Beef

Ohio 4-H Virtual Livestock Judging Contest

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How would you like to participate in a judging contest and gain judging experience from your phone? The contest began on Thursday via Facebook. Each week a class will be posted on the Ohio State – 4-H Animal Sciences Facebook page with a link to fill out your information and placing selections. It is open to participants of all ages and states. The species will include cattle, swine, sheep, and goats.

The rules are simple:

  • It is 100% FREE
  • Participate each week before results are posted
  • The contest is open to all ages
  • Results will be posted at the beginning of each week
  • The contest will run for 6 weeks

Division champions will be selected and are divided as follows:

  • Novice (0-7)
  • Junior (8-11)
  • Intermediate (12-14)
  • Senior (15-18)
  • Advanced (19+)
Check out judgingpro.com for additional species and resources.

Participate every week for a chance to be named the Ohio 4-H Animal Sciences Virtual Judging Champion!

REMINDER: Market Steer / Heifer Weigh-in

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REMINDER: If you’ll be showing at BEST show during December 10 weigh-in, reach out to Ian and Kody ASAP for alternative date / time details!

2023 Market Steer / Heifer Exhibitors…
It’s time to get your steer / heifer registered for WEIGH-IN, which will be held Saturday, December 10 (8:00-11:00 a.m.) at the Fairgrounds. Details noted below… Register ONLINE by 1:00 p.m. on Friday, December 9: https://go.osu.edu/2023HartfordWeighIn

Additional information on showing Market Steer/Heifer at the Hartford Fair, as well as the Ohio State Fair (including information on DNA packets) can be found HERE.

Please be sure to review all information to insure you don’t miss any dates/requirements!

Market Steer and Heifers Weigh-In for 2023

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Members who are planning to take a Market Steer or Heifer project to the Hartford Fair in 2023 must bring their animal(s) to the Tagging / Weigh-In on Saturday, December 10, 2022. Tagging / Weigh-in will take place from 8:00am to 11:00am that day in the west end of Grubb Arena at the Hartford Fairgrounds. Youth planning to bring steers or heifers to the weigh-in MUST pre-register their animals online by NO LATER THAN 1:00pm on Friday, December 9, 2022 at: go.osu.edu/2023HartfordWeighIn.

Additional information on showing Market Steer/Heifer at the Hartford Fair, as well as the Ohio State Fair (including information on DNA packets) can be found HERE.

Please be sure to review all information to insure you don’t miss any dates/requirements!

 

BVD Testing Required for OCA’s BEST Program

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A new rule regarding Bovine Viral Diarrhea (BVD) persistent infection (PI) status will be applied to the 2022-23 Ohio Cattlemen’s Association’s (OCA) Beef Exhibitor Show Total (BEST) program. All cattle (BEST and non-BEST) (in-state and out-of-state) must have a negative BVD test to exhibit at any OCA BEST sanctioned show.

BVD is a respiratory and reproductive virus that wreaks havoc on cattle’s immune systems and their ability to bore calves. It can be passed on to calves at birth and has variable symptoms. The key to ensuring the health of a herd is to spot the signs of BVD early and cut off contact between healthy and infected livestock.

Like declaring a breed at the first sanctioned show, proof of a negative BVD PI test MUST be provided at the next BEST sanctioned show immediately following the first BEST show the animal attended, whether or not you plan to exhibit cattle at the show. Failure to do so will result in the animal being dropped from the BEST point standings and the program. Additionally, any showmanship points garnered with the animal will be forfeited.

A BVD PI test is a one-time test good for the life of the animal. Schedule the BVD PI test with enough lead time to receive the test results prior to a BEST show. A lead time of at least two weeks is recommended prior to the first show. If purchasing show animals, ask your seller if the animal has had a BVD PI test.

Acceptable tests include and are limited to: Immunohistochemistry (IHC) on skin, Antigen-capture ELISA (ACE) on serum (blood test) or skin, Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) on whole blood, serum or skin. Animals must be individually tested and individually identified. Pooled testing is acceptable only if documentation is provided that the animal was specifically included in the pool and that the pool contained no more than seven animals.

The OCA BEST Committee will be working with local jackpot shows and county cattlemen’s associations to offer BVD testing ahead of the BEST show season to reduce the cost of the test for exhibitors and to streamline BEST check-in procedures. More information on these tests is available at www.ohiocattle.org/best or by calling the OCA office at 614-873-6736. If unable to attend one of the pre-season testing opportunities, your local veterinarian may perform one of the approved BVD tests.

For more information on testing, refer to the complete BVD rule included within the OCA BEST rules for 2022-2023 and available on the OCA website www.ohiocattle.org/best

BEEF 509 Program

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The long-running BEEF 509 program, hosted by the Ohio Cattlemen’s Foundation (OCF), will be back in 2023. This educational opportunity will be held on Feb. 25 and March 4 and will be co-hosted by the Ohio State University (OSU) Meat Science Extension and sponsored by the Ohio Beef Council (OBC).

BEEF 509 is an educational program designed to teach cattle producers about the food side of their business and how to utilize best management practices to improve beef quality and enhance profitability while learning about value within the beef chain.

It is designed for beef cattle producers, allied industry personnel including chefs and beef salespersons, veterinarians, teachers, Extension personnel and college students to learn more about the value of beef. Program participants learn about the importance of producing a more consistent and high-quality beef product through a series of hands-on lessons presented by various meat science faculty, staff and graduate students.

Participants are divided into teams, taught live animal evaluation, grid pricing systems, allowed to select live cattle through an “auction-like” setting and then follow those cattle through harvest, grading and a hands-on cutting session which provides participants with the opportunity to experience first-hand the differences encountered in carcass composition. The resulting information is then evaluated in terms of the value differences calculated between animals and how that translates back to value differences in the live animals that are not typically relayed to the producer under a traditional beef marketing scenario.

Topics for the event will include live cattle evaluation, beef harvesting procedures & innovations, carcass aging, grid pricing, beef industry updates, taste panel & shear force evaluation, genetic & environmental carcass merit factors, beef carcass grading & fabrication, live carcass & boxed-beef valuations and a Beef Quality Assurance certification will be earned.

A maximum of 30 program spaces will be available on a first-come, first-served basis. BEEF 509 will be held on consecutive Saturdays and it will be critical to attend each Saturday as participants will be assigned to teams that will work together for both days of the program. The live animal evaluation, grid pricing discussion and auction will take place on the first Saturday. Carcass grading and fabrication are among the activities planned for the second Saturday.

The program will run from approximately 8:30 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. each Saturday and will take place at the OSU Animal Sciences Building located at 2029 Fyffe Road, Columbus, Ohio 43210. Registration is $175 per person and the deadline to register is Jan. 5, 2023.

For more information or to register for BEEF 509 visit www.ohiocattle.org/foundation or contact the OCF office at 614-873-6736.

IMPORTANT: Required Livestock Forms for Hartford Fair

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Hartford Junior Fair Livestock and Equine exhibitors have online forms that will be due before they bring their animals to the fair. Please note below which forms are required for each species and the deadline for each form. Most species must have their forms completed by 11:59p.m. on Friday, August 5, 2022. The only exception to this is Market Hogs. Market Hogs will complete their forms after the Hartford Fair tag is placed in their hog’s ear on August 6th and before 10:00am on August 7th. Instructions will be displayed throughout the Swine Complex. All MARKET ANIMALS must have forms completed in order to be allowed to weigh-in on the fairgrounds – no exceptions.

DUNF: https://go.osu.edu/2022HartfordDUNF (all market animals)

UPI Form: https://go.osu.edu/ProducerForm2022  (market steer / heifer, market goat, market lamb, dairy feeders)