Andy Kellom, of Hobson, MT, is representing the Montana Stockgrowers Association on the 2016 Young Cattlemen's Conference. The event is hosted by the National Cattlemen's Beef Association , located in Denver, Chicago and Washington D.C.
Andy Kellom is the cattle manager for Bos Terra LP. He manages the day to day cattle operations for a 7,000 head stocker operation and a 15,000 head feedlot. In addition to his responsibilities at Bos Terra, he also runs a personal herd of 500. He is the Vice President of the Judith Basin Stockgrowers and Chairman of the Cattle Feeders Subcommittee for MSGA. Andy was instrumental in the startup of Verified Beef and development of the USDA Process Verified Program and database to provide Age and Source, NHTC, Never Ever 3, and Grass Fed Verification to cow-calf producers. He believes the knowledge and experience he gains on the YCC trip will be invaluable to him as an individual MSGA member, he intends to continue to “be at the table” to contribute to the process of policy development.
Andy shares with the Northern Ag Networks Lane Nordlund his experience so far on the trip.
The Young Cattlemen’s Conference, held June 1 – June 9, is an opportunity for cattlemen and cattlewomen between the ages of 25 and 50 to visit segments of the beef industry in other parts of our nation with young cattlemen from other states. Facilitated by the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA), participants will travel with national attendees to Denver, Chicago and Washington D.C.
The primary objective is to develop leadership qualities in young cattlemen and expose them to all aspects of the beef industry. The tour helps these young leaders understand all areas of our industry ranging from industry structure to issues management, from production research to marketing. It is through the support of REEF and the Young Stockgrowers that MSGA is able to send two people to this conference.
Also representing Montana is Ariel Overstreet-Adkins. She was the Director of Communications for MSGA until she left to attend law school with the goal of becoming a more effective advocate for rural Montana and agriculture. This May she will graduate from the University of Montana School of Law with her juris doctor degree. After graduation she will spend a year clerking for a U.S. District Court judge in Montana. In the fall of 2017 she will begin work as an associate at the Moulton Bellingham law firm in Billings where her focus will be on natural resource and agricultural law, particularly water and property law. Ariel is confident that the YCC trip will give her further education and insight to be a great advocate for Montana’s family ranchers whether in the courtroom, the Legislature, or in the court of public opinion.
Source: Northern Ag Network and Montana Stockgrowers Association.
