Producers will receive information on their cattle’s growth, performance and carcass traits.
Beef producers will have an opportunity to evaluate the growth, performance and carcass traits of their cattle during the Classic Steer Show at the North Dakota Winter Show in Valley City in March 2016.
The Classic Steer Show is open only to steers that were born between Jan. 1 and April 30, 2015.
Producers will feed the steers at their farm, then bring the animals to the Winter Show in early March. Rob Maddock, an associate professor in North Dakota State University’s Animal Sciences Department and the Extension Service meats specialist, will give the steers a visual evaluation, then evaluate them for average daily gain, weight per day of age and carcass traits. In addition, Maddock will rank the steers in these traits and determine the animals’ retail value per day of age.
The Classic Steer Show also includes a sale in which producers have a chance to sell their steers at a premium to local buyers. Premiums have ranged from $400 to $1,500 per steer in the past three years, Maddock says.
The deadline to enter steers in the show is Nov. 2. The cost to participate is $10 per steer. Producers may show up to 10 steers.
The steers that are entered in the show must be weighed between Oct. 21 and 28. Two disinterested parties must witness the weighing and sign the entry form. The steers must have a minimum of 3 pounds of weight per day of age when they are entered.
All steers must be stalled at the Winter Show facility by 1 p.m. March 5. They must weigh a minimum of 1,000 pounds at the preliminary weigh-in that day. They’ll be weighed again the following day, and the average of these two weights will be their official weight.