Spreading the word about beef
Comments (...)The first thing I want to do is thank Jeannine May for writing this column for the past couple of years. She did a fine job but is now going back to school. Good luck and thanks again.
What a year 2011 was for cattle prices, and it is continuing in early 2012! Record prices for calves, cows and fat cattle. Here’s hoping everyone has a successful year for the rest of 2012.
In order to help cattlemen to be as good as they can be, the Illinois Beef Association and University of Illinois Extension have scheduled several meetings. Here is the schedule:
• Feb. 7: Beef cow/calf meeting, 4:30 to 8:30 p.m., Black Hawk East.
• Feb. 23: Bureau County Cattleman Annual Banquet, 6:30 p.m., Wise Guys. Call Mike Thacker, 815-379-2481, for tickets, which are $12.50 per person.
• Feb. 23-26: Illinois Beef Expo at the Illinois State Fairgrounds. The Performance Tested Bull Sale is Feb. 23.
• March 2: The Future of Midwest Cattle Feeding, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sauk Valley Community College.
• March 6: Beef Quality Assurance meeting and qualification. 5:30 p.m. at IVCC.
The meetings are for producers who want the latest and best methods for feeding and caring for their cattle. Veterinarians and University of Illinois Extension feeding and grazing specialists will be the presenters. For more information, log onto the Illinois Beef Association website or contact your local Extension office.
Another website worth checking out is www.watchusgrow.org. This website features farm families telling their stories to the consumer. One of the Illinois Farm Families featured is Mike and Lynn Mantz. The Mantzes run a grain and cattle operation near Maple Park. They were the featured speakers at last week’s Bureau County Farm Bureau annual meeting. They shared the many experiences they have had meeting people during the five tours they gave in 2011. The most rewarding experience was having “field moms” from Chicago visit their operation and to answer their questions concerning the raising and feeding of beef cattle. You can follow these and other tours on the website.
The Mantzes are great examples of farmers promoting animal agriculture and correcting “farm myths” that many urban consumers have about farmers today.
We, as agricultural producers, need to be doing more of this sort of thing. As I have stated before in past columns, we need to reconnect with our urban partners. The Illinois Beef Association is proud to have Mike and Lynn Mantz as members.
Local promotion of beef has taken a small step as Sullivan’s Foods has allowed the Illinois Beef Association to put up a large Beef Cuts poster and a beef recipe rack. Thank you for your support, Sullivan’s Foods.
As always, have a safe and successful late winter and early spring. Be careful out there, and remember: “Beef, It’s What’s for Dinner.”
I would like all of you to keep the executive secretary of the Illinois Beef Association, Maralee Johnson, in your prayers. She has an inoperable brain tumor. She is taking radiation and chemotherapy treatment and is in good spirits. Please remember her.
Larry Magnuson is a cow/calf producer south of Tiskilwa and is a dues director on the Illinois Beef Association Board.
Comments
Total Comments 0 View/Add Comments |
There have been no comments made about this story. |
