From pasture to plate, it takes multiple links in the value chain to bring Americans the hamburgers they are throwing on the grill this 4^th of July. And each link is integral to the success of the others. That was one of many takeaways for the 25 Angus producers selected to attend the 2024 Beef Leaders Institute (BLI).

“Going to tour the Tyson plant stands out,” said attendee Andrew Swanson from Ivanhoe, Minn. “Getting to see a packing house of that scale and the number of employees working the lines, that was something I hadn’t seen before.”

Swanson and his wife raise registered Angus cattle in southwest Minnesota. He also works for Select Sires helping producers make genetic selections while helping lead the cooperative’s beef business sector in the upper Midwest.

The American Angus Association^®, in partnership with Certified Angus Beef ^® brand and the Angus Foundation, hosts the annual program to develop young cattlemen and women as industry leaders.

“Our Angus breeders are the very beginning of the food chain. They are raising the high-quality Angus genetics that are the very start of things,” said Kara Lee, director of producer engagement at Certified Angus Beef. “However, sometimes producers can be so focused on executing that it can prevent them from having a better understanding of how they impact every step along the way to the consumer.”

The five-day tour started at the American Angus Association^® in St. Joseph, Missouri, and traveled to six states before wrapping up at the Certified Angus Beef headquarters in Wooster, Ohio. Attendees toured Tyson-Dakota City, Weborg Feedyard, Buckhead of Ohio, STgenetics, and a Meijer Grocery Store along the way.

The whirlwind of a travel week still allowed time for the attendees to get to know one another. This year’s group came from a wide range of operations that vary in size and kind, representing 16 states and two Canadian providences.

“I’ve really enjoyed meeting people from across the country,” said Swanson. “You come in and they are strangers and by the end of the week you feel like you know each other pretty well.”

The Class of 2024 will have the opportunity to expand their network further at the Angus Convention in November where they will be invited to take part in a reunion event for all Beef Leaders Institute classes.

Applications for the 2025 Beef Leaders Institute will open in late fall to American Angus Association members between the ages of 25 and 45.