Carley Henniger
Young Cattlemen's Council, President
It is an honour to be writing my first report to you all as the newly elected President of the Young Cattlemen’s Council (YCC). The YCC is a subsidiary of the Canadian Cattlemen's Association (CCA), and welcomes beef enthusiast from across Canada between the ages of 18-40. I reside in Kamloops, British Columbia where I work as the Environment Coordinator for the BC Cattlemen's Association and am the Secretary/Treasurer for the Cattle Industry Development Council. I also serve as the Youth Coordinator for the BC Angus Association and actively volunteer on a board of directors for a homeless youth advocacy society here in Kamloops.
I would like to say a huge thank you to Holly Sparrow who served as our President last year, and who represented the youth of the Canadian beef industry with both tenacity and grace. She will be staying on Council for another year in the Past President role to offer her guidance. I would also like to take a moment and acknowledge past Vice President and Member at Large from Alberta, Jessica Sperber, Ontario Delegate, Evan Chaffe, and Past President and Member at Large from AB, Kayla Weston, for their service to the council and dedication to the beef industry over the last couple of years. It was a privilege to work with each of them and we look forward to seeing them move forward in the industry.
Over the last year, the council underwent two different advocacy training workshops, one with CCA's Lynsay Beavers and another with the BC Ag Council's Becky Parker to learn how to effectively engage and have conversations with consumers, beef producers and other agriculture groups. We also participated in media training with Crystal Mackay from Loft 32 to learn how to be spokespeople for our industry and gained valuable tips to help ensure our next media interview is a success.
Throughout the month of March, a number of council delegates participated in virtual lobby days where we met with a number of parliamentarians to speak to issues of importance to young beef producers across Canada such as access to capital, environmental sustainability, succession planning and more. This is always a very important time of year for our council to ensure that the voice of young beef producers is heard. If you have any issues that you would like us to advocate for on behalf of young beef producers, please let us know.
Earlier this year, our council wrote an article about why young people should volunteer and be involved in the agriculture industry. We are hoping to have this article circulated throughout the industry to encourage young people and watch our generation continue to take ownership of our industry.
The Young Cattlemen's Council held our Annual General Meeting on August 17, 2021 both in-person in Calgary, AB and virtually in conjunction with the CCA's Semi-Annual meetings. We are very pleased to welcome Quebec Cattle Producers as a Council partner and have a Quebec Delegate join our Council for the first time. Victor Drury from Wakefield, QC will be filling the role and we look forward to the insights he will bring to the council on behalf of young beef producers in his province. The AGM, along with our subsequent September council meeting, allowed for us to set some goals for the upcoming year. Some of our plans for this year include Indigenous youth engagement, field days, more education webinars for YCC members, governance training and continuing with our successful annual lobby day to name a few. As a council, we work to create value to our membership and would like to hear from our young producers if there are things that you would like to see over the coming year.
In closing, I would like to thank the Canadian Cattlemen's Association staff and directors for allowing us to serve alongside them on behalf of young cattle producers. I would also like to thank the current council delegates for all of their commitment, ambition and hard work.
Young Cattlemen's Council:
Carley Henniger, Member at Large, President
Martin Clausen, Alberta Delegate, Vice President
Holly Sparrow, Member at Large (SK), Past President
Andrea van Iterson, BC Delegate
Kate Barnett, Manitoba Delegate
Charlene Yungblut, Ontario Delegate
Victor Drury, Quebec Delegate
Susan Hamilton, Atlantic Delegate
Laura Plett, Member at Large (MB)
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