IBA holds annual meeting
By Devin Bollman
IBA President, Dave Duzan led the 2024 Illinois Beef Association Annual Meeting, where he and Vice President, Shannon Welsh, were both re-elected for another term in their executive board positions.
Duzan reflected on the year past, sharing pride in the Association's accomplishments and dedication to providing for the beef industry and its members. The reins were turned over to IBA's Executive Vice President, Josh St. Peters, who gave a more in depth look at how Illinois is building better beef and shared the Building Better Beef - FY24 Pocket Book.
The first Cattlemen's Education Series Session of the day brought Regional USDA APHIS Veterinarian, Dr. Susie Hexum, and Dr. Staci Slager, Bureau Chief at the Illinois Department of Agriculture, together to discuss all things cattle traceability. Hexum and Slager covered new regulations regarding the 840 EID tags, as well as the Avian Influenza and the Asian Longhorned tick. This session turned to an engaging conversation between the two speakers and session attendees, divinginto all the details and questions producers have regarding cattle traceability. The USDA's final Animal Disease Traceability ruling led an extensive conversation on producer compliance and resource availability from the Illinois Department of Agriculture.
Dr. James Mitchell rejoined the floor as the speaker for the second Cattlemen's Education Series session, presenting NCBA and CattleFax's newly released "Right Way. Right Time. - A Guide to Cull Cattle Management." Dr. Mitchell not only shared the publication, but discussed capturing the full financial potential from cull cattle within your herd.
Rounding out the day's educational sessions, was Jon Strohl from Farm Credit Illinois, who lead the third Cattlemen's Education Series session on Livestock Risk Protection. Most producers can utilize LRP within their own operations, and Jon shared how it works, why it works, and what it does for producers. He also offered insights on how to get started with LRP.
A brief intermission between events, the "back again" trade show hosted a tradeshow reception, allowing attendees to visit with sponsors and vendors, and of course each other.
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