The Red Angus Association of America (RAAA) and the American Simmental Association (ASA) are again teaming up to gather forward-thinking producers at the annual Young Guns Conference, July 17 – 19, in Loveland, Colo.
The conference offers a combination of speakers, interactive discussions, tours and relationship-building activities between cattlemen and national staff.
“Young Guns has provided a great opportunity to learn and network with many of the top individuals in the beef cattle industry,” said Kevin Miller of Croissant Red Angus in Briggsdale, Colo. “Without this type of a program I do not believe that I would have had that opportunity.”
While the name of the conference implies an age limit for attendees, that is not the case. Chelsea Tomascik, RAAA Marketing Programs Coordinator and one of the event's planners, said, "The Young Guns Conference is open to all ages and is designed for young-minded producers who want to learn more about the Red Angus and Simmental breeds, as well as the beef industry."
This is the eighth year for the Young Guns Conference, but only the fourth year Red Angus and Simmental breeds have joined forces to plan the interactive conference and provide networking opportunities between the two breeds.
Schedule
Young Guns 2013 will kick off Wednesday, July 17 at 5:00 MST at the Best Western, Crossroads Inn. Attendees will enjoy a welcome dinner prepared by the Colorado State University’s (CSU) Meats Team and visit with fellow producers and national staff. Later that evening, Young Guns will hear from Dr. Dale Woerner, meat quality specialist for CSU, on “What’s Great About Beef.”
Thursday morning, July 18, Young Guns will hear from several outstanding speakers including Dr. Kevin Pond, animal sciences department head for CSU and Dr. Wade Shafer, CEO of ASA.
A cattle feeder panel and RAAA Director of Added Value Programs Myron Edelman will discuss “Profit – Post Weaning.” Attendees will then have the opportunity to tour the Feed Intake Unit. The day will wrap-up with dinner prepared by the CSU Meats Team and presentation by Dr. Gene Rouse, emeritus professor of animal science at Iowa State University, on “Pig Business vs. Cow Business.”
Friday morning, July 19, a select group of early registrants will have the opportunity to tour JBS Five Rivers Plant. JBS Five Rivers has a feeding capacity of nearly 1 million head of cattle with locations all across the Midwest and Southwest as well as a feedyard in Alberta, Canada.
Following the JBS Five Rivers Plant tour is a tour of the 100,000-head Kuner Feedyard, the nation’s state-of-the-industry cattle feedyard, owned and operated by JBS Five Rivers. After the tour, there will be a question-and-answer session where attendees can learn more about feedyard operations and the history of the Kuner Feedyard.
Attendees will travel to JBS headquarters for lunch and interaction with JBS Five Rivers’ staff on the value of export, risk management, the cost of feeder cattle and the value in hides and specialty meats.
Miller said, “At the end of the day if you can take at least one thing home and make your operation better, attending was a great success. I have developed great friendships and resources that I would not trade for anything.”
This year’s Young Guns conference will headquarter out of the Best Western, Crossroads Inn in Loveland, Colo. For a complete agenda, registration form and hotel reservation information, visit redangus.org or www.simmental.org.
