History of the IJBCA

The first meeting of the Indiana Junior Beef Cattle Association was held at the Indiana Farm Bureau building in Indianapolis, Indiana in 1992 with about 50 juniors and 10 adults present. To promote the organization and get more participation, second and third meetings were held at Purdue and Jasper with about 110 juniors and adults present.

The first IJBCA Board of Directors consisted of 12 young adults who wanted to take an active role within the beef cattle industry. These young adults represented all breeds and areas of the state of Indiana. The original goal of the organization was to have various regions throughout the state of Indiana and have each region represented by one individual. The executive board consisted of a Chairman, Vice Chairman, Secretary and Treasurer.

For the first few years, members of the IJBCA attended field trips during their fall break. The all day trips consisted of visits to the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, the Meat Board, Dawson Baker Packing Company, Churchill Downs, Stonelea Shorthorns and Longaberger Angus Farm. These visits provided the young adults with information about different aspects of the beef industry along with day to day operations on different farms.

The first educational workshop was held in 1993. Dr. Larry Horstman, Dr. Randy Bush, Dr. Jerry Turner and Jim Smoker served as a panel for discussion on calf nutrition in various stages and throughout the industry.

The first showmanship contest at the Hoosier Beef Congress was held in 1994 with 155 participants. Only two judges were necessary for the competition. This same year, the IJBCA scholarships were started.

Today, it is still obvious that the IJBCA has continued to grow and prosper, mainly through the support of the Indiana Beef Cattle Association and many dedicated volunteers and parents. Since 2003, over 500 juniors have participated in the Hoosier Beef Congress Showmanship contest. The 2005 Hoosier Beef Congress saw in the introduction of the Team Fitting Contest and the Poster Contest and 2006 hopes to be even more promising.