About CANC

The California Animal Nutrition Conference (CANC) originated in the 1940s as the California Animal Industry Conference, sponsored by the California Grain & Feed Association (CGFA). CGFA wanted to expand the continuing education program into a forum encompassing animal health, nutrition, and management. The expectations were that communications between (nutritionist) industry, educational institutions, and regulatory agencies would be improved. In 1972, CGFA discontinued sponsoring the Animal Industry Conference.

After the conference was discontinued, a small group of nutritionists began meeting annually in Fresno. Two or three invited speakers from industry or universities presented information on nutrition, especially poultry.

In 1975 a set of organizational bylaws were developed by the steering committee. CANC was established and was provided support by CGFA. The CGFA Board of Directors appointed a chairperson annually and approved the steering committee. In 1978, Dr. Frank Parks, the Chairperson, requested that CANC be granted independent status and be established as a self-governing committee of CGFA. This request was granted.

For a few years, meetings were held in Fresno and Corona, California. For a couple of years starting in 1978, CANC published “Nutri-Facts,” a “newsletter” consisting of articles on animal production.

In 1979, donations were requested from industry companies to help keep registration fees low. During the 1980s and through the 1990s attendance at CANC continued to grow as the quality of the conference improved and the conference became known nationwide. In the 1990s a pre-symposium was added. The pre-symposium is sponsored by a company selected by the CANC Steering Committee and this process allows the selected company to showcase its research and products. In the year 2000, posters on research by students were included.

Attendance at the conference has grown from 50 in the 1970s to over 300 attendees. To encourage attendance, different activities have been tried such as keynote speakers, skiing expeditions, and a very successful barbeque dinner put on by the Animal Science Department at California State University, Fresno.

The California Grain & Feed Association has supported and allowed CANC to work and grow. The premise of the CGFA and CANC relationship is to work together to educate the feed industry with information for problem-solving and to disseminate valuable research information. CANC is not an industry, university, or government entity, but a committee collectively working together for the good of agriculture in California.