This is a human statue and he’s pretty good. I don’t think I’d want to be painted like that. The only reason I knew he was “real” was seeing him change positions, which he does every once in a while.
This dude is in the SolidTech Animal Health booth. I give them some high marks for creativity. The competition is fierce when you’ve got a couple hundred other exhibitors on hand.
He was definitely a traffic stopper.
I wonder what his day rate is.
If you’ve never attended or participated in one of the committee meetings going on here then you might want to check this out. It’s just real people trying to work through some very complex issues.
I visited the Joint Advertising Committee meeting this afternoon and took a short video clip you can watch. I used this on the Beef Board Meeting Blog too since the idea was actually a board member’s who wanted producers to see what’s going on in these rooms. I have to applaud my client (Cattlemen’s Beef Board) for their open, honest attempt at transparency. They get this blogging thing and are doing it right.
You can watch the video here: 
Joint Advertising Commitee Video (2:44 WMV File)
Regular readers know I’m a pretty big food fan and especially of beef. After seeing the Beef Backer Award winners presented with their awards this morning I’m looking forward to my next trip to Iowa so I can stop in at Trostel’s Greenbriar in Johnston.
The Beef Checkoff conducts this annual restaurant awards program. The winners received their awards and recognition here onstage at the Friday general session.
I interviewed “Innovator of the Year” winners, chef, Troy Trostel, and General Manager, Suzanne Summy.
You can listen to my interview with Troy & Suzanne here:
Trostel’s Interview (3:26 min. MP3 File)
They brought me a picture and audio and I’m happy to let you know what the folks at AgriTalk are doing here at the Cattle Industry Convention. Mike Adams is broadcasting live each morning from here in the convention center in Denver.
Yesterday’s program featured Cattlemen’s Beef Board members Jim Little (far left) from Idaho, currently Chairman of the Joint Nominating Committe and Dave Bateman (center) from Illinois, who has been nominated as the new Secretary/Treasurer.
You can listen to the segment of the show they appeared on here: AgriTalk Program Segment (13 min. WMA File)
You can also find the complete program from their program archives here.
Our U. S. Secretary of Agriculture, Mike Johanns, was on the program early today here at the Cattle Industry Convention. He spoke for about 25 minutes before taking some questions from the floor.
One of the things he focused on was an animal ID system. He said that he’s put about $100 million dollars into the budget for the development of a national system. He said the budget will be available to look at by next Monday when President Bush announces his proposed budget.
I recorded his comments for you. The audio feed for the press was a little distorted but it’s very clear. You can listen here: Mike Johanns Speech (25 min. MP3 File)
This is a big head table. Kind of hard to get into one shot. You’ll have to listen to the audio to hear their introduction by Joe Schuele, NCBA. This is the Cattle Industry Convention Media Forum just prior to our reception this evening. The event was sponsored by Merial.
The event provides an opportunity for the media to ask questions of the leaders from both NCBA and the Cattlemen’s Beef Board. A lot of the questions were about the coalition of groups coming together to provide input and recommendations on the Beef Checkoff. It’s still too early in that process to know what they’ll come up with but it’s clear that NCBA is taking a lead role in the effort.
You can hear the whole press conference here. It’s about 25 minutes long. I edited it down at least some. We had the lights go out in the room 3 times which was a little odd. Anyway, here it is: Cattle Industry Convention Media Forum (12MB MP3 File)
It has been a very busy day here in Denver. At least for this agriblogger. I’ve posted content onto 6 different blog sites today. I’ve got a lot more to post but it’s time for a break. The Cattle Industry Media reception is coming up in a few minutes. Then it’s on to several other receptions and the CBB Banquet. I’ll have a lot more pictures and interviews just as soon as I get back online.
Until then, stay AgWired!
Since I’m doing so much coverage of the Cattle Industry Convention and since I couldn’t attend the R-Calf convention Cindy interviewed Mike Callicrate, NoBull Enterprises about the activities of that meeting. It’s only fair since the organizations do have some very divergent viewpoints. Mike was a founder of R-Calf and he’s also a sponsor of World Dairy Diary.
The interview with Mike is about 13 minutes long. You can listen to it here: Mike Callicrate Interview (9MB MP3 File)
The chairman of the Cattlemen’s Beef Board is Al Svajgr. I caught him for just a couple minutes this morning in the media room. He’s one busy man this week. In my interview Al talks about the new long range plan and what he most wants cattlemen to know about the Checkoff. He also explains why they decided to blog.
You can listen to my interview with Al here: Al Svajgr Interview (4:24 Min. MP3 File)
We had a secret mystery guest here at the convention. He’s Sam Elliott. You have hopefully heard his voice on a beef commercial somewhere, sometime. Sam didn’t prepare a speech. He spoke in a very genuine voice about his past, including his first memory of riding a horse. He spoke about how full circle he feels like his career has come to now be the spokesperson for the beef indusry. You can hear his unforgettable words at the end of his remarks.
You can listen to what Sam had to say here: Sam Elliott Speaks (5:22 Min. MP3 File)
If you don’t have the time to listen to Sam for his full remarks, click here to hear him utter his famous words.
