Preview to the Young Cattlemen’s Conference with Montana’s Delegate – Ryan Hughes
Each year, the Montana Stockgrowers Association’s Foundation sends one Young Stockgrowers member on a trip of a lifetime. The Young Cattlemen’s Conference (YCC), hosted by the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, takes a group of bright and motivated young beef industry leaders on a cross-country exploration of the supply chain, ending with conversations of the nations representatives in Washington D.C.
This year, the Foundation selected Ryan Hughes of Stanford, Mont. to be the Montana representative for the trip in June. We wanted to share a brief introduction about Ryan before he departs:
Ryan grew up commercial cow ranch south of Stanford, Mont. and graduated from Montana State University with a degree in Agricultural Economics and a minor in Agricultural Business. He has lived in several western states including Colorado, Idaho and Arizona before settling in Dillon, Mont. to work for Westfeeds. He also owns a small herd of registered Angus cattle and does sales consulting and purchasing for purebred Angus breeders and commercial producers across the west.
Ryan is excited about being selected as the YCC participant: “I’ve heard a lot of good things about the trip, especially its focus on leadership and the preservation of agriculture across the US.” With this comprehensive look at the entire cattle business, Ryan is hopeful to meet other industry leaders and gain from their shared experience, “Life and business evolve around who you know and there will be many influential people on the trip with me.”
The experience of the trip will not only help Ryan, but in return, will help benefit his future life in Montana. “I have always wanted to ranch in Montana. You either inherit the family ranch or manage one for someone who has been successful in other endeavors. As all young people in agriculture know, it is near impossible to start your own ranch from scratch in Montana.”
“As I work toward that goal, I am lucky enough to be involved in many operations from a nutritional, genetic, and marketing standpoint. I want to be the best resource for those people on the ranch that I can be.”
Be sure to check back in the July newsletter to read a re-cap of Ryan’s trip. To help support future YCC participants and other educational programs for Montana’s youth, please consider a donation to the MSGA Foundation. You can make donations online at www.mtbeef.org/reef.
