March 2017 - Vol. 5  Issue 3 
The official newsletter of the Kentucky Cattlemen's Association, Kentucky Beef Council and the Kentucky Beef Network.
Features
KCA assisting in Midwest Fire Relief 

The Kentucky Cattlemen's Association continues to send our thoughts and prayers to the ranching communities affected by the devastating fires throughout the Midwest last week. There is an immediate need for fencing supplies in these areas. The following includes various relief efforts throughout Kentucky to support those ranchers.
 
Hayden Farms - Daviess County
Daniel Hayden will be taking donations of fencing  supplies and will make the delivery on  Thursday, March 16th. You can contact Daniel at (270) 570-2815 if you would like to coordinate a drop-off with him.
 
Clark County
The Southern States of Winchester will be collecting fencing donations at their store located at 
21 Pendleton St, Winchester, KY 40391. They will be delivering their received donations on Monday, March 20th. You can contact the Southern States store at (859) 744-3313 or contact Mike Stokley at 859-771-9195.
 
Breckinridge County
The Breckinridge County Extension Service will be collecting fencing donations at their office located at 1377 S Hwy 261, Hardinsburg, KY 40143. You can also drop-off donations at the Hancock, Daviess, Webster, and Ohio County Extension Offices, which will then be delivered to Breckinridge County. They will be delivering the donations they receive on Friday, March 24th. You can contact Bobby Bell at (270) 547-8547 or Evan Tate at 270-668-3167.
 
Monetary donations can also be sent to the Kentucky Cattlemen's Association office located at 176 Pasadena Drive, Lexington, KY 40503.  Checks can be made payable to Kentucky Cattlemen's Foundation. Please note Disaster Fund - Wildfire in the memo line on the check.

For the most updated information on relief efforts within the effected regions, visit NCBA's site at  www.beefusa.org/firereliefresources.aspx.

Participate in Beef Industry Sustainability Survey
There is still time to participate in the beef-industry sustainability survey. To learn more about regional data collection and to see what the data collection results look like once they are aggregated, please read "Why is regional data collection important for sustainability research?" and "Characteristics of Beef Cattle Operations in Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas."  By looking at regional practices and incorporating that information into the study, the research will be more representative and we will be better able to tell the beef story through sound science.  To accomplish this goal we need help from you, beef producers!
 
We are asking cow-calf and stocker operators to complete this 15-minute survey. All results will be confidential and will not be traceable to the individual operation.
 
We are asking feedyard and backgrounder operators to complete this 25-minute survey. All results will be confidential and will not be traceable to the individual operation.
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/FeederBackgrounder. 

Checkin' On the Checkoff
Cast Your Vote in the Derby Burger Challenge!
 
Voting for the 2017 Derby Burger will conclude on Thursday, March 16th!  Visit  www.kdf.org/beef to vote  for the 8 finalists and their  tasty burger recipes. Those votes will help narrow it down to the final four Derby Burger contestants who will then move on to the cook-off.  The finalists will then be required to provide four (4) samples of their burgers for live tasting by the contest judges.  Louisville area Kroger stores will feature the winning recipe. The winning burger can also be sampled at Beerfest on Wednesday, May 3. 

Watch the video to the left to get tips from KBC's own Alison Smith on how to prepare the perfect burger!

Consumer Rebrand 

In mid-February, the Beef Council conducted a series of focus groups in Lexington and Louisville to gauge how Kentuckians relate to brand claims about beef. This "positioning exploration" confirms that Kentucky consumers generally accept the beef benefit messages being promoted at the national level. The Kentucky audience also has positive associations with "local beef" brand messages. In fact, "mind map" research uncovered emotional connections that suggest opportunities for promoting localized "Kentucky Beef" messaging. 

Next steps? These consumer insights will help drive development of marketing creative focused on Kentucky Beef branding. Watch for some exciting announcements in the coming months!

Happening at Eden Shale Farm & KBN
Eden Shale Feeding System Field Days

Watch the video below and come on out to the farm for the Fenceline Feeding System Field Days on April 6th and May 9th to see our newest installation! RSVP by calling the KCA at 859-278-0899 or email [email protected].

The field day on April 6th we will also have Matt Springer, UK Wildlife Extension Specialist, give a presentation on how to manage black buzzard populations on your farm.  For a full agenda and more info on the Feeding System, read Eden Shale's latest blog post here. 
Participate in Water Quality Survey

Water quality is important to sustainable beef production. Every day beef producers implement practices that improve water quality, reduce nutrients in surface waters, or have positive impacts on water quality through land use and pasture and range management. Some of these practices are encouraged through cost share programs by the USDA, but many others are implemented for a variety of other reasons.

To characterize water quality management practices implemented by beef producers and to assist NCBA in their beef sustainability efforts, the following survey has been developed.

We hope you will take a few minutes to help us in these efforts. This survey is completely voluntary, anonymous, confidential, and should take less than 10 minutes to complete. You may skip questions that you are not comfortable answering and you may withdraw from participation at any time. Be assured that your responses will not be linked directly to you, as all data will be combined. Futhermore, all responses will be reported in summary form only. There is no risk involved in responding to this survey.

Youth Activities & Opportunities
KCF YOUTH SCHOLARSHIP 

Five $1,500 Scholarships are available through the Kentucky Cattlemen's Association and are funded by the Kentucky Cattlemen's Foundation.

Deadline is March 31, 2017

KENTUCKY CATTLEMEN'S FOUNDATION SCHOLARSHIP REQUIREMENTS:
* You must be a graduate from a Kentucky high school in the year of application.
* Be accepted for enrollment in a Kentucky college or other institute of higher education.
* Planning to major in Agriculture or an Agriculturally-related subject.
* Applicant or their parent or guardian must be a member of the Kentucky Cattlemen's Association.

For more information contact Nikki Whitaker at the KCA office:
859-278-0899 or 176 Pasadena Drive, Lexington, KY 40503
In the News





Beat the buzz of seasonal horn flies
"No matter which fly control method you use, make sure you have a plan in place well before flies emerge. Waiting until flies are present can impact cattle performance and productivity." 
Read the full article here. 
 



Read the past three Issue's of The Kentucky Cattlemen here:
Cattlemen's Webinar Series
Catch up on all the past webinars from the NCBA, including:
-Succession Planning - For Next Gens Only!
-End of Year Policy Issues Update
-Understanding Advancements in Beef Cattle Selection Tools
Beef Production Efficiency and Herd Expansion 
"Agricultural production efficiency is significant and important, not only to producers but to consumers as well." 
Read here to see how cattlemen are producing more with less.





 

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