Wednesday marked the opening of the Saskatchewan Beef Industry Conference in Saskatoon.

The annual event features some key speakers, research presentations and industry updates.

Conference Manager Shannon McArton says key players in the industry have come together to host the event noting this year’s theme is What’s Your Piece of the Puzzle.

She says it coincides with the fact that the conference not only attracts producers but ranchers, cow-calf producers, those in the feedlot sector as well as suppliers to those in the beef sector.

She fills us in on some of the key presentations.

"We got Dr. Joe Schwarz, he's coming from McGill Universtiy, and he has an engaging presentation about demystifying science. Separating sents from non-sents," she said. "Also something we are very much looking forward to is a panel discussion being led by Marty Seymour, from Farm Credit Canada, this is a consumer panel. We want to find out people who are making the buying decisions, what are they basing those decisions on, are they buying beef or are they buying other protein."

At the banquet Murad Al-Katib the 2017 World Entrepreneur of the Year and CEO of AGT Foods is the guest speaker.

McArton says Thursday during the banquet is when they present the Saskatchewan Livestock Associations Honor Scrolls to this year's recipients:

"Janet and the late Dale Blair from Drake, Saskatchewan, Lory and Garner Deobald from Hodgeville, and Glennith and Brain Wheadon from Swift Current, all very well known people in the livestock industry and we're really looking forward to seeing them being honoured."

The event attracts producers, suppliers, buyers, cow-calf and feedlot representatives from across the prairies.