MARYSVILLE, Ohio — The Ohio Cattlemen’s Association will hold its Cattlemen’s Roundup in Jackson County, Ohio, Aug. 26-27.
The Roundup will be combined with the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center’s annual beef and forage program.
It will feature a beef and forage night, farm tours, sessions with industry leaders, food and time with fellow cattlemen. The Roundup begins Friday evening, Aug. 26, at the Jackson Agricultural Research Station in Jackson.
Registration will be held from 4-5 p.m. and OCA Allied Industry Council (AIC) representatives will be present to talk with cattlemen. Dinner will be served at 5 p.m.
Expert speakers
Following dinner, the program and tour will feature speakers from Ohio State University and OSU Extension Beef Team members. Justin Kieffer, clinical veterinarian and assistant professor at OSU, will discuss the impacts of the upcoming veterinary feed directive that becomes effective in 2017, and what producers should be doing to plan ahead.
Scott Payne, JARS Manager and OSU Extension Beef Team Member, will review the management and economic considerations associated with raising replacement females from within the herd.
Dr. Steve Boyles, OSU Animal Science and OSU Extension Beef Team member, will address the importance of proper heifer nutrition from weaning through breeding season as a yearling until she calves as a two year old.
Nutritional needs
Lastly, Dr. Tony Parker, OSU Animal Science and OSU Extension Beef Team member, will review the increased nutritional demands of a first-calf heifer that will allow her to deliver a healthy calf, lactate, rebreed, and continue to mature to her genetic potential.
At the conclusion of the program Friday, all attendees are invited to attend the Roundup social at Rowdy’s Smokehouse.
Saturday morning registration begins at 7:30 a.m. at the Jackson Agricultural Research Station.
Facility update
Dr. Henry Zerby, Chair of OSU’s Department of Animal Sciences, will start things off with a department update and introduce new faculty that are focusing on beef cattle research and outreach programs for cattlemen. He will also update attendees on plans for the new OSU beef facilities.
An overview of policy and event updates will be provided by Colin Woodall, vice president of government affairs for the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association. He will provide an election update and discuss the importance of trade and the passage of the Trans-Pacific Partnership.
An auction to benefit the NCBA and OCA Political Action Committees will take place on Saturday morning and will feature Ohio State football tickets and Coach Urban Meyer signed items.
Attend the tours:
Farm tours will be held Aug. 27, following lunch. At approximately 4:30 p.m., attendees will return to OARDC and depart for home. Farms included on the tour are:
The Spurlock farm. Located near Oak Hill, this farm is operated by father and son, Bob and Tyson Spurlock and their families. The farm was established in 1954 and consists of 650 acres. It features a 175-head cow-calf operation.
The Sonny Russ Farm is a family cattle backgrounding operation started in 1970. The farm is located near Jackson and is predominantly a stocker operation. Each year, Russ Farms backgrounds more than 1,000 calves and grazes about 750 to 800 stocker calves. They also operate a small cow-calf herd. Their marketing system includes direct marketing, feeder calf sales, and retained ownership.
Registration deadline is Aug. 15. The cost for Aug. 26 is $10 per person for OCA members and non-members. The cost on Saturday, Aug. 27, is $25 for OCA members and $35 for non-members.
All registrations at the door will be $35. For more information, call 614-873-6736, or email beef@ohiobeef.org. A full description of the schedule and registration forms are available at www.ohiocattle.org/Events-and-Programs/roundup