Senior Farm and Ranch Broadcaster, Ron Hays, is back talking more about Cattlemen’s Conference with the CEO of the American Angus Association, Mark McCully. The event began on May 24 at Oklahoma State University’s Totusek Arena and will be wrapping up today.
One of the topics that will be discussed at the conference, McCully said, is show ring ethics.
“The show ring has changed over the years,” McCully said. “It used to be an incredibly powerful marketing tool for registered breeders to bring their cattle out and exhibit and market. It has largely gone, today, to our junior projects.”
The economy around these youth shows is enormous, McCully said, and they have become increasingly competitive. It is important to remember those youth, McCully said, as the level of competition has the potential to overwhelm the bigger goal of making sure the next generation of cattlemen and stockmen are raised well, and willing to come back into the business.
Ethics and judging are difficult topics to tackle, McCully said, but the goal is to have open-ended conversations about these topics to identify issues in the industry and find some ways to improve.
McCully said that when it comes to judging, it is always good to focus on “form and function, not fashion and fad.” There is variability, he added, as all judges will have a different preference.
“This is not a perfect science when we are out there, especially today, these young people and the families around them have become so good at feeding them, fitting them, and selecting them,” McCully said. “We tend to split hairs, literally, when we are out there.”
Looking at the industry as a whole, McCully talked about how the conference will improve different aspects of the industry while being efficient, profitable, and ethical.
“When you come together collectively as different breeds, as different parts of the industry, and making sure we are all sizing things up the same,” McCully said. “Ultimately, we are in the beef business, and we have got to satisfy a customer and make sure we do not ever lose sight of that.”
To listen to part one of the conversation with Mark McCully on Cattlemen’s Conference, CLICK HERE.
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