Tuesday, Aug. 25, 1:30 p.m.
Global Market Overview
Dan Basse serves as the president of AgResource Company, a domestic and international agricultural research firm located in Chicago. AgResource forecasts domestic and world agricultural price trends and provides information and research to farmers, elevators, soy and corn processors, wheat millers, food companies, trading companies, importers, exporters and meat packers. Dan is an economist that has been in the commodity business since 1979. Raised on a dairy and grain farm in Waukesha, Wis., he has a keen sense of production agriculture, and he graduated from the University of Wisconsin – Madison in 1979 with a master’s in agriculture economics. In 1988, Dan founded AgResource Company to serve the needs of the U.S. and the world agricultural community. He’s often quoted by CNBC, The Wall Street Journal and many other publications.
Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2:35 p.m.
Hindsight 2020 Vision
Originally from Phillipsburg, Kan., Dustin Aherin has been involved in several sectors of the beef industry, from seedstock and commercial cow-calf to cattle feeding. Aherin joined Rabo AgriFinance as the vice president of RaboResearch Animal Protein Analyst in February 2020 upon completing a Ph.D. at Kansas State University’s Beef Cattle Institute. His graduate work focused on applying systems modeling to beef cattle production and included a visiting fellowship at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, systems dynamics’ founding institution. Prior to completing graduate school, Aherin spent time in Russia on an artificial insemination and embryo transfer project, and worked for Elanco Animal Health as a feedyard sales rep. Currently, Aherin also serves on the American Gelbvieh Association board of directors.
Tuesday, Aug. 25, 3:20 p.m.
Industry Achievement Award Presentation
Keith Belk recently accepted the role of department head of Animal Science at Colorado State University (CSU). Previously, he served as a Professor and Holder of the Ken & Myra Monfort Endowed Chair in Meat Science within the Center for Meat Safety & Quality for the CSU Animal Science Department. He also served as director of the Center for Meat Safety & Quality, and as an Adjunct Professor in the Colorado School of Public Health. Keith earned a bachelor’s and master’s degree from CSU and a Ph.D. from Texas A&M University. He has been employed in the private sector as a buyer by Safeway, Inc., and by the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service in Washington, D.C., as an international marketing specialist. Since his start at CSU in 1995, he has authored or co-authored 240 refereed scientific journal articles, provided over 530 invited presentations, generated more than $22M in extramural research funding, and was the primary inventor on two patents. He served as state meat extension specialist 1995-2000, on the editorial board for the Journal of Animal Science 1997-2000, on the board of directors for the American Meat Science Association 2003-2005, and as president of AMSA in 2009 and 2010.
Wednesday, Aug. 26, 9:00 a.m.
Progressive Feeder Calf Marketing Basics
As a beef cattle specialist, Paul Dykstra works to ensure the supply of the Certified Angus Beef ® brand. He builds relationships with cattle feeders, commercial cow-calf producers and registered breeders, helping to point out ways to profitably manage and market high-quality cattle. Paul got his start in the cattle business first on his family’s commercial cow-calf ranch, followed by experience in diversified agriculture and an animal science degree from Colorado State University. Before coming to the brand, Paul was the feedlot manager for the U.S. Meat Animal Research Center at Clay Center, Neb. Over the years, he has helped producers understand more about where value is generated beyond their ranch gates, and given them tools to help orient their herd to capture that value. Today, he also communicates consumer demand signals to the production sector, analyzing beef market and grading trends and authoring the bi-weekly “CAB Insider.”
Wednesday, Aug. 26, 9:50 a.m.
The 20-Year Looking Glass: What does the future of the beef industry look like?
A Colorado native, Randy Blach and his family remain actively involved in cattle ranching. He grew up on the family ranch in Yuma, Colo., and graduated from Colorado State University with a degree in animal science. Randy received the Honor Alumni award from its College of Agricultural Sciences in 2004 and the Livestock Leader award in 2011. In 2016, he was elected into the Cattle Feeders Hall of Fame. Randy came to CattleFax in 1981, serving as director of market analysis for 15 years and accepting his current role as CEO in 2001. Since then, he has been a keynote speaker at hundreds of cattle and beef industry conventions, meetings and seminars. Focused on helping cattle producer members sustain their businesses through profitable marketing and management decisions, Cattle-Fax marked 50 years in 2018 as the cattle and beef industry leader on timely marketing information, analyses and research.
Webinar Moderator
As the supply programs manager for the Certified Angus Beef ® brand, Kara Lee coordinates marketing and training initiatives for cattlemen. She also teaches distributors, chefs and retailers about daily cattle care on family farms that’s necessary to raise high-quality beef. Through hands-on farm and feedyard experiences, Kara helps people selling Certified Angus Beef ® brand products increase their beef knowledge and appreciate the dedication of our family ranchers. Originally from southern Indiana, Kara earned her bachelor’s degree in agricultural communications and community leadership at the University of Kentucky and gained greater passion for the beef community by working in the university’s meat lab.
