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Beef Empire Days begins with Live ShowBy Jennifer M. Latzke Sunshine and warm breezes ushered in the 2010 Beef Empire Days, June 2, in Garden City, Kan. The annual event kicked off with the 2010 Live Show, a contest to evaluate fed heifers and steers from feedlots across southwest Kansas. Judge Randy Harp evaluated the live classes this year. Harp is a professor of animal science at Tarleton State University in Stephenville, Texas, and has been a carcass judge at Beef Empire Days in the past. "I look for that middle-of-the-road animal that hits the premiums," Harp said. "It's hard to see underneath the skin, so you have to guesstimate how that animal will do." This year's first place live heifer was No. 528, a Charolais crossbred entered by Lane County Feeders, Inc., of Dighton, Kan. No. 528 was owned by Lane County Feeders and Bolinger Farms and weighed 1,305 pounds. "We pulled her out of the pen on Monday," said Derek Martin of Lane County Feeders. "I have to give credit to the guys riding pens, Bruce Huber and Keith Casey. They picked her out and put her with the others we brought here." Martin said No. 528 came out of Missouri and did really well in the feedyard this year, despite the difficult winter. On the rail, No. 528 had a carcass weight of 782 pounds, with a Low Choice grade and 3.32 Yield Grade. Placing second in the heifer division was No. 543, a black heifer entered and owned by Heritage Feeders Sublette. No. 543 weighed 1,215 pounds live. On the rail, No. 543 had a carcass weight of 817 pounds and placed 25th in the Carcass Contest, with a Low Choice grade and a 2.02 Yield Grade. In the steer division, Brookover Feedyard and Brookover Land Enterprise had the first place steer, No. 149, which weighed 1,412 pounds live. In the Carcass Contest, No. 149 had a carcass weight of 869 pounds and graded High Select, with a Yield Grade of 2.32. Triangle H and Joe Mayer had the second place steer, No. 174, which weighed 1,422 pounds live. This black Angus steer had a carcass weight of 899 pounds, and graded Choice, with a Yield Grade of 3.58. Once the live show wrapped up, cattle were immediately loaded and shipped to the Tyson Foods, Inc., plant in nearby Holcomb for harvest. Harp's colleague, Tom Carr, a professor of animal science at the University of Illinois, judged the carcass show this year. Carr is no stranger to Beef Empire Days, having served as a live show judge and carcass show judge in years past. "They'll harvest these on second shift today," Carr said. "Should come out sometime tonight, and after chilling I'll be able to evaluate Friday." Over the years, Carr added, Beef Empire Days has developed a carcass index that is used to sort carcasses based on yield and quality grades. "I'll look for factors important to USDA grade," he said. Those include carcass maturity, color of lean, amount and distribution of marbling and the firmness and texture of the carcass. "I try to select a moderate-sized frame," Carr said. He tends to judge carcasses on characteristics that packers place a premium on. "We look for uniformity; you're trying to identify an animal that will fit in the production scheme, from the wholesaler to the retailer," he said. The Beef Empire Days show is unique among livestock competitions, Carr said. Evaluating cattle off-halter and recognizing feedlots for their work is what makes the show so special, he said. This year's show boasted 77 steers and 51 heifers, down a bit from years past, said Darin Foster, executive director of Beef Empire Days. To encourage entry numbers, the event coordinators decided to push the competition to later in the day. Additionally, they changed the Beef Empire Days Index to show what's more desirable for end producers, putting more emphasis on back fat and quality grade to reward the kind of cattle packers are being paid more for at the retail level, Foster said. Despite lower entry numbers, sponsorship and volunteer participation is as high as ever. "This is the only show like this, and I don't think many people understand if they aren't directly involved in a feedyard or a packing plant just how important the industry is to this community and this part of the state," Foster said. Jennifer M. Latzke can be reached by phone at 620-227-1807, or by e-mail at jlatzke@hpj.com.
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