Angelo State Hosting National Ag Conference

More than 700 attendees are expected for the American Meat Science Association’s (AMSA) 69th annual Reciprocal Meat Conference hosted by Angelo State University’s Department of Agriculture June 17-22 on the ASU campus and at various locations around San Angelo.

Each year, the Reciprocal Meat Conference serves as the AMSA annual meeting. It is conducted on or near university campuses and features an interactive program that is tailored to give attendees an inspiring educational experience. Attendees include meat science professionals in academia, government and industry, as well as undergraduate and graduate students in meat and food science fields at colleges and universities throughout the U.S.

“ASU is the first smaller regional university ever to host the AMSA Reciprocal Meat Conference,” said Dr. Mike Salisbury, chair of the ASU Agriculture Department. “This opportunity is a direct reflection on our quality meat science and other agriculture programs, as well as our excellent students and state-of-the-art facilities. Industry professionals and students from all over the country will get a firsthand look at our department, our campus and our community. It will also be a great learning and networking opportunity for our students interested in meat and food science careers.”

Student activities and contests will take place Friday through Sunday, June 17-19, including a Processed Meats Judging Contest on Friday and the Iron Chef Product Development Contest on Saturday at the ASU Management, Instruction and Research Center. Graduate and undergraduate Student Research Poster Competitions and the Undergraduate Meat Science Quiz Bowl Competition will take place Sunday in the Houston Harte University Center.

One of the highlights of the conference will be the Opening General Session on Monday, June 20, at 8 a.m. in the University Center that will feature U.S. Congressmen Mike Conaway and David Rouzer as the keynote speakers. Conaway represents Texas’ 11th Congressional District and is chairman of the U.S. House Committee on Agriculture. Rouzer represents North Carolina’s 7th Congressional District and is chairman of the House Subcommittee on Livestock and Foreign Agriculture.

Much of the remainder of the conference will be made up of informational, technical and business sessions for the meat science professionals in attendance, but there will also be a softball tournament, golf tournament, country music concert, spouse and family tours of local and area attractions, and an awards reception and banquet. The full conference schedule and list of events is available at www.meatscience.org/events-education/rmc/schedule-of-events.

Additional conference details are available at www.meatscience.org/rmc.