At the 2023 Annual Meeting held at Beaver Run Resort in Breckenridge, over 200 livestock producers, agribusiness partners, and state agency representatives gathered to celebrate 25 years of progress for Colorado’s livestock industry.
In 1998, the Colorado Livestock Association (CLA) was formed by restructuring the then 43-year-old Colorado Cattle Feeders Association (CCFA). Today, CLA members are cattle and sheep feeders, cow/calf producers, dairy farmers, swine operations, and agribusiness partners. CLA members work side-by-side on shared issues in the legislature and regulatory arenas.
At the CLA Species Council Meetings special dairy industry insights were presented by Kay Johnson-Smith, Chief Operating Officer of DairyMax, and International Market intelligence was provided by John Hinners, Senior Vice President of the U.S. Meat Export Federation. The Industry Partner Council hosted a Welcome Reception, and everyone joined in on the revelry of Colorado’s Finest Silver Celebration and enjoyed delicious food, a cornhole tournament with prizes, and live music under the stars by Colorado’s own Caitlyn Ochsner Music.
At the 2023 Annual Membership Meeting, the members of the Colorado Livestock Association elected officers and directors. The following Officers and Directors were elected:
Thank you to the members of the 2023 CLA Nominating Committee: Dwain Weinrich, Immediate Past President, and Nominating Committee Chair, Will Johnson, Flying Diamond Ranch, Producer Council Chair, Luke Lind, Five Rivers Cattle Feeding, Feeder Council Chair, Erik Mohrlang, Feldpausch Holsteins, Dairy Council Chair, Roc Rutledge, Triple R Farms, Swine Council Chair, Don Anderson, Axiota Animal Health, Member-At-Large, Mike Veeman, Veeman Ranch, Member-At-Large. View the CLA Leadership.
Producers heard an in-depth market report from Lee McGlamery, with MP Agrilytics. Brandon Terrazas, Executive Officer of the USDA Farm Service Agency and Janae Rader, Colorado Farm Program Specialist, provided attendees with a useful and informative review of USDA’s disaster assistance programs. Leann Saunders, Co-Founder, President, and Chief Operating Officer of Where Food Comes From, Inc. (WFCF), the leading on-farm third-party verification and certification company in North America shared about the important tool of verification and value-added opportunities for today’s livestock operations.
The Past Presidents of both CCFA and CLA were honored for their leadership at lunch. During his State of the Association President Kenny Rogers talked about the challenges facing the industry. “CLA is well respected presence in the livestock industry and is strong and well-positioned to meet any challenge head-on.”
The 2023 CLA Legislator of the Year Award was presented to Senator Dylan Roberts. Senator Roberts has advocated for beneficial laws that strike compromise and create workable solutions. In his short tenure, the Senator has actively sought the council of agriculturists concerning proposed legislation in natural resources, animal stewardship, water, and the environment.
The CLA Top Choice Award was presented to Thomas Haren for his significant contributions to the livestock industry. Tom Haren has been a long-time advocate, engaged member of the Colorado Livestock Association, and friend of the industry. Tom has dedicated over 25 years of his life to serving the agriculture community and the Colorado Livestock Association with unwavering commitment, passion, and expertise. Throughout his career, he has exemplified a profound understanding of the intricate balance between environmental sustainability, good business practices, and animal stewardship.
At the pinnacle of the 25th Anniversary, the group was encouraged to think outside the “hat” box in a motivational presentation by Trent Johnson, Chief Vision Officer of Greeley Hat Works.
CLA would like to sincerely thank the generous and dedicated sponsors for supporting Colorado’s livestock industry. CLA can provide high-caliber meetings and events because of the support of our agribusiness and industry partners. Thank you to the sponsors of the 2023 CLA Annual Meeting:
$5,000.00
Colorado Corn Promotion Council
Pinnacol Assurance
$3,000.00
AGPROfessionals
American Ag Credit
Five Rivers Cattle Feeding, LLC
Flood and Peterson
Renaissance Insurance Group
$2,000.00
American National Insurance
Colorado Beef Council
Colorado State University Animal Sciences
Elanco Animal Health
HUB International
Midwest PMS
Rabo AgriFinance
West Plains LLC
$1,000.00
AgRisk Advisors
Alltech USA
Animal Health International
Bill’s Volume Sales & Service West
CattleHedging.Com, LLC
Colorado Beef Quality Assurance
Colorado Pork Producers Council
Dairy Max
Dairy Specialists
G4 Construction
Harsh International, Inc.
Hayden Outdoors Real Estate
Honnen Equipment
IMI Global, a division of Where Food Comes From, Inc.
Jefo USA Inc.
Kunafin “The Insectary”
Maxey Trailer Sales & Truck Fitting
Merck Animal Health/Allflex
Micro Technologies
MorLine Equipment / LAIRD
R & R Machine Works, Inc.
Rocky Mountain Financial Group
Southwest JCB
The Hartford-Livestock Department
Virbac
