A write up on CYL’s recent trip to the NorthWest Stock Show in January was featured as a part of CCA’s Action News.

The link to the Action News is http://www.cattle.ca/action-news/2013/02-11-13.html

CYL participants benefit from learning opportunities at ILC USA

Cattlemen’s Young Leaders (CYL) participants attended the International Livestock Congress USA in Denver recently and took in a number of presentations supporting the event’s theme, Feeding the World II – Meeting the Challenge.

The ability of the beef industry to meet the challenge of feeding a burgeoning global population was the topic du jour and presentations on topics such as sustainability and traceability scored high marks with CYL participant Amy Mayner.

“It is inspirational to see so many speakers, producers and industry representatives with such a passion for improving the cattle industry both domestically and internationally. I greatly appreciate the opportunity to observe this firsthand,” Mayner said.

During the action-packed trip six CYL participants and a representative from the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association toured to Colorado State University and heard from a couple professors on the challenges facing Colorado’s cattle industry as well as succession planning. Participants toured the Colorado State University farm and then headed to Weaver Ranch, known for its innovation in purebred genetics. The day ended with a discussion with Daren Williams, executive director, communications, National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA), about communicating with consumers.

Later in the week, the Canadian Consulate hosted a Young Producers Canada-U.S. Bilateral Roundtable with representation from organizations such as the NCBA’s Young Producer Council, Colorado Cattlemen’s, and Colorado Independent Cattle Growers Association. Topics of discussion included trade, drought, succession planning, and sustainability etc.

The CYL group was joined by Wyoming Department of Agriculture Director Jason Fearneyhough and Colorado Commissioner of Agriculture John Salazar for discussions centred around common challenges the industry faces and sharing ideas about how to overcome these obstacles.

Later, the group was invited to the Canada-U.S. reception hosted by the Canadian consulate as a method to promote trade and cooperation between the nations. CYL graduate Virgil Lowe presented the findings from the bilateral roundtable to the group alongside YPC secretary Travis Hoffman. The evening concluded with a National Western Stock Show rodeo performance on Canada night, a spectacular event worth seeing.