More than 800 Beef Industry stakeholders attended the 2010 International Symposium on Beef Cattle Welfare.  The stakeholders consisted of producers, veterinarians, packers, retailers, industry organizations representatives and government agency representatives. The meeting was held in Manhattan, KAN and was hosted by The Beef Cattle Institute at Kansas State University.   The meeting was also delivered via live web cast reaching over 500 individuals in 27 states and six different countries.

The symposium brought over 20 experts in the field of cattle welfare.  Speakers such as Temple Grandin and Tom Noffsinger spoke on proper cattle handling techniques. Terry Mader spoke on mud and Dee Griffin discussed the effects of heat on cattle in the feedyard.

Other presentations  included  topics such as: Answering public questions about beef production; How can the beef industry better communicate to governmental entities; Teaching beef cattle welfare in the field;  Analgesic pharmacology and management of pain associated with dehorning, castration and lameness; Management of culled dairy cows; Animal welfare at the beef packing level; How do we benchmark animal welfare progress in our industries; What are the economics associated with welfare; and more.

In addition to the above topics, the Beef Cattle Welfare Symposium was kicked off with an Emergency Preparedness session lead by Jennifer Woods.  During this session Woods informed emergency personal, producers and others on how to be prepared during emergency situations. She also discussed, trailer roll-over and proper techniques of euthanasia.

The introduction of the North American Food Animal Well-Being Commission was also made during the open presentation on Wednesday night. The mission of this commission is: An independence voice to advance evidence-based and practical improvements in the care and well-being of North American beef cattle. The members of the commission are:

1. Dr. Bob Smith – VRCS, LLC
2. Dr. Carolyn Stull - University of California at Davis
3. Dr. Dan Thomson – Kansas State University
4. Dr. Dave Sjeklocha – Academy of Veterinary Consultants
5. Dr. Dee Griffin – University of Nebraska
6. Dr. Frank Mitloehner – University of California at Davis
7. Dr. Gatz Riddell – AABP, Executive Director
8. Dr. Guy Loneragan – West Texas A&M University
9. Dr. Hans Coetzee – Kansas State University
10. Dr. Jan Shearer – Iowa State University
11. Dr. Janice Swanson – Michigan State University
12. Dr. Ron Gill – Texas A&M University
13. Dr. Temple Grandin – Colorado State University
14. Dr. Tom Noffsinger – Beef Cattle Handling Expert - Benkelman, NE
15. Dr. Joseph Stookey – University of Saskatchewan, Western Veterinary College
16. Dr. Jeff Rushen – Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada
17. Dr. Karen Schwartzkopf-Genswein – Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada
18. Jennifer Woods – Livestock Handling Expert – Blackie, AB Canada
19. Dr. Terry Mader – University of Nebraska