The 2012 Beef Tour will be held on Saturday, Aug. 25, in the Mount Vernon, Mo., area. The tour will begin 12:30 p.m. at Darrel Franson’s Shiloh Land & Cattle Company, 9235 Lawrence 1180, Mount Vernon.

The tour is conducted in the manner of a “progressive supper,” with groups beginning at the first stop, listening to presentations from the owner and other related guest speakers, then progressing to the other locations. The tour will conclude with a complimentary beef dinner at the last stop, the University of Missouri Southwest Research Center.

The 2012 Beef Tour is the 16th annual tour sponsored by the MU Extension Commercial Agriculture Program (CA), under the direction of Rex Ricketts.

Owner-operators featured on the 2012 tour include Darrel Franson of Shiloh Land & Cattle Company; Jackie Moore of Jackie Moore Ranch; Scynthia and Dustin Schnake of Schnake Ranch; and Clif and Alice Harrington of Avery Harrington, a Partnership.

Darrel Franson will demonstrate his rolling pasture grazing procedure and talk about the philosophy behind his grazing focus operation. “I’m a grass farmer,” Franson says. “The calf is the means by which I get my grass to market.”

Attendees will learn about Moore’s young calf operation and his controlled experiments with various supplemental feeds.

The Schnakes and the Harringtons will offer attendees a look at an operation dependent upon a leasing agreement. They will share their experience in devising a lease that was beneficial to both parties and offer advice on what they consider the “keys to success” in a lease agreement.

Researchers at the Southwest Research Center and guest speakers will update visitors on their progress with various forages such as novel endophyte-infected fescues, and demonstrate their RFI program. Other anticipated guest speakers at the cattle operations or Southwest Center will address the importance of vaccinations and nutrition, and examine the cause (heredity or environment) of slick and hairy coats.

For more information, contact Eldon Cole at [email protected], 417 466-3102; Andy McCorkill at [email protected], 417 345-7551; or Justin Sexten at [email protected], 573 882-8154.