.
Plans are nearly complete 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 Expo 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 Friday afternoon March 19 and continue through Saturday, 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 Friday morning.
Ohio Beef Expo Schedule of Events
Thursday, March 18
3:00 – 6:00 Trade Show open
Friday, March 19
8:00 – Miniature Hereford Show
8:00 – Shorthorn Show
8:30 – 7:00 Trade Show open
9:00 – BEST only Youth BQA
10:00 – Hereford Show
10:00 – 5:00 Genetic Pathway Open
11:00 – Online Feeder Cattle Sale
1:00 – Murray Grey Show
1:00 – Junior Show Showmanship
2:00 – Mini Hereford Sale
4:00 – Red Angus Sale
5:00 – Angus Sale
Saturday, March 20
8:00 – Junior Market Animal Show
8:30 – 7:00 Trade Show open
10:00 – 5:00 Genetic Pathway Open
10:00 – Hereford Sale
11:30 – Shorthorn Sale
1:00 – Simmental Sale
3:00 – Maine Anjou Sale
Sunday, March 21
8:00 – 5:00 Junior Heifer Show
8:30 – 2:00 Trade Show open
10:00 – 1:00 Genetic Pathway Open
The Beef Expo’s trade show has been planned with the goal to provide a retail trade show as close to normal as possible while complying with the state’s health orders. The trade show closing time has been extended until 7:00 p.m. for Thursday-Saturday to accommodate the revised breed sale schedule.
The Ohio Beef Expo Junior Show is the last BEST sanctioned show of the season and has also been reformatted to reduce congestion and provide distancing. It will continue to be held in Cooper Arena with showmanship beginning midday on Friday, March 19. The market animal show will be held on Saturday, March 20. The heifer show will be held on Sunday, March 21 and 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 BEST participants and eligible for the Buckeye Breeders Series program.
The decision has been made to suspend seminars and other large educational events requiring the Beef Expo judging contest, youth quality assurance training and fitting demonstrations to 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.