Attending industry events is one way to keep our minds sharp and create meaningful connections with other cattle producers, feeders and stakeholders. In Amarillo, Texas, Aug. 4-5, 2026, members of the cattle industry did just that when they gathered for Certified Angus Beef’s Feeding Quality Forum.

On this episode of Angus at Work, Kara Lee of Certified Angus Beef joined us to give some history on Feeding Quality Forum, offer key takeaways from sessions commercial cattlemen can use at home and shed some light on the annual Industry Achievement Award.

History in the making

Lee has been a member of the Certified Angus Beef family for the last 17 years. Through her role, she has the opportunity to work from the packer backward. Feeding Quality Forum markets heavily to the same audience: cow-calf producers and cattle feeders.

“Those really are our two primary audiences we target for Feeding Quality Forum, with a tertiary audience being that seedstock producer that takes a more hands-on approach to feeder-calf marketing for their bull customers,” Lee explains. “It’s really become a fun event [where] we see every segment in the production chain in the same room, having the same conversations about the topics that impact each of us differently.”

According to Lee, Feeding Quality Forum has become a great way each year to step back and see how those conversations affect different industry segments, as well as how the decisions made at the ranch or feedyard influence the next link in the chain.

The forum has morphed from a single-day event hosted in two different locations to the current single two-day event moving to different parts of cattle feeding country each year, providing both education sessions and networking opportunities.

“We had more than a dozen states and all three countries across North America in attendance,” Lee shares. “It’s … very exciting to see how committed the cow-calf producers are to traveling from all over the country to participate in that event and get to know other folks in their business.”

Key takeaways

Over the past several years, Certified Angus Beef has offered one traditional beef packing plant tour. After watching the tour fill year after year, it was apparent to the team that offering additional space would be valuable to attendees.

“We know that it’s not something you can just walk in off the street and knock on a front desk and say, ‘Hey, can I get a tour of the packing plant?’” Lee explains. “We feel like there’s a great advantage to the people who are producing those quality cattle … to have a better understanding of what goes into their product, the kind of workmanship and responsibility that goes into taking those cattle from cattle to carcass, and — ultimately — to merchandising out to the customer.”

Thankfully, Feeding Quality Forum partner Caviness Beef Packing operates both a traditional packing facility just down the road in Hereford, Texas, and a ground beef processing facility in Amarillo. Caviness welcomed nearly 70 people over two tours into their facilities, and attendees filled every seat.

The ground beef tour, Lee says, is one opportunity that is perhaps even more unique than the chance to get into a traditional packing plant. While ground beef may historically have been viewed as the leftovers of the carcass, Lee challenges producers to think about ground beef as a value-added product.

“It’s not just ‘the rest of the carcass’ that we have to sell; but it’s a real consumer opportunity, especially with where consumer beef prices are today,” she notes, adding that ground beef creates a real value for the consumer. “There are quality differences … within that ground beef category. It’s something that creates a lot of sales opportunities for the beef side of the business.”

Recognizing a pioneer

In addition to the tours, educational sessions and networking, participants also celebrated the 2026 Industry Achievement Award winner. Now in its 16th year, the Industry Achievement Award is an opportunity to recognize a true pioneer in the cattle-feeding industry. Whether that person works in the feedyard, is a meat scientist, works in grid marketing or within quality-based payment for cattle, the Industry Achievement Award winner is always larger than life.

This year’s recipient, Del Miles, was no different.

“[Del] would’ve been one of the pioneers of premier feedlot health management,” Lee shares. “I’ll be honest, he was one of the first people in my life I’ve ever had to talk into receiving an award.”

Lee has had the privilege of breaking good news to several award recipients in the past, but she feels Miles’ hesitation was a testament to his humility.

“This is the second year in a row that honestly felt like everyone in that room had the opportunity to have a front-row seat at some of the kind of fireside chat stories that you would never know about,” Lee explains, noting that’s especially helpful to some of the younger people in the industry. “They leave a little bit wide-eyed, like, ‘Wow, I met a giant from our industry tonight.’”

Interested in learning more about Feeding Quality Forum, including information on how to register for next year’s event in Kearney, Neb., Aug. 3-4, 2027? Visit https://cabcattle.com/fqf-2026/ for session recordings and more.