2026 Summer Intern Accomplishments

In May, CCA and the Beef Cattle Research Council (BCRC), and Canfax divisions welcomed interns to our staff teams. The intern work terms have flown by, and we wanted to give each intern an opportunity to share their accomplishments in their own words.

CCA Intern: Reegan Frey

My internship with the Canadian Cattle Association has provided a wide range of opportunities to contribute to various projects across communications, policy, youth programs, and industry engagement.

One of my highlights was writing feature articles for The Environmental Stewardship Award (TESA) program along with creating content for the Canadian Cattle Young Leaders (CYL) program and Canadian Cattle Youth Council (CCYC). These projects allowed me to share the stories of producers and young leaders while supporting CCA’s communications and outreach efforts through articles and social media.

Another significant achievement was supporting the CYL and CCYC programs throughout the summer. Working closely with Youth Coordinator Cailey Church, I assisted with the planning and coordination of major program events, including the CYL Spring Forum, Selections Competition, Graduation Ceremony, and events held during the Calgary Stampede. 

Representing the Canadian Cattle Association at the Calgary Stampede was another memorable experience. Through the Cattle Trail exhibit, I engaged directly with members of the public, answered questions about the beef sector, and helped promote understanding of Canadian beef production, animal care, and environmental stewardship.

I also gained valuable exposure to policy and advocacy work by monitoring industry news, tracking Parliamentary Agriculture Committee meetings, and conducting research on programs affecting producers. Additionally, I contributed to organizational incentives such as business planning, meeting preparation, and internal administrative support.

These experiences allowed me to make meaningful contributions to the organization while gaining first-hand exposure to the many functions of a national association in the agriculture industry.

BCRC Intern: Taylor Wessing

Throughout my time as an intern for the Beef Cattle Research Council (BCRC) I have gained invaluable experiences, industry connections and knowledge, and further developed my professional skills. The team has supported me from day one—giving me the opportunity to make the most of my internship and helping me succeed at completing the Directed Field Study (DFS) portion of my degree. 

This summer I mostly contributed to tasks with the Knowledge Mobilization Team—turning larger resources into practical tools for producers. I helped create and draft multiple types of media including articles, newsletters, social media content and various graphics. Being part of the Knowledge Mobilization team helped expand my understanding of beef cattle production.

I also had the opportunity to work with the Science Team on a few tasks—deepening my understanding of the industry. Through sitting in on various meetings, reviewing proposals, and conversations with the team, I was able to gain exposure to the research side of the industry. Being involved in these types of conversations has contributed to a better, more well-rounded understanding of the Canadian beef industry.  

Aside from my typical tasks, I also had the opportunity to get out of the office a few times this summer. In July, I worked a few shifts on Cattle Trail at the Calgary Stampede. Not only did I get to help people learn about the beef industry, but I also got to learn from others who shared their experiences in the industry. During the same week, I had to opportunity to attend a field day about pastoral stewardship. It was amazing to see the passion and wealth of knowledge that the attendees shared, and it was a great opportunity to expand my understanding.

Canfax Intern: Megan Conners

Working with the Canfax division this summer has been an amazing experience that has given me various opportunities to gain more experience and further my knowledge of another part of agriculture I was interested in. Throughout the summer I worked with both the market analyst team as well as the research team. 

While working with the market analytics team, and covering staff vacation times, I had the opportunity to work on a variety of routine tasks. This hands-on experience gave me further insight into what happens behind the scenes to bring producers useable data and information. Throughout this period, I helped compile information and sale data that ends up in the various Canfax publications. These responsibilities included updating websites, building scripts for and recording radio reports, collecting feeder and fed cattle data, and compiling various daily and weekly reports. From these tasks, I broadened my understanding of the significance of the data gathered and how it’s applied to market trends and keeping producers informed. 

With the research team, I took part in discussions focused on current projects, which encouraged me to deepen my understanding of many agricultural topics. I also worked heavily with the Cost of Production Network research to organize data collected from producers for further analyses, as well as making updates to provincial and national summaries and fact sheets. Working with the research team has helped me build my data analysis skills and strengthen my understanding of Excel functions. 

During the summer, I also had the opportunity to attend key industry events that helped expand my professional network. In June, I attended the CYL Spring Forum where I was able to connect with producers and other industry partners. And in July, I worked shifts at the Cattle Trail during Calgary Stampede where I got to meet and visit with the public as well as producers from across the world. Both experiences were extremely rewarding, providing unique opportunities to expand my understanding of this industry.