March 1, 2013
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
For more information contact:
Katie Allen, Angus Foundation director of marketing and public relations, at 816-383-5100 or kallen@angusfoundation.org; or
Milford Jenkins, Angus Foundation president, at 816-383-5100 or mjenkins@angusfoundation.org
Angus Foundation Selects its 2013 YCC Representative
Cortney Hill-Dukehart Cates will serve as the Angus Foundation representative at the annual conference.
The Angus Foundation’s Board of Directors has chosen Cortney Hill-Dukehart Cates of Modoc, Ind., to represent the American Angus Association® and Angus Foundation at the 2013 National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) Young Cattlemen’s Conference (YCC).
The Angus Foundation will sponsor Cates’ registration and travel expenses.
This is the eleventh year the Angus Foundation has funded an Association member to attend YCC, which will take place May 29-June 7.
YCC allows young leaders the chance to see firsthand and further understand all aspects of the beef industry. Attendees participate in a nationwide tour of the beef production chain from ranch to feedlot to packing plant, through marketing and regulatory affairs, and finally ending at consumer foodservice. To qualify for participation, a man or woman must be nominated by one of NCBA’s affiliate members, be between the ages of 25 and 50, and be an NCBA member.
“Investing in the education of our members about the Angus breed and multi-faceted beef cattle industry has been a longtime priority and focus of the Angus Foundation’s mission,” says Milford Jenkins, Angus Foundation president. “YCC is playing a crucial role in helping to prepare tomorrow’s leaders and advocates for our beef cattle industry.”
A native of Maryland, Cates was very active in the National Junior Angus Association and served in a number of leadership roles. A former Miss American Angus, she has had the opportunity to promote the Angus breed in a variety of ways and meet many people from across the country involved in cattle production. Cates and her husband, Tyler, raise Angus and Shorthorn cattle and row crops in Indiana. They are active members of the American Angus Association and currently serve as the adult advisors of the Indiana Junior Angus Association. Cates is also the current president of the American Angus Auxiliary.
"I am extremely honored to be chosen as the recipient of the Angus Foundation YCC sponsorship,” Cates days. “I am looking forward to meeting fellow producers, increasing my knowledge of the beef industry and sharing that knowledge on the local, state and national level."
According to the NCBA, the tour will begin in Denver with a comprehensive overview of the industry. Participants will take an in-depth look at many of the issues affecting the beef industry and what NCBA is doing to address these issues on behalf of its members, and they will receive a comprehensive view of market information from Cattle-Fax. The group will then travel to JBS Five Rivers’ Kuner Feedyard, one of the nation’s largest cattle feeding operations, then tour the JBS Greeley facility, one of the nation’s largest beef packing and processing plants. Participants will then travel to the Chicago Board of Trade and OSI, Inc., one of the nation’s premiere beef patty manufacturers. From there, the next stop will be the nation’s Capitol, where participants will get a chance to meet with their respective congressmen and senators and many regulatory agencies that make decisions affecting agriculture.
For more information about YCC, the Angus Foundation, or a list of previous Angus YCC representatives, visit www.angusfoundation.org.
The Angus Foundation was established in 1980 as a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization to support Angus education, youth and research. To learn more about the Angus Foundation and the programs it supports, log on to www.angusfoundation.org or call 816-383-5100.
###