Iowa Cattle Industry Convention

Education & Grassroots Input

December 12-13, 2024 | The Gateway Hotel and Conference Center, Ames, IA

Iowa Cattle Industry Convention

The Iowa Cattlemen's Association invites you to attend the 2024 Iowa Cattle Industry Convention, Dec. 12-13. Our annual event focuses on networking, education, and policy with Iowa's leading cattle producers.

We will update this page with details as they become available, so check back often!

For questions or to inquire about becoming a sponsor or tradeshow exhibitor, please email [email protected].

Online registration is now closed. Walk-in registration is available.

Agenda

Information subject to change

Thursday, December 12

9:30 a.m. Registration & Tradeshow Open

10:30 a.m. Welcome

10:45 a.m. Keynote Address: Conception to Consumer, Trey Wasserburger, TD Angus

11:50 a.m. Breakout Sessions

Breakout #1 - Driving the Industry Forward | An IBIC State Research Update, Dr. Dan Thomson, Production Animal Consultation
Breakout #2 - New Horizons on Beef Exports, John Hinners, United States Meat Export Federation
Breakout #3 - Feedlots and Financials: Navigating 2025 After A Record-Breaking 2024, Tim Meyer and Zach Tindall, Producers Livestock

1:00 p.m. Lunch

2:00 p.m. Cattlemen's College Workshop (with Farm Credit Services)

2:00 p.m. Policy Session: Business Issues

3:00 p.m. Policy Session: Beef Products

3:00 p.m. Breakout Session: It Begins With a Brand, Dayna Wasserburger, TD Angus

4:00 p.m. Break

4:20 p.m. Policy Session: Cattle Production

5:30 p.m. Reception (tradeshow open)

6:45 p.m. Dinner (awards presentation)

7:30 p.m. Entertainment: Red Dirt Renegade

Friday, December 13

7:30 a.m. Breakfast

8:30 a.m. IBIC Annual Meeting

10:00 a.m. ICA Annual Meeting

Fees

Early Bird Registration Fees

Registered before November 30:

Active Member = $75
Non-Member = $100

Registration Fees

After November 30:

Active Member = $100
Non-Member = $125

Prefer a paper copy? Return your paper registration to the ICA office.

Location & Hotel Information

The Gateway Hotel & Conference Center

2100 Green Hills Dr.

Ames, IA 50014

Phone: 515-292-8600

Booking Link: https://reservations.travelclick.com/2958?groupID=4443762

A limited block of rooms at a discounted rate is being held for the Iowa Cattle Industry Convention under Iowa Cattlemen's Association. ICA cannot guarantee room availability once the block is full. We encourage you to call and make your reservations early.

Should any remaining unbooked rooms be available, they will be released back to general sale on November 20 and while you may still be able to reserve a room, the discounted rate will no longer be available.

All event sessions will be held at The Gateway.

Transportation: The Gateway offers plenty of free, on-site parking.

Speaker Details

Keynote: Conception to Consumer

Trey will take participants on his journey of creating a sustainable beef brand and packing plant. It is a story of producers coming together for the common good of the community and cattle industry in their area.

Speaker - Trey Wasserburger is the owner of TD Angus at Rishel Ranch, a purebred Angus seedstock herd that markets 500+ bulls a year in North Platte, Nebraska. Trey's family also operates a feedlot and are founders in the Sustainable Beef packing plant currently in construction and set to open in April of 2025, where they will harvest 1,500 head a day in a state-of-the-art very innovative plant with 850 new jobs and a 1.2 billion dollar impact for the community. Trey and his wife, Danya, have four children they raise on the ranch.

Breakout Session #1 - Driving the Industry Forward | An IBIC State Research Update

Each year, the Iowa Beef Industry Council and research committee evaluate many proposals for valuable research projects to help drive the Iowa beef cattle industry forward. Beef production research is one of the five priority areas for state checkoff funds. This session will review the selected projects funded and allow participants to share in the fruits of their investment.

Speaker - Dan Thomson is a third-generation bovine veterinarian from Clearfield, IA. Currently, Thomson is a feedlot veterinarian with Production Animal Consultation. PAC provides veterinary care for 30% of the cattle on feed in the United States. Dr. Thomson previously was a professor at Iowa State University and Kansas State University. Dr. Thomson’s research program has been granted over $36.3 million resulting in over 100 peer-reviewed publications on cattle health. Dan has delivered nearly 1000 invited talks on bovine production and medicine globally. Dr. Thomson’s consulting is actively engaged with beef producers, packers, and retailers globally. His feedlot clients operate in Iowa, Kansas, and Nebraska. He works routinely with Cargill, JBS, Tyson, and National Beef on beef supply chain issues. He serves as an advisor for McDonald’s Corporation, chairs the Animal Welfare Committee of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, is lead counsel for Dine Brands, and serves on the Animal Welfare Advisory Board of Tyson Fresh Meats. Thomson is the founder and host of Doc Talk on RFD TV, a nationally aired beef cattle health veterinary television show entering its 14th season (over 650 episodes) and reaching 45 million homes worldwide.

Breakout Session #2 - New Horizons for Beef Exports

We’ve all heard it, “It depends on the election.” In this session, with the election behind us, John will share with participants the new horizon and landscape for U.S. meat exports. He’ll explore potential constraints and new opportunities and what that means for the Iowa cattle producer.

Speaker - John J. Hinners Jr. joined the U.S. Meat Export Federation in 2001. As the Senior Vice President, Industry Relations, Hinners is responsible for the financial aspect of USMEF’s export marketing programs, new business development, membership, and industry relations. In addition, Hinners leads many USMEF member delegations and grass roots trade groups to international markets where they can witness firsthand the efforts of their financial investments in building U.S. red meat demand. Along with his USMEF colleagues, Hinners also hosts numerous teams of red meat buyers visiting the United States and is instrumental in organizing events matching those buyers with U.S. suppliers. Prior to his employment at USMEF, John worked 13 years for State and National Livestock Trade Associations. John was named to Colorado’s’ top 25 Who’s Who in Agriculture by the Denver Business Journal and was recently honored by Douglas County Extension for his 20 years of service as a 4H leader. He was raised on diversified cattle, hog, corn and soybean farm near Carroll, Iowa and has a bachelor’s degree in Animal Science from Iowa State University. John and his wife Melissa live in Parker, Colorado.

Breakout Session #3 - Feedlots and Financials: Navigating 2025 After a Record-Breaking 2024

2024 was record-breaking, but will 2025 look the same? Tim and Zach will lean on their expertise and experience to walk participants through what to anticipate as we head into 2025, highlighting potential key strategies and marketing tools to increase producer profitability and mitigate risk.

Speaker - Tim currently serves as the President & CEO of Producers Livestock Marketing Association, based in Omaha, NE, and Sioux City, IA. After graduating from Iowa State University with a degree in Agricultural Studies and Economics, Tim spent over twenty years in ag lending in western Iowa before joining Producers Livestock in 2012 as the Senior V.P. of their Credit Department. In the spring of 2023, he was named to his current role where he continues to work daily helping livestock producers enhance their bottom line through various marketing avenues and the utilization of prudent risk management strategies. A lifelong cattle feeder, Tim has previously served on ICA’s Executive Committee as an Associate Vice-President and he continues to support the cattle industry in any way he can. Tim and his wife, Sandy, reside in Omaha, Nebraska, and enjoy spending their time chasing after their eight grandchildren and following Iowa State athletics.

Speaker - Zach is a 2016 graduate of South Dakota State University with a degree in Agricultural Business. In 2017, Zach joined Producers Livestock as a licensed commodity broker, and in 2020, he became vice president of the commodities department. Through this role, Zach has been instrumental in protecting customers’ profitability through his trading and hedging expertise and risk management consulting. Zach also leads the commodity department’s Livestock Risk Protection services. A resident of Akron, Iowa, Zach is personally involved in the grain and livestock markets through his work on his family’s fourth-generation farm where they raise cattle, corn, and soybeans.

Breakout Session - It Begins With A Brand

A brand is more than a name. It is what customers feel when they think of that name. Whether you sell seedstock, purebreds, or farm-to-table, how you build your brand makes a difference. Danya will share how she has helped grow her ranch’s brand and the best practices she’s learned along the way.

Speaker - Danya Wasserburger is an owner of TD Angus at Rishel Ranch with her husband, Trey. Danya is actively involved in growing the ranch’s brand and marketing their annual offerings.