Cattle Raisers, Feeders to meet in Amarillo Oct. 11-13

 FORT WORTH, Texas, September 20, 2006― The state's most influential beef cattle groups will join forces in Amarillo next month to address challenges facing the industry.
      Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association will hold its fall meeting in conjunction with Texas Cattle Feeders Association's annual convention Oct. 11-13. Texas CattleWomen will hold their fall convention Oct. 13-14 at the Ambassador Hotel.
      Members of TSCRA and TCFA will gather in the Amarillo Civic Center for two general sessions and TSCRA will hold committee meetings, which are open to all participants.
      The first general session from 8:45 a.m. to 11 a.m. on Thursday, Oct. 12, will feature recaps of the year by TSCRA President Dick Sherron and TCFA Chairman John Gillcrist. Cattlemen's Beef Board Chairman Jay O'Brien will look ahead to the future of the beef checkoff. John Zogby and Rick Husted will help producers understand what consumers want and need.
      Zogby is president and CEO of Zogby International, which offers polling, market research and information services worldwide. He will explain how polling is used to interpret consumer mindset
      Husted, executive director of research for the National Cattlemen's Beef Association, will address giving consumers what they want to satisfy buying habits for busy lives.
      The second general session on from 9 a.m. to 10:20 a.m. on Friday, Oct. 13 will focus on markets. Randy Blach, executive vice president of Cattle-Fax, will look at what's happening in the cattle market.
      On the international front, Clayton Yeutter will explore the profit potential for U.S. beef in relation to global growth and international trade. Yeutter is a former Secretary of Agriculture and U.S. Trade Representative.
      TSCRA's business meeting will follow from 10:30 a.m. to noon. Reports will be given by President Dick Sherron, the Resolutions Committee and various committee chairs. There will also be a report on the NCBA Young Cattlemen's Conference.
      TSCRA committee meetings are scheduled for Thursday afternoon. The Legislative and Tax Committee will hear from Dale Craymer with the Texas Taxpayers and Research Association. U.S. Rep. Frank Lucas will discuss the conservation title of the upcoming Farm Bill in the Natural Resource and Environment Committee meeting.
      In the Animal Health Committee, Jim McAdams will lead a discussion on what can be done to stop the growing shortage of large-animal veterinarians in rural areas. McAdams is a TSCRA director and immediate past president of the National Cattlemen's Beef Association.
      Richard Traylor will report on actions of the Brucellosis Task Force and other Texas Animal Health Association issues. Traylor is a TSCRA director and chairman of the TAHC.
      The Association Promotion Committee will meet to discuss current and upcoming projects.
      Entertainment events will include golf and trap and skeet tournaments on Wednesday afternoon and a come-and-go Welcome to Amarillo Reception on from 6 to 9 p.m. Wednesday evening. The
      A joint TSCRA/TCFA luncheon on Thursday, Oct. 12, will feature entertainment by Miss Texas. The two groups will get together again from 6 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. for cocktails, dinner, a Beef-PAC live auction and entertainment and dancing to Jody Nix and The Texas Cowboys.
      The joint Inspirational Breakfast from 7:15 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. on Friday, Oct. 13, will feature Bret McCasland from Key to the Kingdom Ministries and entertainment by the Amarillo Boys Choir.
      TSCRA registration will be held on Wednesday, Oct. 11, from 2 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. in the Ambassador Hotel Lobby and on Thursday, Oct. 12, from 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the Regency Room of the Amarillo Civic Center.
      As always, TSCRA President Dick Sherron reminds producers that you don't have to be a TSCRA member to attend. General sessions, committee meetings and entertainment events are open to anyone who wants to register.
      Registration information and a tentative agenda are posted on TSCRA's Web site at www.texascattleraisers.org . For more information, call 1 (800) 242-7820.

            Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association is a 129-year-old trade organization whose 13,900 members manage approximately 4.9 million cattle on 66.6 million acres of range and pasture land, primarily in Texas and Oklahoma.

TSCRA-26-2006