(L-R) Scott Gerbrandt, Victory Drury, Wallace Ip with the Consulate General of Canada in Denver, Laura Code, and Anne LaFleur with the Consulate General of Canada in Denver at the National Western Stock Show. January 11, 2023.
The Canadian Cattle Association (CCA) youth programs visited Denver, CO earlier this month for a hands-on learning experience of the essential trading relationship between Canada and the United States (U.S.). The trip on January 10-14, 2023 was anchored around the National Western Stock Show, with industry tours and networking opportunities in the surrounding area.
A special thanks goes out to the Consulate General of Canada in Denver for their work building an interesting program for our young leaders and providing funding to support their travels.
The goals of this opportunity centered on building alliances and fostering cooperation between the Canadian and U.S. cattle industries, while equipping the next generation of leaders with knowledge of the largest two-way trade in live cattle and beef in the world between Canada and the U.S.
The delegation included Canadian Cattle Youth Council President, Charlene Yungblut, and Vice President, Scott Gerbrandt, along with representatives from the Canadian Cattle Young Leaders program, Danika Mayer (current CYL participant), James Kinley (current CYL participant), Victor Drury (2021 CYL graduate) and Laura Code (2020 CYL graduate).
Key highlights from the trip included:
Tour of Leachman Cattle of Colorado to learn about their business model of converting cattle genetic predictions into financial models for herd selection.
Visit Colorado State University (CSU) to participate in the 2023 International Livestock Forum and Mountain Meat Summit. The visit included a lecture and meet and greet with Dr. Temple Grandin and meeting with Dr. Kim Stackhouse-Lawson and Dr. Sara Place to learn about their important sustainability work through CSU AgNext.
Building new contacts at the National Western Stock Show International Reception co-hosted by the Consulate General of Canada in Denver and the Colorado Department of Agriculture.
Tour of the JBS Greeley beef processing facility, followed by a tour of Five Rivers Feeders 100,000 head capacity Kuner Lot.
Meeting with the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association and National Cattlemen’s Beef Association at the Consulate General of Canada in Denver office to discuss shared opportunities and challenges between the Canadian and American beef industry.
Networking event with the Colorado Farm Bureau Young Farmers and Ranchers.
We look forward to seeing how these young leaders will apply their new knowledge to their careers to further advance the goals of the Canadian beef industry.
If you are a young person age 18-35 in the Canadian beef industry interested in furthering your career through opportunities such as this, apply to the Canadian Cattle Young Leaders program. You can visit the www.canadiancattleyoungleaders.ca to learn more and apply by March 31, 2023.