The Ohio Cattlemen's Association's Roundup will take place on Friday, Aug. 22 and Saturday, Aug. 23, 2008. The event, hosted by the Crawford County Cattleman's Association and sponsored by Farm Credit Services, is a chance to learn about the latest news in the beef industry. The program includes a weekend with an informational session with speakers from the cattle industry and a day tour of selected beef operations in Crawford County. OCA extends a warm invitation to all who have an interest in Ohio's cattle industry to attend.

The Roundup officially begins at 5 p.m. with Ohio Cattlemen's Association and Ohio CattleWomen's Association membership meetings at the Crawford County Fairgrounds. Attendees will hear an update on current OCA programs and activities. At 5:30 p.m. Gregg Doud, Chief Economist for the National Cattlemen's Beef Association will address the crowd. Doud manages top-level economic and international trade policy issues for the beef industry in Washington, D.C. A dinner sponsored by United Producers will follow Doud.

Trent Loos, a nationally known agricultural activist and sixth generation farmer, will be the evening's final speaker. His radio program "Loos Tales" is heard by 3 million listeners on nearly 100 radio stations daily. Loos travels the country to unearth stories about the people involved in the many different facets of production agriculture and to spread the good word about food producers in the United States.

Saturday's events kick off at 7:30 a.m. with breakfast at the fairgrounds. Attendees will then depart on buses for farm tours or the optional women's tour. This year's tours feature six Crawford County beef operations.

The first stop will be Glen Feichtner's operation that is operated by Glen and Deb Feichtner. The operation feeds 250 to 300 head of cattle per year as well as farms 930 acres.

The next stop on the tour will be Wagner Farms, operated by Robert, Mary, Larry, Tom and Dick and families. The operation calves 60 to 70 cows annually and feeds calves to a market weight of 1,100 to 1,400 pounds and markets them through the Ohio Signature Beef program.

From there participants will visit Hord Livestock, which is managed and operated by Duane and Patrick Hord. The operation that originally began with a hog and crop focus now feeds 275 head of cattle and is currently constructing a hoop barn feedlot.

Paradise Knoll and Paradise Corner Farm, owned and operated by Don Lohr and sons Andy and Bryan and families, are two of the featured stops. The operations intensively grazes 100 head of cows, keeps 10 to 12 replacement heifers annually and feeds the remaining steers and heifers.

MKB Farms is the last stop which is owned by Mike and Brenda Kocher and their family. The farm consists of 2,100 acres of corn, soybeans, wheat and hay and they finish 225 head of cattle annually in two locations.

Lunch will take place at the Crawford County fairgrounds in between the morning and afternoon tours and will feature a Crawford County Cattlemen's Steak Fry with all the trimmings. After the meal a NCBA PAC fundraiser will be held and the crowd will hear from Steve Foglesong, NCBA's Vice President. Foglesong operates a cow-calf, stocker, feedlot and replacement heifer development program in Illinois.

The day will wrap up with an early evening hamburger fry at the Crawford County Fairgrounds, where attendees can pick up their vehicles and grab a hamburger for the road.

Registration deadline for this event is Aug. 10, 2008, and the cost is $35 for OCA members and $50 for non-OCA members. All registrations at the door will be $50. For more information about the Roundup or to register call the Ohio Cattlemen's Association at (614) 873-6736 or visit the Web site at www.ohiocattle.org.