Every year, ranchers, researchers, policy makers, and industry leaders gather for the most anticipated event of the year: CattleCon. The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) is the organizer of the annual conference and trade show, which is the largest cattle industry event in the country. This year’s CattleCon 2025 was recently held in San Antonio, Texas and attracted more than 8,000 attendees who came to explore the latest advancements in cattle production, sustainability and animal health.

From panel discussions to hands-on demonstrations to educational talks, the gathering served as the place to connect about all things beef.

“It’s where the cattle industry meets and it’s for producers all across the United States,” said Lorie Liddicoat, Senior Director of Trade Show and Events for the NCBA. “And we like to think of it being for the entire industry, from farm to fork, helping producers to raise cattle to feed America.”

Boots on the ground: The CLEAR Center booth at CattleCon

The event attracted a cross section of those involved in animal agriculture, including the CLEAR Center who had their own booth in the University Pavilion. The event provided a unique opportunity for CLEAR Center Director Dr. Frank Mitloehner, as well as graduate students, and staff, to engage with stakeholders across beef production and to showcase the research that is being done to help the cattle industry remain sustainable for generations to come. 

We’re here to communicate with the beef sector what we do, why it matters, and how we are advancing our knowledge around sustainability,” said Dr. Mitloehner.

“As the trade show has grown, we’ve seen a need to have a University Pavilion to group all of our colleges and universities together for producers to learn what universities are doing for the industry,” said Liddicoat.

Putting a face to the research being done is what attracted Jamila Jaxaliyeva, a student at Yale University, to specifically seek out the CLEAR Center booth and to speak with Dr. Mitloehner.

“There's so much information out there and especially when it comes to methane it's very scientific and it’s very complex,” said Jaxaliyeva. “And what Frank is doing is he really manages to synthesize it and boil it down to something very digestible and easy to understand.”

Staying informed about the latest research advancements is what brought Ellen Lai, a sustainability scientist for ABS Global Beef, to stop by the CLEAR Center booth. She earned her bachelor’s degree in animal science from UC Davis, as well as her master’s degree in animal biology and PhD in Integrative Genetics and Genomics with an emphasis in Biotechnology, so she was eager to see how her alma mater continues to innovate and impact. 

 “Well, I know Frank Mitloehner and it’s always good to catch up him and with the grad students and to find out what they're up to,” said Lai. “They're always on the cutting edge of whatever is new in sustainability.”

UC Davis CLEAR Center graduate students, Sharissa Anderson and Madison Kindberg highlighted their research projects which involve the effects of cattle breeds on methane emissions and evaluating the efficacy of feed additives on reducing enteric emissions in cattle. 

“It's important that the UC Davis CLEAR Center is here sharing the knowledge that we already have with the people it means the most to,” said Kindberg.

Fellow UC Davis CLEAR Center graduate students, Alexis Wivell and Briana Morales, were also at the conference and brought the research to life for those who stopped by the booth and wanted to know more about the Center’s ongoing efforts to advance sustainability in animal agriculture.

“I think being able to be out here and represent what we do at UC Davis is important,” said Briana Morales. “I also think being here opens that opportunity to connect with people who may have not heard about us and to build bridges in the knowledge gaps that might be there too.” 

Clearing the air: Talks on sustainability, cows and the big screen

While at CattleCon, Dr. Mitloehner sat down for two tabletop discussions at the CLEAR Center booth. His first one was with Samantha Werth, a former graduate student researcher of the Mitloehner Lab at UC Davis and now is the Senior Director of Sustainability for NCBA. Their conversation centered around Werth’s work with the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef. The multi-stakeholder initiative was founded in 2015 and now has 100 members, all with the common goal of defining sustainability in the beef industry in the United States.

“The roundtable is moving towards supporting more research needs around sustainability which excites me, because that’s my background,” said Werth. “I like getting more quantifiable data and information that can help support us making the best decisions we can.”

Dr. Mitloehner’s other tabletop discussion was with Dr. Mark Lyons, President and CEO of Alltech, a company that provides a variety of agricultural services. They spoke about the new Alltech funded and produced documentary, “World Without Cows,” which was screened twice at CattleCon, with each screening igniting thoughtful discussions about the future of animal agriculture. 

“The idea was that we needed to do something to communicate and tell the story of agriculture in a new and novel way,” said Dr. Lyons. 

With unlimited access to those on the frontlines of agriculture and science, filmmakers turned journalists, Michelle Michael and Brandon Whitworth, set out on a journey around the world to find the answer to the question, are we better off in a world without cows? 

"Our movie, ‘World Without Cows’ is so much more than a documentary,” said Michael. “I call it a true, conversation starter."

And it is through conversations with farmers, ranchers, scientists and other experts in environmental and agricultural science, that the two examined the impact of cows on our world: their cultural and economic significance, as well as their role in nourishing the world and their impact on climate. Both journalists had no direct ties to agriculture, which provided them a blank canvas to create an objective and balanced narrative when it comes to cows and their role in the world. They began the project by researching the subject and understanding which experts in which fields they should speak to. One of the first ones they recognized they needed to be part of the conversation was CLEAR Center Director, Dr. Frank Mitloehner.

“Talking to Frank, he was really a vital part to help fill in some really important parts that we had in the story,” said Whitworth. “And the way Frank speaks with such authority and breaks it down in such a simplistic way. That was important for us in telling the story.”

Over three years, Michael and Whitworth traveled to 22 countries on five different continents and spoke to a diverse group of experts who spoke about the essential role cattle play in sustaining communities across the globe. 

“Because the context of what cows mean in different areas of the world matters. For example, what the cow means here in the states is vastly different than what it means in Africa or India, and so following that global journey with this series of expert prospectives that we got was important,” said Whitworth. “I think combining those two things really paints an accurate balance to the conversation around the impact that cows make in our lives, now and in the future.”

The duo is currently showing the documentary at private screenings and film festivals, nationally and internationally. 

CattleCon 2026 will be held February 3-5, 2026, in Nashville, Tennessee.

Photos by Tracy Sellers/UC Davis