MARYSVILLE, Ohio — Planning is underway for the Ohio Cattlemen’s Association’s (OCA) 2021 Ohio Beef Expo scheduled for March 18-21 at the Ohio Expo Center in Columbus.
Maintaining a safe environment while providing participants with the critical necessity to continue essential farm income are the objectives driving all decisions for the event. Accomplishing these goals has required the Beef Expo to reformat several elements to comply with the current COVID-related state health orders.
The seven seedstock sales have been changed to reduce the number of buyers in one area and scheduled for one sale at a time, utilizing only one sale ring in the Voinovich building.
The sales will start March 19 and continue through March 20. Most sales will also provide potential buyers with an optional online bidding opportunity. In addition, the online feeder cattle sale will continue at a new time on the morning of March 19.
The Beef Expo’s trade show is being planned and exhibitor information will be available at the expo’s website or by contacting OCA staff contact Bailey Eberhart at beberhart@ohiocattle.org.
The committee is working with state and local officials to explore all options for its continuation. Currently, the trade show closing time has been extended until 7 p.m. for Thursday through Saturday to accommodate the revised breed sale schedule.
Plans continue to host the popular Ohio Beef Expo Genetic Pathway for participants to purchase the industry’s best semen and embryos for the 2021 breeding season.
The Ohio Beef Expo Junior Show has been reformatted to reduce congestion and provide distancing. It will continue to be held in Cooper Arena with showmanship beginning midday on March 19. The market animal show will be March 20. The heifer show will be March 21 and will still provide the opportunity for juniors to purchase heifers in Saturday’s Expo sales and enter them to show in the junior show the following day.
Both the market animal show and the heifer show will include an additional breed division drive for registered cattle who are Beef Exhibitor Show Total (BEST) participants and eligible for the Buckeye Breeders Series program.
The decision has been made to suspend seminars and other large educational events, meaning that the Beef Expo judging contest, youth quality assurance training and fitting demonstrations will be discontinued for 2021.
A smaller beef quality assurance certification will be held for BEST participants only. The Beef Expo judging contest is one of the OCA BEST program’s stockmanship contests. The BEST committee is currently evaluating options to schedule another judging contest in conjunction with a different BEST show weekend to replace Expo’s event or to reduce the number of stockmanship contests for 2021.
Details regarding the 2021 Ohio Beef Expo are subject to change pending current state health orders related to the COVID-19 pandemic. For more information on the 2021 Ohio Beef Expo, contact OCA at cattle@ohiocattle.org, 614-873-6736 or visit ohiobeefexpo.com.
