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FRANKFORT, Ky. — The 20th Kentucky Beef Expo will bring cattle breeders together to show and sell March 3-5 at the Kentucky Fair and Exposition Center in Louisville.
“Through two decades, the Beef Expo keeps getting better and better,” Agriculture Commissioner Richie Farmer said. “It’s not only a showcase for Kentucky’s beef cattle industry, it’s a great opportunity for breeders to improve their seedstock with the best our state has to offer.”
“It’s one of the highlights of the show and sale season,” said John McDonald, beef coordinator for the Kentucky Department of Agriculture’s Division of Show and Fair Promotion. “The genetics, EPDs [Expected Progeny Differences] and quality of the cattle all seem better than in previous years. Artificial breeding has made the shows a lot more competitive.”
Separate shows and sales will be conducted for each of the 11 breeds: Angus, Beefalo, Charolais, Chiangus, Hereford, Limousin, Red Angus, Red Poll, Salers, Shorthorn and Simmental. About 120 head, a significant increase over last year’s 80, are expected for the Pen Heifer Show and Sale for registered or commercial cattle in pens of two or three head.
McDonald is expecting a big turnout of 4-H and FFA members to compete for $11,000 in premiums in the Junior Heifer Show on March 5. The youth cattle judging contest has a new sponsor, Burkmann Mills. The Beef Expo’s popular trade show also will be larger than it was last year.
Record crowds attended the 2005 Beef Expo, which generated total sales of $808,615. The average of $1,713 per head was $218 more than 2004.
The first Kentucky Beef Expo took place in 1987 when the Kentucky Department of Agriculture combined all breed shows and sales to help reduce consignment costs. In a move that sets the event apart from other states, Kentucky lawmakers voted to donate $4,000 annually to each of the 12 breed shows, which is matched by each breed through entry fees, giving each show $8,000 in premiums.
The expo can trace its roots back to 1947, when several breeders came together to form the first Kentucky Angus Sweepstakes. In the late 1950s, Shorthorn and Hereford breeds started their own sales on consecutive weekends following the Angus.
The inaugural Kentucky Angus Sweepstakes attracted more than 100 head. In contrast, last year’s Kentucky Beef Expo saw more than 1,300 head of show heifers, donor prospects and herd bulls pass through the show and sales rings.
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