USDA Secretary Ann Veneman to Address Cattlemen at Annual Convention 

To Join Interior Secretary Norton at Major Industry Event 

Washington, D.C. (January 20, 2003) – U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Ann M. Veneman has confirmed that she will attend the 2003 Cattle Industry Annual Convention and Trade Show in Nashville, Tenn., to visit with cattlemen next week.  Veneman will speak to a joint session of National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) Councils Jan. 30. 

Veneman is the second member of President George Bush’s cabinet to confirm attendance at the industry’s most important annual gathering.  U.S. Department of the Interior Secretary Gale Norton will also attend the convention and speak to the Stakeholder’s Congress and NCBA Annual Membership Meeting on Saturday afternoon, Feb. 1.    

At the Convention, which runs from Jan. 29 to Feb. 1, the annual meetings of the NCBA, the Cattlemen’s Beef Board, Cattle-Fax and the American National CattleWomen will be conducted. 

Convention registration is required to hear Veneman and/or Norton speak. Two- and four-day packages are available. Registration fees allow attendance at the Trade Show, which features more than 250 exhibitors, as well as daily meetings where policy and marketing issues affecting the cattle industry are discussed. 

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Producer-directed and consumer-focused, the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association is the trade association of America’s cattle farmers and ranchers, and the marketing organization for the largest segment of the nation’s food and fiber industry.