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Events showcase skills that take cattle from pasture to plate
Published 5/29/2010 in Beef Empire Days
By RACHAEL GRAY
In order for cattle to go from pasture to plate, a number of people are involved every step of the way.
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Brad Nading/Telegram Nicole O'Dell runs the shoot for a team from L9 Cattle Company, Scott City, Friday during the Beef Empire Days Cattle Working Contest at the Finney County Fairgrounds.
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Brad Nading/Telegram Micaila Loke, 10, right, ponders how to answer a question on a pen of cattle Wednesday as her mom, Shari, and brother, Jonathan, 12, fill out their entries in the Beef Empire Days Livestock Judging contest for 4-H members and adults at the Finney county Fairgrounds. The pair of youngsters are members of Finney County's Wide Awake 4-H club.
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Laurie Sisk/Telegram Cattle make their way from the holding area during the Beef Empire Days Live Show on Wednesday morning at the Finney County Fairgrounds.
Beef Empire Days provides a number of events to demonstrate this process. From cowboy competitions to beef judging, the public can see what the beef is all about.
To demonstrate how cowboys work the herd, the Beef Empire Days committee presents the Ranch Rodeo, an event that will feature a competition of cowboys performing typical skills used in every day cattle ranching operations.
The event is scheduled for 7 p.m. Thursday at the Finney County Fairgrounds Grandstand Arena.
Bobby Nix, a coordinator of the event, said the public will enjoy the show.
"They can come out and actually see what happens on a ranch. What these guys do, they don't often get to see," he said.
Nix said some differences exist between working at a feedlot and working at a ranch because cattle at feedlots are in closer proximity than when they are pastured at ranches.
"A lot of the guys around here understand feedlot operations, but people can see typical ranch operations in this event," he said.
He said feedlots often use more pens and chutes, and ranch cowboys do everything from on top of a horse and do a lot of roping in their jobs.
The ranch rodeo will combine roping, horsemanship and groundwork skills. The event is a team event, which will consist of four members, with up to 15 teams. Events are calf branding, team doctoring, double mugging, trailer loading and team penning.
Entry forms are available by contacting the Beef Empire Days office at 275-6807.
The Ranch Rodeo is one of many events dedicated to the beef industry.
Another event that will feature cattle working is the Cattle Working Contest, scheduled for 3:30 p.m. Friday at the Finney County Fairgrounds Grandstand Arena. The event is open to all area processing crews and will provide an opportunity to learn the newest trends and test the latest equipment. Entry forms also are available by contacting the BED office.
Beef Empire Days also offers a variety of judging events, including ones in which the public can test their knowledge of beef, or sit back and watch as experts decide the best.
The Animal Health Live Show is scheduled to begin at noon Wednesday, and will be the final judging of the top steers and heifers.
This year's judge will be Dr. Randy Harp, associate professor of animal science at Tarleton State University.
The public will be able to judge from the grandstands as participants can inspect cattle throughout the morning at the east end of the grandstand. Judging will be based on estimating the yield and quality grades of the cattle.
The Beef Empire Days awards banquet, presented by Farm Credit of Southwest Kansas and Pfizer Animal Health, is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. June 5 with the Cargill Animal Nutrition Social Hour at the Clarion Inn Ballroom. The awards banquet will follow. Guests will be served western Kansas beef. Awards for the Live and Carcass shows will be presented, as well as awards for the Cattle Working Contest, Ranch Rodeo and the Mary M. Hopkins Award for Volunteer Service. The Beef Empire Days academic scholarship recipients will be recognized, along with the Southwest Kansas Cattlewomen academic scholarship winner. After the awards, guests are invited to view the carcasses and participate in the Carcass Evaluation Contest at Tyson Fresh Meats Inc., scheduled to begin at 9 that night. The 10 carcasses from the live judging contest will be available for judging in men's, women's and youth divisions. Prizes will be awarded to each class.
Beef Empire Days once again has an expert on hand for carcass judging at Tyson Fresh Meats. Dr. Tom Carr, professor in the department of animal sciences at the University of Illinois, will be the Carcass Show judge Friday at Tyson Fresh Meats. The judging will begin Friday morning and continue throughout the day at the Holcomb plant.
Carr is an active member in the American Meat Science Association. He has served as director, RMC chairman, president elect and past president.
The carcasses are judged based on the Beef Empire Days Index. The index involves a variety of factors, including the monetary value of the carcass to the industry, along with the quality grade and yield grade. The yield grade is the amount of muscle cutability. The quality grade indicates the eating satisfaction of the meat. It is set by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and helps assess a market value.
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