Last week, young Canadian beef industry leaders from across Canada gathered for various industry tours and training in southern Alberta. The annual Cattlemen’s Young Leaders (CYL) Spring Forum event ran May 31 – June 2, 2022 and was hosted by the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association’s CYL Mentorship Program for its program participants age 18-35 involved in various areas of the beef supply chain.

This marked the first CYL Spring Forum back in-person after two years, where CYL graduates from 2019 and 2020, who did not get to experience an in-person forum were invited back to participate in the event alongside the current program participants.

This year’s CYL Spring Forum featured speakers on topics such as financial literacy, building your [ … ]

March 15, 2022

Calgary, AB – Mentorships through the Cattlemen’s Young Leaders (CYL) Mentorship Program for the
2021-2022 program year are off to a strong start. Young leaders in the beef industry have been expanding
their skill set through professional and personal development opportunities thanks to the generous support
of this year’s industry-leading program mentors.

The CYL Program is a national initiative of the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association (CCA) established in
2010 that provides young people ages 18-35 with industry specific training and mentorship opportunities.
Each year,16 participants are paired with a hand-picked industry leader in their specific area of interest for a
nine-month mentorship opportunity.

There is an exciting range of mentorship focus areas this year, including sustainable grazing practices,
succession planning, beef cattle nutrition, industry policy, building a successful business plan, direct
marketing, and much more.

To view a full list of the 2021-2022 program year CYL mentorship pairings, click here: 03.15.2022_Industry-leading mentors lend a helping hand to the next generation [ … ]

Calgary, AB – The Cattlemen’s Young Leaders (CYL) Mentorship Program, a national youth initiative of the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association (CCA), is pleased to announce the 16 finalists for the 2021-2022 program year.

The final selection took place through a virtual competition held on August 30, 2021 where 23 impressive semi-finalists from across Canada competed for a spot in the CYL Program through judged discussions. The finalists will be awarded a $2,000 travel budget and be paired with a hand-picked industry leader for a nine-month mentorship in their specific area of interest.

Through the virtual selections event, semi-finalists participated in roundtable discussions by breaking off into smaller virtual meetings each facilitated and judged by CYL Foundation Partners, Cargill, McDonald’s Canada, MNP, and New Holland, and Gold Sponsors, Farm Credit Canada, RBC Future Launch and Alltech. Semi-finalists put their skills to the test through thought provoking discussions about timely topics in the beef industry such as [ … ]

The Cattlemen’s Young Leaders  (CYL) Mentorship Program is celebrating its 10th Anniversary! Since established in 2010, this flagship mentorship program of the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association has seen over 120 graduates who have been mentored by an industry leader and have taken advantage of unique networking and travel opportunities for professional and personal growth.

To celebrate this exciting milestone, we’re looking back on the last decade of the program with stories from participants, mentors, sponsors and more. The following video presentation was unveiled at the virtual Canadian Beef Industry Conference on August 11, 2020 during the CYL Program 10th Anniversary Celebration.

The Cattlemen’s Young Leaders  (CYL) Mentorship Program is celebrating its 10th Anniversary! Since established in 2010, this flagship mentorship program of the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association has seen over 120 graduates who have been mentored by an industry leader and have taken advantage of unique networking and travel opportunities for professional and personal growth.

To celebrate this exciting milestone, we’re looking back on the last decade of the program with stories from participants, mentors, sponsors and more. The following video presentation was unveiled at the virtual Canadian Beef Industry Conference on August 11, 2020 during the CYL Program 10th Anniversary Celebration.

If you ever get the chance to attend the International Livestock Congress in conjunction with the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, rest assured you are in for a treat! I had this wonderful opportunity through my CYL Mentorship in early March.

The International Livestock Congress 2017 Conference topic of ‘Balancing Livestock and Water Use For Sustainable Nutrition’ was a great fit with learning new ways to enhance the sustainability of my own operation, one of my mentorship objectives. What an excellent opportunity to broaden my scope of global water and food supply issues and how it relates back to livestock production, not only for the US and the rest of the world but here in Canada as well. A few key topics of discussion included research and innovation of water conserving technologies, maintenance and development of water infrastructure, meeting the increasing global food supply demand, awareness of [ … ]

Through the CYL program I had the opportunity to attend the NCBA convention in Nashville at the start of February. I had heard nothing but great things about the convention especially when it is held in Nashville but everything about it still blew me away.

For starters the Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center was a spectacle of its own and was the part I was the least prepared for as my image of big didn’t even come close to its actual size. However, when you factor in that there were 8-9000 people attending the conference all in one building it seems a lot more reasonable.

The speakers at the conference were also worth the trip. We heard from a Mt Everest survivor, a media advisor to George Bush, Cattlefax outlooks, and more. Every one of these speakers provided tremendous insight and were great [ … ]