NEW: ICA Policy Summit
Setting the Agenda
Date: Thursday, September 4, 2025
Location: FFA Enrichment Center, Ankeny, IA (1055 SW Prairie Trail Pkwy, Ankeny, IA 50023)
Time: 11:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
The ICA Policy Summit is a dedicated event to ensure that every ICA member has the opportunity to shape association policy and guide the direction of state and federal advocacy efforts.
At this new event, member participants will review policy recommendations and hear from expert guest speakers covering hot topics within the association's core policy areas: cattle production, beef products, and business issues. We'll conclude the day with a fun reception and an ICA Political Action Committee fundraiser.
Schedule:
11:30 - 12:00 p.m. Registration
12:00 - 1:00 p.m. Welcome and Purpose Lunch
1:00 - 1:20 p.m. Beef Products Speaker - Erin Borror, USMEF
1:20 - 2:00 p.m. Beef Products Meeting
2:00 - 2:10 p.m. Rotate
2:10 - 2:30 p.m. Cattle Production Speaker - Kristin Stien, Ever.Ag
2:30 - 3:00 p.m. Cattle Production Meeting
3:00 - 3:20 p.m. Break
3:20 - 3:45 p.m. Business Issues Speaker - Kristine Tidgren, ISU CALT
3:45 - 4:30 p.m. Business Issues Meeting
4:30 - 4:45 p.m. Meeting Close
4:45 - 6:00 p.m. PAC Reception & Silent Auction
ICA requests your RSVP by calling 515-296-2266.
You must be an 'active' ICA member to participate.
Please click here to review the materials and policy that will be discussed at this year's Policy Summit. Read below on how you can engage in the process and bring forth additional ideas.
Policy Summit Purpose
Throughout the year, ICA collects policy ideas, issue areas, and member concerns through individual conversations, producer meetings, and industry events. We then organize these topics and present them to the relevant policy committees, where the committee members draft and review policy statements. From there, recommendations on both new and expiring policies are formed during committee meetings.
During this day, participants will work through a collaborative review of these recommendations and have the opportunity to submit new policy ideas to help shape the association's future priorities. In previous years, this component was held during the Iowa Cattle Industry Convention and will be moving to a dedicated day.
As an association, we want to continue to evolve and improve. In order to build on the grassroots policy process and develop quality policy that has been thoroughly vetted and researched, ICA is hosting summer committee meetings and the Policy Summit to heighten the process for policy development and to ensure ICA members have multiple opportunities for direct input. Additionally, formalizing policy recommendations earlier gives the ICA Government Relations team time to socialize potential policy initiatives or legislation with the relevant government officials ahead of the next year's legislative session.
From there, all policies that have been approved during the Policy Summit will be proposed to the membership to be ratified during the Annual Meeting that will be held at the usual Iowa Cattle Industry Convention.
Submitting Policy Ideas
To submit a policy idea for consideration at the ICA Policy Summit, email the ICA government relations team before the event or use the submission form that will be available on-site. Your idea will be introduced during the appropriate policy area meeting at the Summit. *For an idea to be drafted for a formal policy statement and forwarded onto the membership at the ICA Annual Meeting for consideration, it must receive a two-thirds vote of members present in that policy area meeting. If it does not receive the required two-thirds support, the idea will be referred to the respective policy committee for further research and potential recommendation at the Annual Meeting.