IJBA Board of Directors Attend YBIC

The Illinois Junior Beef Association (IJBA) Board of Directors attended the 2014 Youth Beef Industry Congress (YBIC), March 27-29 in St. Louis, Mo. The biennial event gathered more than 125 junior members of national beef breed associations and state cattlemen organizations.The 2014 YBIC was offered thanks to the following sponsors: Purina, the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, Allflex®, GeneSeek and Ranch House Designs. 

“The YBIC conference is a great opportunity for the IJBA Board of Directors to create relationships amongst fellow beef leaders and industry professionals who will help them lead to a better future,” said Jill Johnson, Illinois Beef Association director of communications. “The junior board today will be the beef industry leaders of tomorrow, and we need to prepare them with the adequate knowledge and experience to make them successful.” 

While attending YBIC, IJBA Directors met with GeneSeek representative Gary Felger, toured the Monsanto world headquarters, and visited Purina’s Longview Animal Nutrition Center. They also learned about the importance of beef feed efficiency from Jared Decker, University of Missouri, and Megan Von Emon, Iowa State University. Motivational speaker, Eddie Slowikowski, taught attendees the importance of living each day to its fullest and becoming a confident leader. 

In addition, participants were given time to share ideas about how to improve their respective groups and better serve their memberships. They also discussed current issues facing agriculture and how to be a positive leader in all aspects of their lives. 

Pictured L to R: Tyler Pokojski, Zadok Graff, Marie Lock, Kagney Collins Mary Kline, and Taryn Adcock

IJBA Directors participating in the event were: Marie Lock of Avon, Taryn Adcock of Assumption, Tyler Pokojski of Centralia, Kagney Collins of Flanagan, Zadok Graff of Middletown, and Mary Kline of LeRoy.