Finalists announced in the 2023 CYL program

The Canadian Cattle Young Leaders (CYL) Program has announced its 16 finalists for the 2023-2024 program year.

The goal of the program is to offer young people the opportunity to receive industry-specific training and mentorship opportunities to take the Canadian beef industry into the future.

During the CYL competition, 24 semi-finalists from across Canada competed for a spot in the upcoming program year.

Through the Selections competition, semi-finalists rotated through discussions with their peers at six roundtables, each facilitated and judged by representatives from the program’s generous sponsors.

Semi-finalists put their skills to the test by discussing timely topics in the beef industry such as environmental sustainability, innovation and technology, succession planning, leadership, support for new entrants and young producers, and much more.

The 2023 finalists from the prairies are from Alberta: Adeleen Bolduc (Stavely), Ashley Nicholls (Foothills County), Brayden Schmidt (Didsbury), Coleman Nixdorff (Rocky View County), Karlene Yakemchuk (Hairy Hill), Rob Ziegler (Okotoks) and Zoe Gould (Consort):

There's one finalist from Saskatchewan, Brooke Martin of Piapot, and two representatives from Manitoba Kristelle Harper of Brandon and Marianne Sytnyk of Oakburn.

Other representatives are from BC, Ontario and Quebec.

Each finalist will be awarded a $2,000 budget to put towards beef industry travel and learning opportunities of their choice and will be paired with a hand-picked industry leader for a nine-month mentorship in their specific area of interest.

CCA President Nathan Phinney says they had a very impressive slate of applicants for this year’s program, which makes him optimistic for what the future holds for the beef industry.

Canadian Cattle Young Leaders (CYL) welcomes young people ages 18-35 across Canada, involved in various aspects of the beef supply chain, to be paired with an industry leader in their specific area of interest for a nine-month mentorship. Through mentorship, networking, and travel, the Canadian CYL Program acts as an industry succession planning tool to equip the next generation of leaders with the skills and tools they need to continue to drive the growth and profitability of the Canadian beef industry. Since established by the Canadian Cattle Association in 2010, the program has seen over 180 CYL graduates. Program applications are open annually for ages 18-35 on our website from early January to the end of March.