On April 29, 2020, Production Animal Consultation, otherwise known as PAC, will host a summit in Lincoln, Nebraska, at the Lincoln Marriott Cornhusker Hotel near the campus of the University of Nebraska to address topics ranging from understanding the beef carcass to opening your mind to new opportunities in the beef industry. The meeting will host speakers that represent the beef industry and the world’s largest retailer of beef.
“As we listen to beef producers, beef packers and beef retailers, it becomes more important than ever to bring these groups together in one forum. The beef industry is growing, and there have never been more opportunities. We have leadership at the highest level in our industry coming to share dialogue with the attendees,” said Dan Thomson, Jones professor of production medicine at Kansas State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine and PAC member. “If we all come together and share, we will learn from each other the best way to produce beef and help retailers feature beef on their menus and in their meat counters.”
Bruce Feinberg, senior director, global protein-dairy quality systems for McDonald’s Corporation, will deliver the keynote address on changes to help the beef industry continue to thrive. Feinberg has worked for McDonald’s for over two decades traveling the globe with farmers, ranchers and packers to assure food safety and security in the beef supply chain for the world’s largest restaurant group. Feinberg will also discuss consumer trends and how beef producers can work with retailers to keep beef demand strong.
This meeting is set to allow industry leaders, as well as key agricultural and rural stakeholders and policymakers, to attend, network and join a discussion on moving rural businesses and communities forward. There is a special rate for high school and college students that would like to attend. The agenda includes topics from new management tools, beef carcass quality, entrepreneurial thinking for your business and how to attract quality management to your farm, ranch, feedlot or rural business. Also, leadership representing producers to consumers will address new opportunities for our beef business.
A glimpse of the agenda includes:
- PAC training, database and research services for feedlots, packers and cow-calf producers
- A panel discussion on hiring and developing middle managers in the feedlot, moderated by Dr. Nels Lindberg, PAC, with Jerry Kuckelman, president and CEO, Innovative Livestock Services, and Jason Anderson, president, Power Genetics
- Enhancing carcass value, new cuts and the basics of beef quality, by Dr. Chris Calkins, professor of animal science, University of Nebraska – Lincoln
- Opening your mind to new ideas and entrepreneurial thinking, by Dr. Tom Field, director of the Engler Agribusiness Entrepreneurship Program, University of Nebraska – Lincoln
- A discussion on global beef trends and a perspective on changes coming to the beef industry, by Bruce Feinberg, senior director, global protein-dairy quality systems, McDonald’s Corporation
- An update on beef industry issues, by Colin Woodall, CEO, National Cattlemen’s Beef Association
Registration for this event is available online at the Production Animal Consultation website. 
PAC is a leading food animal veterinary consulting group. In the U.S., PAC veterinary members consult health and well-being of cattle for feedlots representing over 20% of the cattle on feed. PAC’s focus is on enthusiastically providing production animal consultation through a unique combination of services such as stockmanship and animal welfare; training and education of animal health teams; data collection, analysis and reporting through a proprietary database; and quality-driven scientific field study research.
—From a Production Animal Consultation news release
