indiana.

Additional Coverage From the 2019 Cattle Industry Convention & NCBA Tradeshow:

Trade, COOL, Japan: Kent Bacus On NCBA Policy Priorities On AgriTalk

Is The Cattle Herd Growing? Producers Give Their Take

Get the Facts and Projections on 2019 from CattleFax

Happening Now: Cattle Industry & NCBA Trade Show Underway

Education A Top Priority During 2019 Cattlemen’s College

NCBA: Markets Expected to Remain Strong; Leverage Shift on the Horizon

Trade, COOL, Japan: Kent Bacus On NCBA Policy Priorities On AgriTalk

Fri, 13 Nov 2020 01:43:06 GMT

Selling more beef domestically and internationally, it’s a hot topic at the 2019 Cattle Industry Convention and NCBA Tradeshow.

To do so, NCBA leaders say trade issues have been, and continue to be, their top focus.

“If you look at NAFTA, it’s been a tremendous opportunity for the U.S. beef industry,” said Kent Bacus, director of trade and market access for the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) in an interview with AgriTalk. “We’ve maximized our sales in both Canada and Mexico, we don’t want to jeopardize that by any means at all. So, we were excited with the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) because it doesn’t change any of the terms for us, you know, we still have unrestricted duty-free access to both Canada and Mexico. We didn’t see resurgence of any bad policies, like mandatory country of origin labeling that would jeopardize that trade, so this is a good thing we just needed to move forward.”

That will take cooperation with other members of the agricultural industry to pressure Congress to bring it up and ratify it. And just because the agreement has been signed, doesn’t mean it’s going into effect—the governments of Canada and Mexico still have to ratify the agreement as well.

“With the number of cattle that we got out there on feed right now, we better have some place take the beef,” said Chip Flory, host of AgriTalk.

“We’ve got to move that product. And with 96% of the world’s population living outside our borders that’s the best place to move it,” Bacus said. “That’s really the priority for us—try to find the best way to maximize our sales because we’ve got to sell all parts of the cow. It’s not just meats. It’s also the hides, tallow, everything. Nothing goes to waste.”

But to move forward will require bipartisan work. “We’re hopeful that we’ll be able to find a path forward and get it some kind of bipartisan effort to move this forward, but realistically, we’re in a presidential election cycle. Will Nancy Pelosi give Donald Trump any victories at all? That’s yet to be seen,” he told Flory.

Flory did raise the question: Should mandatory country-of-origin labeling (COOL) be back on the table?

“Mandatory COOL was the law of the land for five years,” Bacus said. “What did it accomplish? It cost the industry hundreds of millions of dollars in compliance fees, it did nothing to drive demand, it had nothing to build sales. All it did was it took us the WTO, hitting us with a billion dollars in retaliatory tariffs—we don’t want that to happen.”

“Yes, the industry can market our product better than the federal government ever can. That’s what mandatory COOL is—a government run labeling program. It didn’t work then and it’s not going to work again,” he added.

Japan Trade Hits Critical Juncture

“That’s our biggest export market, by far. It’s about 25% of our overall sales. We will exceed $2 billion dollars in sales when we get the final 2018 numbers in. That’s a huge market for us. It’s not just beef tongues, it’s a lot of other cuts as well,” Bacus said. “The problem is we still face the 38½% tariff in that market.”

The U.S. pulled out of the Trans Pacific Partnership, which was implemented on Dec. 30, 2018, and now our beef competitors, including Australia, New Zealand, Canada and Mexico, are all supplying that Japanese market.

“There’s no other market that can absorb the beef volume and the value of what we’re selling into Japan,” Bacus stressed. “We have to have a trade agreement that will level the playing field for us. This is a top priority for us and it should be a top priority for everybody in the U.S. beef industry and agriculture.”

Click the player above to hear what Bacus said about the issue of mandatory country of origin labeling, and the growing importance of the South Korean market.