Newsroom

DALLAS - New trends in the beef industry are the focus of the 2002 mid-Willamette Beef Field Day, set for April 13 at the Polk County Fairgrounds in Rickreall. The event runs from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

There is no charge for the event and all beef producers are invited. Held every two years, the field day is sponsored by the Oregon State University Extension Service in cooperation with the Oregon beef industry, said Gene Pirelli, Polk County district livestock and forages agent of the OSU Extension Service and co-organizer of the event.

Keynote speakers at this year's meeting are Jan Busboom, Washington State University Extension Service meat scientist, and Lee Pitts, a nationally known agricultural columnist and writer.

Busboom, a leading expert on beef quality and safety in the Pacific Northwest, will address new developments in the beef processing industry and how this will affect producers, regardless of whether they sell a few calves or deal in cattle by the truckload.

Pitts will speak on the topic "American Agriculture." His weekly column, "It's the Pitts," appears in many newspapers and magazines throughout the United States.

Also on the field day program are Candace Croney, OSU Extension animal behavior and bioethics specialist, and Callan Ackerman, beef nutritionist, both of the OSU Department of Animal Sciences, and Dick Hubman from Rogue River Ranches in southern Oregon.

Hubman, a well-known beef judge and evaluator of purebred and commercial cattle, will conduct a heifer selection and judging workshop for 4-H and FFA members, Pirelli said.

Call the Polk County office of the OSU Extension Service 503-623-8395 for more information. The field day will include a barbecue lunch. The cost is $5 for adults and $3 for children 12 years and younger. Pirelli asks that producers planning to attend call in as soon as possible so field day organizers can plan the lunch.