5th Annual
December 5
Program 1:30 p.m.
DoubleTree By Hilton
Billings, Montana
FREE to Attend!
All cattlemen and women are invited to attend this FREE educational symposium. Listen to industry-leading speakers discuss marketing in the cow-calf sector, including a market outlook, an in-depth look at livestock marketing, and what to expect from a seedstock supplier.
Lane Nordlund | Event Moderator | Nordlund Communications LLC.
Lane Nordlund is an award-winning multimedia farm broadcaster. Lane, born and raised in central Montana, has been involved in production agriculture his entire life. While attending Montana State University-Bozeman he earned a degree in agricultural education-relations. From there he began his career in agricultural media.
Each day, TV viewers can tune in to find Lane reporting on the Montana Ag Network, which airs on the Montana Television Network. On radio, Lane hosts “Montana Talks Ag” which airs within the statewide “Montana Talks” radio show produced by Townsquare Media. Nordlund is also the host of two national podcasts: The Cattlemen’s Call Podcast for the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association and the Eye on Potatoes Podcast for the National Potato Council. He also is a contributor to national TV programs Cattlemen to Cattlemen, Market Day Report and Rural Evening News, which air on RFD-TV. Lane also produces a podcast called the LaneCast, focusing on rural and agriculture issues in the Western United States.
In 2016 Lane received the Horizon Award from the National Association of Farm Broadcasting.
Tanner Aherin | CattleFax | “Cattle Market Update”
Tanner Aherin is from northwest Kansas where he was involved in the commercial cow-calf sector and remains active in the seedstock cattle business. Tanner attended Highland Community College in northeast Kansas on a football scholarship where he received his associates degree before transferring to Kansas State University (KSU). While
at Kansas State, he was a member of the Reserve National Champion Livestock Judging team. Tanner received
his bachelor’s degree in spring 2017 and master’s degree in the summer of 2018, both at KSU in agricultural economics. His research focused on risk management in the cattle markets with an emphasis on cash settlement in the futures complex. He was also a fellow of the KSU Center for Risk Management Education and Research.
Tanner joined the CattleFax team in August 2018 as an analyst. His primary responsibilities include research and analysis for all sectors of the cattle industry and the poultry markets. Tanner also covers cow-calf and stocker members in the Southeast.
Bob Cook | Public Auction Yards | “Livestock Marketing in Today’s Competitive Industry”
Bob Cook was raised on a registered Angus ranch in North Dakota and is a graduate of North Dakota State University, with a degree in animal science. He started career at North Dakota Stockmen’s Association as the editor, and then spent five years as a regional manager of the American Angus Association in North Dakota, Montana, and Wyoming.
Bob has spent the last 42 years at the Public Auction Yards working all phases of the business and also has been in charge of sales and records at the Vermilion Ranch, a registered Angus operation.
In recent years, he has been heavily involved with Northern Livestock Video Auction, a video company that markets over 250,000 calves, yearlings, and replacements across the North Country.
Bob and his wife, Coreen, have four grown children and 11 grandchildren.
Ryan Ludvigson | Ludvigson Stock Farms | “What to Expect From Your Seedstock Supplier”
Ryan Ludvigson, along with his family, owns and operates Ludvigson Stock Farms producing and merchandising Red Angus and Red Hybred Seedstock. Ludvigson Stock Farms markets over 900 registered bulls and over 500 registered females each year. Ludvigson was born and raised on a conventional farming operation in Cushing, Iowa. Ludvigson graduated from Iowa State University in 1992 with a Bachelor of Science in agricultural business and in 1997 with a Masters of Business Administration. He worked for Leachman Cattle Company of Billings, Montana as head of sales in the late 1990s. He was also a member of the team that transitioned the National CUP Lab from Iowa State University to a private business. In 2004, he had the opportunity to build a branded beef program from conception to consumption in Chile forming the business Chile Beef. Ludvigson returned to the U.S. in 2006 to help his family grow their seedstock business. Currently Ludvigson Stock Farms ranks in the Top 10 of beef seedstock operations in the U.S., as ranked by BEEF magazine.
