If you are seeing more cowboy hats than normal around the city there is good reason.  The Saskatchewan Stock Growers are meeting in Moose Jaw this week for their annual meeting and convention.

The event started Sunday with a tour of the JGL Assembly yard, and sessions yesterday (Monday) and today will focus on a number of issues of interest and importance to the industry.

Chad MacPherson, the Stock Growers general manager, explained the theme of the gathering which is "Change, Challenge, and Opportunity".

"Cattle production is an evolving and changing business.  Things like climate change, antibiotic access and the markets.  We can see these as challenges, but we are also trying to focus on the opportunities that these challenges and changes present for livestock producers".

MacPherson shared a short list of some of the presentations.

"We are going to have presentations ranging from succession planning, to agriculture labor, and Johne's Disease.  We will also have presentations from the Canadian Cattlemen that will focus on different trade opportunities, we have a presention on changing consumer prospectives, on protein production, and a presentation from VIDO on different vaccines and research projects they are working on".

The meetings continue through Tuesday in Moose Jaw.