The Ohio Cattlemen’s Roundup is just a couple months away and will feature a beef and forage night, farm tours, sessions with industry leaders, great food, and time with fellow cattlemen.  The Ohio Cattlemen’s Association (OCA) invites all who have an interest in Ohio’s cattle industry to Jackson County, August 26-27.

This year combines two great events, the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center (OARDC) annual beef and forage program and the OCA Roundup.

Roundup begins Friday evening, August 26, at the Jackson Agricultural Research Station in Jackson. Registration is from 4–5 p.m. and OCA Allied Industry Council (AIC) representatives will be present to talk with cattlemen.

Register by Aug. 15 for the Ohio Cattlemen’s Roundup

Dinner will be served starting at 5 p.m. Following dinner at 6 p.m., the program and tour will feature speakers from Ohio State University and OSU Extension Beef Team Members.

•Justin Kieffer, Clinical Veterinarian, Professional Practice, Assistant Professor from Ohio State University, will discuss the impacts of the upcoming Veterinary Feed Directive that is effective in 2017 and what producers should be doing to plan ahead.

•Scott Payne, JARS Manager and OSU Extension Beef Team Member, will review the management and economic considerations associated with raising replacement females from within the herd.

•Dr. Steve Boyles, OSU Animal Science and OSU Extension Beef Team Member, will address the importance of proper heifer nutrition from weaning through breeding season as a yearling until she calves as a two year old.

•Dr. Tony Parker, OSU Animal Science and OSU Extension Beef Team Member, will review the increased nutritional demands of a first-calf heifer that will allow her to deliver a healthy calf, lactate, rebreed, and continue to mature to her genetic potential. Roundup speakers are sponsored by Farm Credit Mid-America.

At the conclusion of the program Friday, all attendees are invited to attend the Roundup Social at Rowdy’s Smokehouse in Jackson, which will include music, food, drinks, and a shuttle service. The Friday evening social is sponsored by: United Producers, Inc., Boehringer-Ingelheim and Frazier Farms.

Saturday morning registration begins at 7:30 a.m. at the Jackson Agricultural Research Station. Dr. Henry Zerby, chair of the Department of Animal Science with The Ohio State University, will start things off with a department update and introduce new faculty that are focusing on beef cattle research and outreach programs for cattlemen. He will also update attendees on plans for the new OSU beef facilities.

An overview of policy and event updates will be provided by Colin Woodall, Vice President of Government Affairs, National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA). He will provide an election update and discuss the importance of trade and the passage of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) to the beef industry and other issues important to cattle producers.

An auction to benefit the NCBA and OCA Political Action Committees will take place on Saturday morning and will feature Ohio State football tickets and Coach Urban Meyer signed items.

A ribeye steak sandwich lunch will be provided and prepared by the Jackson Co. Cattlemen and is sponsored by Union Stock Yards. Following lunch, attendees will load the buses for the farm tours.

At approximately 4:30 p.m., attendees will return to OARDC and depart for home.

Farms included on the tour are:

•The Spurlock farm located near Oak Hill is operated by father and son, Bob and Tyson Spurlock and their families. The farm was established in 1954 and consists of 650 acres. It features a 175 head cow-calf operation. In addition, the Scurlock’s operate a fertilizer and ag lime business. The farm markets their calves as feeders and purchases only replacement females and bulls. The operation feeds mostly round bales and wet-wrapped hay.

•The Sonny Russ Farm is a family cattle backgrounding operation started in 1970. The farm featured as one of this year’s tour stops is located near Jackson and is predominantly a stocker operation. Each year Russ Farms backgrounds over 1,000 calves and grazes about 750 to 800 stocker calves. They also operate a small cow-calf herd. Their marketing system includes direct marketing, feeder calf sales, and retained ownership. The farm stockpiles fescue to extend their grazing season and uses frost seedings to improve the farm’s forage base.

Registration deadline for this event is Aug. 15. Friday night is $10 per person for OCA members and non-members. The cost on Saturday is $25 for OCA members and $35 for non-members. All registrations at the door will be $35. For more information about the Roundup or to register call the Ohio Cattlemen’s Association at (614) 873-6736 or email [email protected]. A full description of the schedule of events, online registration and a downloadable registration form can also be found at www.ohiocattle.org/Events-and-Programs/roundup.