Murfreesboro, TN— The Youth Beef Industry Congress (YBIC) is a conference that is held every other year for various breed organizations and state cattlemen’s association’s youth leaders. The purpose of the conference is to educate the young leaders about various aspects of the beef cattle industry and equip them with the knowledge to be strong advocates and leaders in agriculture. For the first time in the history of the Tennessee’s Cattlemen’s Association (TCA) youth programs, the TCA Youth Ambassadors met in College Station, Texas for YBIC on April 28-30. There were over 130 youth leaders in attendance from across the country. Tennessee was represented by Youth Ambassadors, Weston Rowlett, Sarah Beth Callicott, Allie Harrison, and Riley Smallen
The 2022 YBIC was hosted by the American Brahman Breeders Association and Beefmaster Breeders United. The youth leaders enjoyed tours of STgenetics, Collier Farms, and 44 Farms. The youth leaders also enjoyed hearing from several distinguished speakers in the agriculture industry including keynote speakers, Tori Lienemann and Kodye Neel. The youth leaders engaged in two panel discussions, including an agriculture advocacy panel and marketing panel.
The youth leaders greatly enjoyed the hospitality of Texas A&M University (TAMU). They were able to spend the evening at the Texas A&M Equine Center where they had the opportunity to learn from Dr. Chris Skaggs, Associate Vice Chancellor for Producer Relations and Associate Dean for Student Development for the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Texas A&M. They also enjoyed their time touring the Kleburg Animal Science building and learning more about the TAMU Animal Science Department from Ms. Donna Witt, TAMU Animal Science Undergraduate Programs Coordinator, and Dr. Cliff Lamb, Director of Texas A&M AgriLife Research.
The Youth Beef Industry Congress was a unique experience for the Tennessee Catttlemen’s Youth Association Youth Ambassadors. They were able to grow in their knowledge of the beef cattle industry, grow closer together as an ambassador team, experience agriculture and the beef industry outside of Tennessee, and network with like-minded peers.
A special thank you to the following sponsors for making this experience possible: Tennessee Cattlemen’s Association, Tennessee Beef Foundation, Hickman County Cattlemen’s Association, Al Oliver with Westan Insurance Group, Jason Day with Day Ridge Farm, Jake Harris and Mr. Stokley with Stokley Farms.
The next Youth Beef Industry Congress will be held in 2024.
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