College of Agricultural and Life Sciences (CALS) junior Rebecca Lyons attended the Agriculture Future of America (AFA) Animal Institute. Based in the Animal Health Corridor, the conference took place in Kansas City, Miss. Lyons received funding from the VP Promise Initiative to support her experience at the 2024 AFA Animal Institute.
On the first day of the conference, Lyons attended several sessions, including a keynote address. This seminar featured Jarrod Gillig, president of business operations and supply chains at Cargill. Gillig discussed animal agriculture careers and the state of the industry.
Lyons also sat in on a discussion panel highlighting current challenges in the animal agriculture industry. Panelists included Gillig, Mark McCully, Jackie Klippenstein and Paul Koffman. McCully is CEO of the American Angus Association and Koffman is the executive director of livestock technology solutions at Merck Animal Health. Klippenstein is senior vice president and chief government and industry relations officer at Dairy Farmers of America.
On the second day, Lyons toured several local animal agriculture industry locations. Her first stop was the American Royal, where Lyons’ group spoke with the American Royal’s director of education. They shared the organization’s history and how they include educational opportunities into every event. The group also watched an alpaca show at the facility.
Next, Lyons and her group ate lunch and toured the American Angus Association. Students learned about the organization’s four entities: Angus Productions, Inc.; the Angus Foundation; Angus Genetics, Inc.; and Certified Angus Beef. The organization also shared a brief history of the Angus breed and showed the group their genetics vaults.
The final industry tour stop was Clark’s Custom Meats, a custom processing facility for local producers. The company performs custom harvests for five species and makes further processed products such as sausage and jerky. Lyons sampled a few of these products at the end of the tour.
In addition to the sessions and tours, AFA institutes host round table discussions during which students can network with industry professionals. Experts shared their journey and opportunities available at their companies. Through these discussions, Lyons expanded her network and found new opportunities.
“I appreciated this opportunity to learn from other students and professionals,” said Lyons. “The VP Promise Initiative allowed me to make meaningful connections and grow as a young professional.”
The VP Promise offers financial support to students engaging in experiential learning opportunities within agriculture, natural resources and related sciences. The College of Agricultural and Life Sciences is dedicated to fostering student development and success, encouraging students to expand their horizons through participation in study abroad programs, leadership roles, scholarly conferences, and other enriching experiences.
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