Meet Your Speakers

Joe Hampton

Joe Hampton serves as the American Angus Association president and chairman of the board. He and his wife, Robin, operate Back Creek, a cattle operation near Mount Ulla, N.C., focused on the production of Angus bulls for commercial cattlemen.

Hampton received his bachelor's degree from North Carolina State University and has been involved with agricultural research for more than 25 years. He has served as president of the North Carolina Angus Association and as board director for the North Carolina Cattlemen's Association.

As Association president, Hampton serves as chairman of the Executive Committee and works closely with all directors to lead the board. During his tenure, he has initiated a long-range planning process that will help shape the future of the Association well into the future.

Tom Field

A well-known beef industry speaker, author and educator, Tom Field is the executive director of producer education for the National Cattlemen's Beef Association (NCBA). In this role, Field oversees producer education initiatives and leads staff in coordinating the National Beef Quality Assurance (BQA) program.

Prior to joining NCBA, Field served as a professor of beef cattle management systems at Colorado State University from 1989 to 2008, where he coordinated the seedstock merchandising team and was responsible for 150 purebred Angus and Hereford cows.

Field is the author of more than 100 articles related to beef cattle production and the beef industry. He is a regular contributor to the Angus Journal and Angus Beef Bulletin as author of the "Outside the Box" column.

A native of Colorado, Field earned his bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees at Colorado State University. He serves as a consultant to numerous beef organizations, including the American Angus Association, and has given invited presentations across the United States and internationally.

Curt Lacy

Curt Lacy is a livestock economist and associate professor in the Agricultural and Applied Economics Department at the University of Georgia-Tifton (UGA). Since coming to the university in 2001, Lacy has had Extension and applied research responsibilities in the areas of livestock/forage economics and marketing.

Although he works on a variety of topics, his overall focus is the economics and marketing of livestock and forage products through sustainable production systems. He routinely provides beef cattle market updates and other economic information to producers, county agents and agribusiness people across the state and within the region. He is also the risk management coordinator for the Georgia Beef Challenge, one of the oldest beef cattle feed-out and carcass evaluation programs in the country.

Scott Bennett

Scott Bennett, from Red House, Va., is currently a senior in agriculture and applied economics at Virginia Tech. His family owns Knoll Crest Farm Inc., and he is part of the fourth generation to produce seedstock at the family-owned business since 1944.

Bennett is a founding member of the Beef Leadership Council at Virginia Tech, a member of Alpha Gamma Rho fraternity, has served as Speaker of the Senate for the Virginia Tech Student Government Association, and currently serves as that organization's director of government affairs.

Last year, Bennett represented NCBA in Washington, D.C., as the spokesperson in their efforts to repeal the Estate Tax.

Bennett is a graduate of the University of Virginia's Sorensen Institute for Political Leadership. Upon graduation, he hopes to advocate for agriculture on either the state or federal level before returning home to assume an active role in his family's seedstock operation.

Don Schiefelbein

Don Schiefelbein is a partner in his family's diversified farming operation — Schiefelbein Farms — near Kimball, Minn. There, he works with his father and seven brothers to coordinate the genetic program of the large, diversified farming operation. Schiefelbein conducts expected progeny difference (EPD) selection and management of sires. He manages the farm's finances, public relations and advertising efforts.

Prior to returning to the family operation, he served as the director of commercial marketing for the American Gelbvieh Association for three years before being named its executive director. He also gained breed association experience at the North American Limousin Foundation, working as director of breed programs and coordinating the junior programs. He graduated with honors from Texas A&M University (TAMU) and was an extension meat specialist and certified ultrasound technician for Texas A&M's Livestock and Carcass Evaluation Service.

Tommy Maples

Tommy Maples of Maples Angus Farm grew up in the cattle business and was active in 4-H and Angus activities. Maples graduated from Western Kentucky University with an agriculture degree and received his bachelor's in secondary education from Athens State University.

Maples' children — Ben, Josh, Will and Sara — represent the eighth generation to live on the family's Alabama farm, which has existed since the state's inception. Since 1987, Tommy, wife Melanie, and their family have resided on the farm with his parents.

The operation currently calves about 150 registered Angus per year and sells the majority of offspring privately to commercial bull customers in northern Alabama and southern Tennessee.

Maples serves as a director of the Limestone County Cattlemen's Association, Limestone County Farmers Federation and is State Beef Committee Chairman for the Alabama Farmers Federation. He is a board member for the Athens-Limestone County Hospice. The Alabama Farmers Federation honored the Maples family with its Outstanding Farm Family award in 1997.

Chad Stine

With experience in the specialty meat industry, Chad Stine's knowledge, experience and passion contribute to his success as president of Buckhead Beef Atlanta since 2008.

Growing up on a production and agricultural farm in Kansas, Stine was inspired by his father to pursue and develop his career with holistic expertise, from pasture to plate.

Stine earned a bachelor's degree from Oklahoma State University and a master's degree in muscle physiology from Mississippi State University. He also coached the school's livestock judging teams.

Stine spent two years working in boxed beef at IBP and five years as director of packing and retail divisions at Certified Angus Beef LLC (CAB). Stine joined Buckhead Beef in 2001 and has served as director of merchandising and director of sales and merchandising. As president, Stine has a comprehensive understanding of factors contributing to customer satisfaction, including product quality and taste and the critical factors of food safety, quality assurance and HACCP compliance.

Stine is a member of the American Meat Science Association and lives in the Atlanta suburb of Smyrna with his wife and young daughter.

Geof Bednar

As director of international sales for the Certified Angus Beef ® (CAB®) brand, Geof Bednar oversees the brand's international initiatives and works with licensed partners in 45 countries. He focuses on elevating the success of the brand's international partners and supporting continued growth of the brand around the globe. He also pursues an active role with the U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF) to sustain continued cooperation in international programs.

Previously, Bednar focused on building the brand's partners and presence in Canada as an executive account manager. He joined the company in 2005 after working for Michigan State University in beef cattle extension. Bednar also spent more than 20 years in the purebred cattle industry and has a bachelor's degree from The Ohio State University.

Bruce Vincent

Keynote speaker Bruce Vincent is a third-generation logger from Libby, Mont.

Vincent helped form and is currently serving as president of Communities For A Great Northwest and executive director of Provider Pals. He is co-owner of Environomics.

Vincent speaks throughout the United States and the world, has testified on resource issues before Congress and has appeared on several news programs such as "60 Minutes." He has been named Timberman of the Year in Montana and National Forest Activist of the Yea. He received the Agri-Women's 2007 Veritas Award and, in 2004, received the inaugural Presidential Preserve America Award from President George W. Bush.

Vincent has been married to his wife, Patti Jo, for more than 30 years. They have four children, two sons-in-law and four grandchildren. His current activities represent a family commitment to responsible environmentalism.

Bryce Schumann

As CEO of the American Angus Association, Bryce Schumann serves as the chief administrative officer of the American Angus Association and vice chairman of the Board of Directors of the Association and each of its subsidiaries: Angus Productions Inc. (API), Certified Angus Beef LLC (CAB), Angus Genetics Inc. (AGI) and the Angus Foundation.

Schumann served as director of activities and director of member services and office management for the Association, and helped coordinate efforts for developing the Angus Foundation prior to accepting the position as CEO in 2008.

Before joining the American Angus Association staff, Schumann served as assistant director of feeder-packer relations for the CAB Supply Development Division. He has also worked for the Kansas Beef Council and Farm Credit Services.

Schumann received his bachelor's degree from Kansas State University and a master's in business administration from the University of Kansas. He and his wife, Gina, have three sons — Wyatt, Dylan and Jessye — and a daughter, Kassidy. They ranch near Lecompton, Kan.

Schumann will wrap up the conference and prep attendees for the tour to follow.