Background
With the beef industry changing so rapidly, identifying and educating leaders to help guide and strengthen the industry has never been so important.  Because NCBA serves the grassroots trade association representing the U.S. beef cattle industry, it is our responsibility to see that leadership development is successful.  That is why we continue to offer Young Cattlemen’s Conference (YCC).  The YCC tour has proven to be an effective vehicle in identifying and developing potential leaders.  Over 950 cattlemen and women have graduated from the YCC program since its inception in 1980.  Many of these alumni participate in committees and councils and even more serve on the board of directors.  Several presidents and officers of NCBA and predecessor organizations have also participated in YCC.  This program has become and will continue to be the cornerstone of leadership training efforts within the cattle industry.

Purpose
The primary objective is to develop leadership qualities in young cattlemen and expose them to all aspects of the beef industry.  The tour helps these young leaders understand all areas of our industry ranging from industry structure to issues management, from production research to marketing.  We would also request the participant commit to staying the entire trip.

Qualifications
2010 will be the thirty-first year the tour has been conducted.  This program has developed to such a level that these young men and women are heavily screened and only a few young industry leaders are able to attend.  For an individual to participate in the YCC, he or she must be nominated by one of NCBA’s affiliate members, be between the ages of 25 to 50 and be an NCBA member.

Program
The tour will begin in Denver with a comprehensive overview of the industry.  The group will take an in-depth look at many of the issues affecting our industry and what NCBA is doing to address these issues on behalf of its members, plus receive a comprehensive view of market information from Cattle-Fax.  The group will then travel to western Kansas to visit various cattle producing operations in the area.  From there, the group will travel to Sioux City, Nebraska to tour Tyson Fresh Meats, one of the largest beef packing and processing plants in the world.  Tyson will host the group and will be sharing with them their views of the beef industry from a processor standpoint.  Chicago is the next destination.  Here the group will visit the Chicago Board of Trade and the Bruss Company- a large meat purveyor.  The participants will then travel to the nation’s Capitol.  Here they will get a chance to meet with their respective congressmen and senators.  In addition, the group will visit with a number of regulatory agencies that make decisions affecting agriculture.

Dates
The 2010 tour will be from June 3rd to June 10th.  Participants will need to arrive in Denver on June 2nd and may depart from Washington DC on June 11th.

Nomination Process
Nomination must be submitted by a NCBA affiliate organization or affiliated national beef breed association.  To find out how you can get involved, contact your state affiliate today!