Q&A with CCA’s Emily Ritchie: Shaping Youth in the Industry

Typically the beef industry, or for that matter the agriculture industry in general, tends to suffer from poor youth retention, especially in the boardrooms and on the ranches and farms. Born out of the need to find a remedy, the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association (CCA) put the task of developing a platform to programs manager, Jill Harvie, to basically find the solution. The Cattlemen’s Young Leaders (CYL) was born.

by Cam Patterson – a Canadian Meat Business exclusive

Designed as a succession planning program, the CYL stands apart as the CCA’s flagship youth leadership and mentorship program. The graduation ceremony at the Canadian Beef Industry Conference is one of the highlights of the annual event, but more importantly, CYL alumni are recognized as representing the future of where Canada’s beef industry could be in the years to come.

That is a point of pride CCA’s Youth Leadership Coordinator, Emily Ritchie, finds most rewarding since she began working on the program just over a year ago.

Canadian Meat Business (CMB) spoke with Emily about the program and the support it has garnered in the industry.

“Our goal is to ensure every one of our CYL’s receives a strong and focused mentorship experience”

 

CMB: Considering youth retention was a widespread concern within the beef industry, how would you sum up the impact the program?

ER: Very positive. This is the seventh year of the program and we’ve graduated just over a hundred people. We’ve got two past CYL’s that are staffed within CCA, multiple graduates serving on boards and provincial organizations – such as Ryan Belerbach, President of the Saskatchewan Cattleman’s Association – as well as five grads standing as delegates on the Alberta Beef Producers, one of which is sitting on the board. So we can see the plan working when our graduates continue on to key positions and help build on the industry. It’s very gratifying to be a part of that.

CMB: How is the Cattlemen’s Young Leaders program structured?

ER: Well, essentially CYL is a Youth Leadership and Mentorship program for 18 to 35 year old candidates. We choose 16 young producers or industry enthusiasts from across Canada who are not only passionate, but demonstrate a keen interest in a career within the industry. We get to know them, their interests and the direction they’d like to pursue and pair them up with a mentor that is an expert in their field of interest. They receive $2000 in travel bursaries so they can meet up with their mentors, attend keynote events and get the most out of the mentorship. The program really is a front row seat into how the industry operates while they network and make career contacts. Our goal is to ensure every one of our CYL’s receives a strong and focused mentorship experience.

CMB: When are applications available?

ER: We open applications on our (www.cattlemensyoungleaders.com) website January 1st until the end of March. We typically get between 60 to 70 applications and will choose 24 semi-finalists who will have the opportunity to participate in the selection process. From there we select the 16 finalists who will be our CYL’s for the year. The mentorship runs for eight months, closing around July. The great part of the experience is that a lot of the CYL’s remain in contact with their mentors even after they graduate.

Emily speaking at the CBIC. (Photo Credit to Kaycee Ann Wedding Photography)

CMB: Are mentors and their CYL’s given a curriculum or schedule to follow?

ER: Actually it is a self-driven program, which we feel is beneficial to beef producers as they tend to have differing schedules, and so meets between CYL’s and their mentors are completely in their hands. It’s a great way to teach initiative and to have flexibility during their mentorship.

CMB: And that is no doubt very practical since most CYL’s would typically be working while in the program, correct?

ER: Yes, absolutely. We have a lot of young producers who have already started working on farms or in industry sectors, even students. We tend to see a very diverse group every year who make the program work with their day to day lives.

CMB: Are you getting some applications from Eastern Canada as well?

ER: For the most part a large percentage do come from Alberta and western Canada. But we are excited when we have more engagement from all the provinces.

CMB: After they’ve completed the program, is there a placement component?

ER: Not really. However, CYL is the program that keeps on giving. Graduation is in August of that year during the Canadian Beef Industry Conference (CBIC). They then join our CYL alumni group, which continues to provide them membership opportunities to key industry events, conferences and conventions. This year we’re taking some CYL’s to the 2018 World Brangus Congress in Houston, Texas and some to the CBIC as both events are taking place at the same time. We will have CYL’s attending both events.

CMB: So even though the mentorship ends, they are still a part of the program in a manner of speaking?

ER: Yes. Alumni can continue to take advantage of a lot of great opportunities that the CYL has to offer.

The 2017 Semi Finalist group (Photo Credit to Kaycee Ann Wedding Photography)

CMB: How is the buy-in from industry and businesses?

ER: We’re very fortunate with the foundation partners that we have supporting CYL. This is a great group of organizations that all see that developing young producers and industry professionals is crucial to the success of our industry. We have corporations like McDonald’s Canada, Cargill, UFA, MNP and Zoetis for example. We also have Gold sponsors in Farm Credit Canada (FCC), New Holland Agriculture as well as our official supporters like the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association and Farm Fair International. We work closely with our partners to develop the mentorship plan for each of our CYL’s, because they can make recommendations on people they feel would make strong mentors; again building on positive networking from the ground up.

CMB: Is interest for the CYL program growing?

ER: Yes, it is. And our social media following grows daily. We are really excited to see the direction that this program is headed.

CMB: Can you tell me about the graduation at the Canadian Beef Industry Conference?

ER: It is a fantastic venue to host our graduation because it is such a well-regarded and comprehensive industry event. CYL’s not only benefit from program participation and recognition, but also from the speakers and the social events surrounding the conference. The CBIC provides the perfect opportunity for our alumni to network with future colleagues, building on a successful career path.

CMB: It is nice to wrap up a year of mentorship with a gala event.

ER: Yes it is! And for me personally, to get to know the CYL’s from when they first applied, and see them develop into the industry savvy people they are when they walk across the stage for their award is always a thrill. I do enjoy the event.