Cornell student trip spotlights western beef industry

The excursion began in the Texas Panhandle at the “end” of the beef industry, where the group traveled to Hereford, Texas, to tour Caviness Beef Packers. Students learned about how animal welfare, food safety and efficiency are prioritized throughout the cattle-harvesting process. They also gained an understanding of how beef packers navigate the intricacies of an increasingly complex global protein market.

The group then visited Bar-G Feedyards, where they saw the daily logistical challenge of feeding and caring for 125,000 head of cattle in a single location. “There are a lot of harvest facilities and large-scale feeding operations in the area,” Murray explained. “Just within a 30-minute drive there are over 1 million head of cattle — more than five times the total amount of beef cattle in the entire state of New York.” 

The day ended at the West Texas A&M University Meat Science facilities in Canyon, Texas, where students got to witness firsthand carcass data collection for an active research project. They gained industry-leading insight into current trends and the future trajectory of the beef industry from A&M Animal Science faculty members Professor Ty Lawrence and Assistant Professor Trent Schwartz.

The next round of tours started at 44 Farms in Cameron, Texas, where James Burks, 44 Farms general manager, personally guided students through the pristine seedstock Angus operation. James shared how the farm’s vision has grown into annual bull sales that sell over 750 lots and a strategic beef partnership with Walmart to sell 44 Farms beef under the “Prime Pursuits” label.

Later, the group toured TransOva Reproductive Services and Integrated Breeders Services to learn about leading cattle reproductive technologies from the cow and bull side, respectively.

The next day, students visited Standard Meats Company in Fort Worth, Texas, a further processing facility that uses cutting-edge technology to blend meat science with culinary art to produce thousands of different retail items under various global labels. Later that afternoon, the group explored the historic Forth Worth Stockyards to learn about western culture and traditions before attending the evening rodeo during the first night of the 130th Fort Worth Stock Show (FWSS). Students spent the entire next day at FWSS, watching livestock exhibits and learning about the event’s history from Matt Brockman, FWSS communications director. 

Altogether, the week-long experience included nine unique beef industry experiences, over 1,135 miles of driving, and a capstone learning experience to prepare Cornell students to lead the future of livestock agriculture following graduation. This is the second year for the trip, and plans are for it to be ongoing, Murray said.

Concurrently, a separate group of students — Wyatt Marshall, Emily Klein and Charlie Mosier –represented Cornell at the National Western Stock Show in Denver, Colorado. The three competed in the collegiate livestock judging competition and the cattle carload competition. 

While Cornell’s livestock judging team won the national competition in 1952, it has been many decades since the university fielded a team. However, Murray reestablished the livestock judging program in 2025 with the help of Marshall, Klein, Mosier and other CALS undergrads, and has been serving as the group’s advisor and coach as the program builds momentum.

“Wyatt, Emily and Charlie were very competitive judging as individuals,” he said. “They represented themselves and their university extremely well, and everyone in attendance definitely noticed that Cornell came to compete.”

Almost serendipitously, the Texas group and judging team return trips overlapped due to a layover in the Denver airport. After a week of educational experiences and competition, the reunited group of Cornellians traveled back to New York with plenty of stories.