November 07, 2024

Cattlemen’s College sessions during CattleCon24

Michaela Clowser

ORLANDO, Fla. — The 31st annual Cattlemen’s College, sponsored by Zoetis, will be held Jan. 31-Feb. 2 in Orlando in conjunction with CattleCon24. The event draws more than 1,000 attendees every year and includes networking, idea sharing and informative sessions.

“We have a packed schedule featuring industry experts discussing a variety of trending topics,” said Michaela Clowser, director of producer education with the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association. “We are excited to offer educational sessions all three days of convention.”

Cattlemen’s College begins with keynote speaker Clay Mathis, Department of Animal Science head at Texas A&M University. He will discuss how recent industry challenges have created opportunities that can add resiliency to ranching systems.

The 2024 Cattlemen’s College schedule is designed to help cattle producers improve and grow cattle herds. Sessions will be held in classrooms, as well as on the NCBA Trade Show floor, and will feature industry leaders tackling topics including nutrition, reproduction, genetics, sustainability, biosecurity and herd health.

Attendees can look forward to hearing from: Dusty Abney, Cargill Nutrition; Chance Armstrong, Auburn University; Ross Bronson, Redd Summit; Don Close, Terrain; Matt Crouse, U.S. Meat Animal Research Center; Brian Dorcey, Farmers Business Network; Jacob Gilley, American Farmland Trust; Angela Gonella, University of Florida; Jeff Heldt, Selko; Cassidy Johnston, Not Your Average Rancher; Cadra Krueger, Alltech; Dan Leahy, Foundation for Ranch Management; Raluca Mateescu, University of Florida; George Perry, Texas A&M University; Justin Rhinehart, University of Tennessee; and Kimberly Vonnahme, Zoetis.

Each year, the Cattlemen’s College agenda is developed based on feedback from producers, and their comments drive the program.

One past attendee reflected: “The biggest takeaway I found from attending Cattlemen’s College is that there is always a newer or better way of doing things. Falling under that idea of ‘we’ve always done it this way’ is dangerous. Never be afraid of trying things a different way.”

To make it easier to access content, all sessions will be recorded and available for registered attendees to watch at any time in the future.

To register, select the Education Package, which combines admission to CattleCon24 and Cattlemen’s College. Visit convention.ncba.org.

Cattle producers attending Cattlemen’s College are eligible to apply for the Rancher Resilience Grant. The first 75 grant applicants will receive reimbursement for registration and up to three nights hotel. For more information and to apply, visit https://tinyurl.com/5x8zbny3.