The 2026 International Livestock Congress will be held March 4-5, 2026, in Houston, Texas, during the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo. This year's topic will be "Innovation, Resilience and Regulation in Animal Agriculture: Embracing New Technologies and Navigating the Political Landscape."
NRG Center
1 Fannin Street, Houston, TX 77054
NRG Center events utilize Gate 10 on the corner of Kirby and McNee.
Hotel
Home2 Suites by Hilton Houston Medical Center
6840 Almeda Rd @ Holcombe Blvd
Houston, Texas 77030
2026 International Livestock Congress
Innovation, Resilience and Regulation in Animal Agriculture:
Embracing New Technologies and Navigating the Political Landscape
| WEDNESDAY, March 4, 2026 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 7:00-8:00 am | Registration | ||
| 8:00-8:30 am |
Welcome James O. Reagan, Ph.D., Chairman, International Stockmen’s Educational Foundation, J&M Dorpers, Fort Collins, CO Chris Boleman, CEO, Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo Tammy Barrier, Chair, International Committee, Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo |
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| Innovation Moderator: Mohammad Koohmarie, PhD, CEO – Meat Division, IEH Laboratories and Consulting Group | |||
| 8:45-9:30 am | Opening Keynote: Embracing innovation and technology at the King Ranch Robert Hodgen, CEO, King Ranch | ||
| 9:30-10:00 am | Advancements and opportunities in adding value to the cattle/beef industry Kevin Good, Vice President CattleFax Centennial, CO | ||
| 10:00-10:30 am | Networking Break | ||
| Innovation Case Studies | |||
| 10:30-11:00 am | The MEQ Journey: Lessons from building a technology company across the global red meat supply chain Remo Carbone, Co-founder & CEO of MEQ Probe, New York, NY | ||
| 11:00-11:30 am | Bringing cloud technology to small meat processing facilities for workflow process automation Sudipta Sen, Founder, Cirrus360, Richardson, TX and Katie Koon, Managing Partner, Rail 19, Brashear, TX | ||
| 11:30 am -12:00 pm | Applications of gene editing for the cattle industry Jon Oatley, Associate Dean for Research & Regents Professor, Washington State University, Pullman, WA | ||
| 12:00-1:30 pm | Luncheon: Student Fellow Recognition | ||
| Resilience Moderator: Keith Belk, PhD, Professor and Montfort Chair, Colorado State University | |||
| 1:45-2:15 pm | Rural counties working together to enable disaster response and resilience Steve Manning, Principle, Natural Resource Solutions, L.C., Austin, TX | ||
| 2:15-2:45 pm | Regional Resiliency of Cattle Feeding in the Southern United States Ben Weinheimer, President & CEO, Texas Cattle Feeders Association, Amarillo, TX | ||
| 2:45-3:15 pm | Meat industry adapting/responding to regulatory changes Jesse Fulton, Director of Animal Health & Welfare, Meat Institute, Arlington, VA | ||
| 3:15-3:30 pm | Networking Break | ||
| 3:30-4:00 pm | Connecting innovation in nutrition, agriculture and healthy living to the Dietary Guidelines Teresa Davis, PhD, Director, Texas A&M AgriLife Institute for Advancing Health through Agriculture, College Station, TX | ||
| 4:30-5:30 pm | Student Fellow take away-thoughts, insights, questions and discussions. | ||
| 5:30-7:00 pm | International Committee Reception (followed by rodeo) | ||
| THURSDAY, March 5, 2026 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 7:00-8:00 am | Continental Breakfast | ||
| Regulation in Animal Agriculture Moderator: Ross Wilson | |||
| 8:00-8:30 am | USDA Perspectives Dr. Mindy Brashears, Under Secretary for Food Safety, Washington, D.C. | ||
| 8:30-9:00 am | Proposed legislative changes to support application of innovation in livestock production Joshua Herman, National Security Council on Emerging Biotechnologies | ||
| 9:10-9:30 am | Networking Break | ||
| 9:30-10:00 am | Policy outlook and importance of engagement Lowell Randel, J.D. Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX | ||
| 10:00-10:30 am | Coupling innovation and new technologies with effective communication about science for the livestock industries Penny Riggs, Ph.D., Department of Animal Science, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX | ||
| 10:30-11:00 am | Congress overview and summary thoughts Jason Strong, Ph.D., Gordon Park, QLD, Australia | ||