The Houston Rodeo is a Meeting Place for Cattle Barons Around the World

Above the arena where bull riders and major musical acts perform, movers and shakers in the livestock business have a place of their own where business gets done.

By Michael MarksMarch 15, 2017 12:06 pm,

The world-renowned Houston Rodeo is in full swing. This week, artists like Demi Lovato and Willie Nelson will take the stage in the Bayou City. But the main attraction – from a business sense, at least – will be far from center stage.

In a cushy room at NRG Stadium, cattle buyers and sellers from all over the world meet to do business.

Lydia Depilis, with the Houston Chronicle, says the International Committee Salon is on the second floor of the NRG center. It’s open to people coming from outside the United States that have some agricultural business in Houston.

The room contains couches, art and tables to keep patrons comfortable. Food and alcohol are served by some of the hundreds of committee’s volunteers.   

“What they’re doing is providing hospitality to the folks here from abroad to just make their experience really nice,” Depilis says.

What you’ll hear in this segment:

– How many people are involved in the international committee

– What the room has to offer

– What type of beef cattle is at the center of the trades that go on in the room