The future leaders of Canada's beef industry can get a helping hand from the current leaders of the sector through a mentorship program organized by the Canadian Cattlemen's Association and other industry partners.

The Cattlemen's Young Leaders Program pairs people under the age of 35 with mentors in businesses and industry organizations to get a chance to learn more about the industry and how it works.

As an example, Canadian Western Agribition has joined as a future mentor in the program, and some representatives from CYL were in attendance at the farm show in Regina this week.

"The great thing about this mentorship is it's up to the mentee to take the lead and learn. It's something where you don't necessarily have a goal in mind, but it's generally well-rounded learning and wherever you take it is up to you," says current mentee Jeff Yorga, one of the participants at Agribition.

Yorga is partnered with Chantelle Donahue of Cargill.

"She's done a fantastic job of explaining their business and given me the opportunity to meet a lot of the decision makers in their business," he says.

Mentees are also given a yearly budget of $2,000 to participate in a number of industry events, including the International Livestock Congress, the Beef Value Chain Roundtable meetings, and the Canadian Cattlemen's Association's annual and semi-annual meetings.

Applications are being accepted for the 2013-14 CYL program.