Air February 26, 2003

Thank you Gary, and good morning everyone. Grain Sorghum meetings February 27th, this Thursday, in Marysville - call me for details. Compared to southern Kansas, we either dodged a bullet, or missed the boat, on heavy snowfall this weekend. While we might have liked the moisture, I don’t think there’s a rancher or cattleman out there that relishes the idea of checking cows and calves in ten inches of wet cold snow. But after a fairly snow free winter, it is a good reminder that March invariably brings us at least one good winter storm. Are you prepared for dealing with cows, calves and snowy weather? Make sure you have your plan and preparations in place.... Just in case.

The winter is flying by and the annual Kansas State University’s Cattleman’s Day is coming up a week from Friday, March 7th. This will be the 90th annual Cattleman's Day and as they say, the tradition just keeps growing. While the schedule is much the same as in past years, there is a change from recent years on the location. This year Cattleman's Day is going back to campus and will be held in Weber Hall and Weber Arena. The registration will start at 8 pm with coffee and donuts and a variety of innovative, consumer friendly (quoting from the brochure now) value added beef products. Naturally there’s always the trade show and lots of educational exhibits. The morning program will start at 10 AM with some quick reports of current research in the areas of production management, technology and information management, beef products and beef security/biosafety, a current hot topic. Featured presentations following this include tailoring beef products to consumer preferences and cattle and beef marketing strategies. I don’t think that these two topics were put together by random chance. Today’s beef producer needs to be in touch with what the consumer wants. We are seeing more value added, ready to go products at the meat counter and producers who can help the trade meet that consumer demand are the ones who are going to be receiving the bonuses. The afternoon session has more topics covered than I have time to tell you about. But they would be well worth your time. Call me if you have any questions, but make sure you plan to attend Cattleman's Day, 2003!

This is Chuck Otte, Geary County Extension Agent, with Ag Outlook 2003.

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