International Livestock Congress 2012-CALGARY!!

www.ilccalgary.com/

The International Livestock Congress is coming to Calgary, Alberta in August 2012. The best part is, it's being held less than five miles from my home, at the Deerfoot Inn and Casino in Southeast Calgary. The better part is, they are awarding 20 bursaries to  young, aspiring beef producers and agricultural product and service employees and leaders.

So.

http://www.ag.ndsu.edu/ansc/news-events/archived
-news/international-livestock-congress-calgary-2010

I will be applying for this fantastic opportunity, and you should too. I do love a good competition. The bursary offers an all expenses paid trip to Calgary for three days, a room in the Deerfoot Inn, and three days of conferences, round table discussion, networking, and education on all things about and around Beef. If I know Canadian cattlemen, there will be plenty of beef on a bun, roast beef dinners, hamburgers, and steaks, too. I do not know what exactly the key note speakers, discussions and sessions will cover, but I can tell you that it will be beef, it will be informative, and it will be fun. If you qualify for a bursary, it could even be completely free!

That all being said, I am vibrating with excitement for this fantastic opportunity. If you would like some more information about the ILC, you can visit their website, where you find dates, applications, and more. Their Itinerary is pending, and expected soon. The URL is.

http://www.ilccalgary.com/default.htm

On another, equally as exciting note, I am geared up and tense with excitement at the prospect of Interning at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo next week. Starting on March 7th, I will be at Reliant Park, helping to run the Junior Beef Heifer Show. The HLSR hires around a hundred interns every year, sourcing most of them from the greatest university in the state, and therefore the greatest in the country, and THEREFORE  the greatest in the world, Texas A&M University. That doesn't downplay my Canadian-ness, though so don't worry. They also source around a dozen from that other university in Lubbock, Texas Tech University. This year I believe there are some kids from a community college somewhere in Texas, but I can't remember. While the majority of us are working livestock shows, interning with veterinarians, and doing drug testing on class winners, there are also some media interns working with press, covering the events that take place.

Champion Limousin Heifer 2009
http://www.lawrencefamilylimousin.com/winners.html

Champion Junior Steer 2011. Sold for $350,000, shown by Koby Long
http://showmaxxcattle.com/champions.html

The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo is the worlds largest fair event. According to the ever-reliable Wikipedia, the 2011 edition of the HLSR recorded 2,262,834 visitors over the three week event. Considering that the population of the Greater Houston Metropolitan Area is roughly 4 million, that means that approximately half of the city turns out for the show. That is a lot of animal agriculture exposure. The HLSR attracts music's biggest stars, and George Strait (Go Figure), Garth Brooks, ZZ Top, Alan Jackson, Brad Paisley, KISS, and so many others have graced the stage after the rodeo each night. HLSR started in 1932, and was aimed at promoting the Gulf Coast area as a cattle market. 4 Million cattle lived in the area, but around 90% of production was shipped to the Midwest and Eastern Seaboard for slaughter and processing. The gimmick worked, though, because just 4 years later 50% of local production was marketed in Houston, then a city of 200,000. Incidentally, and not unsurprisingly, Texas A&M (Then The Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas or TAMC [we aren't good with acronyms here]) had the Grand Champion Market Steer, which brought around $500 at sale. That pales in comparison to the 2011 Junior Champion Steer price, which was a staggering $350,000 for Koby Long, the 17-year-old junior who raised the steer.

HLSR has grown immensely over the decades, and I am proud to be able to contribute in it's 80th Anniversary edition. for more information, visit www.rodeohouston.com.