Performance beef show teaches youth about the industry


Alex Monaghan is director of Jones County ISU Extension and Outreach. (Express file photo)

Performance Beef Carcass Contest winners from the 2021 Great Jones County Fair included, from left: Eldon Kurt, eighth place; Grant Lubben, seventh; Bryce Lynch, sixth and 10th; Callie Lynch, fifth; Katelyn Kurt, fourth; Levi Lynch, third; and Kylie Lynch, first, second and ninth. (Express file photo)
SALUTE TO BEEF AND DAIRY
By: 
Pete Temple
Express Sports/Ag Editor

   When the Jones County Cattlemen and Jones County ISU Extension and Outreach team up to conduct the 4-H/FFA Performance Beef Show June 16 at the Cascade Sale Barn, it will enhance members’ knowledge of the beef industry.

   “It’s a way for the 4-H and FFA members to actually see what the industry is like,” said Emily Velisek, county youth coordinator for ISU Extension. “It builds their knowledge in case they wanted to go back and work for the family farm or work in the industry.”

   The competition involves steers being weighed two times, in December and again at the June 16 show. Denise Schwab, ISU Extension beef specialist, tabulates the rate of gain for each animal.

   On the day of the show, the steers are trailered to the Cascade Sale Barn and led into the show ring.

   “They’re not haltered; they’re loose,” Velisek said. “It’s exactly like any sort of sale in a livestock arena.

   “The judge will look them over, make sure they have the right composition. They will get loaded up, and the cattlemen will take them to a Tyson’s packing plant.”

   There, the carcasses will be judged for the quality of their meat.

   Using a formula that combines rate of gain and the value of the carcass, the animals are judged on retail value per days on feed to determine a champion.

   “It’s not the prettiest animal that wins, it’s the best carcass,” said Jason Kurt, president of the Jones County Cattlemen. “They’re judged on the quality of their meat.”

   The top 10 youth whose animals are selected will be honored and receive plaques at the 4-H/FFA Beef Show during the Great Jones County Fair July 22.

   While the show is under the Extension’s 4-H/FFA umbrella, the JCC is more directly involved.

   “It’s really led by the cattlemen,” said Alex Monaghan, Jones County Extension and Outreach director. “They pretty much set up everything.”

   Velisek agreed: “We’re kind of behind the scenes just getting it set up and preparing for it, and they’re going to be the ones running it. We get all the paperwork done, but they put the show on.”

   Kurt said the show is one of nine of its kind in the State of Iowa.

 

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