Certified Angus Beef plays its greatest hits at annual conference in Nashville

CAB’s annual event brought together award-winning producers, processors and lots of beef.

By Sam Gazdziak

Cattle from Deer Valley Farm in Fayetteville, Tennessee — The Conference started for many attendees with a tour of Deer Valley Farm in Fayetteville, Tenn. The ranch sells seed stock, meaning that its cattle are raised to be sold to other cattle ranches, and the sires of those cattle will then be raised for entry into the Certified Angus Beef program.

A Small Herd of Cattle at Deer Valley Farm — Dr. Fred Clark, founder of Deer Valley Farm, was not a cowboy at first. He was an electrical engineer who worked for NASA. After helping to send astronauts into outer space, he decided to turn his interests a little closer to home. Deer Valley now has 2,500 head of cattle.

Jonathon Perry, Farm Manager, Deer Valley Farm — Jonathon Perry, farm manager, led the tour around Deer Valley Farm. He showed visitors the grazing areas for the cattle, as well as the crops that the ranch grows and the mill where the crops are processed into healthy feed for the animals.

The welcome reception featured BBQ teams from across the country, as well as the expert cooks from Certified Angus Beef. The CAB team whipped up two massive helpings of paella. Pictured is Chef Ashley Breneman.

Joe's Bar-B-Q Home-made Smoker — Joe’s Bar-B-Q of Alvin, Texas, brought over their home-made smoker to Nashville. The Saladino family has been producing barbecue in Texas since the 1950s.

CAB President John Stika Welcomes Conference Attendees — CAB President John Stika, complete in a rhinestone jacket that would have made Porter Waggoner jealous, welcomed attendees to the conference.

Aries Prepared Beef of Burbank, Calif., Participating in the 2017 Taste Drive — Aries Prepared Beef of Burbank, Calif., was among the processors participating in the 2017 Taste Drive. The company brought its pot roast, corned beef hash and brisket for sampling.

Chuck Burgers and Chuck Brisket Burgers from Jensen Meat Co. — Jensen Meat Co. of San Diego, Calif., showed off its line of Chuck Burgers and Chuck Brisket Burgers.

Executive Chef Caniel Vargas of Golden West Food Group prepared a beef feast for booth visitors, including burgers, taco meat and a “beeftidderie.”

Mark Gardiner of Gardiner Angus Ranch in Ashland, Kan., Delivers a Speech at CAB's Annual Conference — Mark Gardiner of Gardiner Angus Ranch in Ashland, Kan., delivered one of the most emotional talks of the conference. His ranch and those of his neighbors were devastated by wildfires, but he spoke about how farmers from across the country drove to Kansas with supplies and fencing materials to help the community rebuild.

You can’t have a conference in Nashville and not have some country music as entertainment. The Aly Cutter Band provided some excellent musical accompaniment to the conference.

Certified Angus Beef hosted its annual conference in Music City USA, aka Nashville, Tenn. Hardly anybody was singing the blues or crying in their beer at this show, though. With plenty of awards to hand out and record sales to boast about, it was filled with good news and big opportunities for the brand and its member companies to grow even more in the coming year. This year’s event was held September 27-29 at the Omni Nashville Hotel.

The show started off with the Sysco Corp. Mick Colvin Scholarship Classic at the Gaylord Springs Golf Course. For those who didn’t bring their clubs to town, there was a tour of Deer Valley Farm in nearby Fayetteville, Tenn. Deer Valley Farm was started by Dr. Fred Clark, who turned to ranching after years spent working as an engineer for the U.S. space program. The 5,000-acre farm is home to about 2,500 head of cattle, along with 2,000 acres of crops to feed them. One of the highlights of the bus tour was the chance to see a newborn calf take its very first steps.

The rest of the event was packed with enthralling speakers and, naturally, many fine dishes made with Certified Angus Beef products. Processors set up booths at the Taste Drive to showcase many of their most popular products, as well as their newest innovations. Industry experts discussed the latest trends in the retail and foodservice worlds. Futurist Anders Sorman-Nilsson advised attendees how they can win the digital minds and analog hearts of consumers. Steve Battista of Under Armour told the story of how the athletic apparel maker grew to become one of the industry’s powerhouse brands by crafting a message that connected with consumers. Rancher Mark Gardiner of Gardiner Angus Ranch delivered a powerful session about his family ranch and the terrible wildfires that struck his Kansas community. Rather than focus on the destruction from the raging fires that destroyed homes, fencing and whole herds, he spoke of the community spirit among the agricultural community. As the survivors were taking stock of the situation, farmers from across the country came with needed supplies to help the rebuilding efforts.

These photos show some of the highlights of the Cab Conference. For more information about the conference, read the news stories below.

Certified Angus Beef honors fabricator, processor stars

The Certified Angus Beef brand marks 11th consecutive year of record sales

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Former Editor In Chief, Independent Processor, and Former Editor, National Provisioner.

Sam Gazdziak has been writing for trade publications since 1997 and joined The National Provisioner in 2004. He helped launch Independent Processor magazine in 2008 as its editor-in-chief.