In this episode of Beef Buzz, we are featuring a “best of” edition featuring comments from Senior Farm and Ranch Broadcaster, Ron Hays’ interview with Andy Holloway about the Hemphill County Beef Conference, which will be held next week on April 23-24 at the Jones Pavilion in Canadian, Texas.
The Tuesday and Wednesday beef cattle event has established itself as one of the nation’s leading sources for cutting-edge, critical information for beef cattle producers. Andy Holloway, County Extension Agent at Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service Hemphill County, who founded this event in 2015, said the Beef Cattle Conference has truly become a “Field of Dreams” story: “You Build, and They Will Come.”
In the last several years, the event has grown in stature, attracting beef cattle producers from more than 12 states, including almost one-third of the cattle in Texas. Capital Farm Credit of Texas is the Title Sponsor of the 2024 Beef Cattle Conference, a testament to the event’s success. Kody King of CFC says it’s one of the most important events for ranchers, landowners, and beef cattle producers in the region.
The conference began in 2016 with 16 trade-show vendors, Holloway said, and it has grown now to 104 vendors.
“We are expecting 600 to 800 people from all around the nation,” Holloway said. “In 2023, we had people from 11 states and 71 of the 254 Texas counties.”
The event will feature a group of dynamic speakers, including Troy Applehans of Cattle Fax; Mark Makens, Atmospheric Scientist; Dr. Shannon Ferrell of Oklahoma State University; Mark Gardiner of Gardiner Angus Ranch; Kade Lawrence of Texas 4-H State Council; Dr. Loni Lucherk of West Texas A&M University; JoJo Carralles of Heart Brand Beef; Dr. Jason Smith of Texas A&M AgriLife Extension; Travis Thorne of Capital Farm Credit; Dr. Morgan Treadwell, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension; and Dallas Mount of Ranching For Profit.
Featured keynote speaker for the 2024 Hemphill County Beef Conference, Kayleigh McEnany is the former White House press secretary and current co-host of Outnumbered on the Fox News Channel. Prior to serving in the White House, Kayleigh worked as the national press secretary for the Trump Campaign and formerly the national spokesperson for the Republican National Committee. Before joining the RNC, Kayleigh worked as a political commentator at CNN.
The event will also provide three beef meals, including barbeque, Akaushi Prime Rib, and Ribeye steaks, which will be served at the two-day conference. Holloway said the official chef of the Texas Beef Council, Robert Hale, will be in attendance as well. Chef Hale will be prominently on display in the New Tent featuring Texas Beef Council information, research developments with Texas Beef Checkoff Dollars, new beef products that are being promoted from Texas beef carcasses that are enhancing values, and finally, a taste-testing opportunity to try out some of the new beef products.
Tickets are available on-line through the website at www.hemphillcotxbeef.com or call the Hemphill County Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Office at (806) 323-9114. Credit and debit cards are accepted plus a transaction fee. The tickets are $150/person, and a spouse ticket is available for $125 until April 15, 2024. After that and up until the beef cattle conference the tickets go up to $175/person and spouse ticket is $150/spouse. Canada is considered “The Diamond of The Texas Panhandle.” Come out and enjoy this quality event. Andy Holloway can be reached at (806) 323-9114.
The Beef Buzz is a regular feature heard on radio stations around the region on the Radio Oklahoma Ag Network and is a regular audio feature found on this website as well. Click on the LISTEN BAR at the top of the story for today’s show and check out our archives for older Beef Buzz shows covering the gamut of the beef cattle industry today.
