By MEGGIE. I. FOSTER
Assistant Editor

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — In a few days, cattle trailers filled with wood chips, hay, grain, show supplies; and more importantly, some of the state’s best show heifers and steers will converge at the Indiana State Fairgrounds for the annual Hoosier Beef Congress Dec. 3-5.

Joe Moore, executive vice president of the Indiana Beef Cattle Assoc. (IBCA), which is the event’s host, said the show will bring in more than 1,500 head of heifers and steers with nearly 1,000 Indiana youth exhibitors at the halter.

According to Moore, the 24th annual Hoosier Beef Congress (HBC) is considered one of the most competitive beef shows in the Midwest and features an extensive trade show, the All-Star Steer and Heifer Sale, purebred sales, a junior judging contest, silent auction and 13 purebred and crossbred shows. Shows will be conducted for all breeds including: Angus, Belted Galloway, Charolais, Chianina, Gelbvieh, Hereford, Limousin, Maine-Anjou, Maintainer, Red Poll, Salers, Shorthorn, Shorthorn Plus, Simmental, Percentage Simmental and Red Angus.

“The IBCA has been listening and this year a class for Red Angus has been added to the show schedule,” said Moore.

The 2010 Hoosier Beef Congress will begin with an All Star Steer & Heifer Sale and Purebred Sale at south end of Cattle Barn at 9:30 on Saturday morning. The junior show will begin at 2 p.m. and continue through Saturday afternoon and evening. Events will continue on Sunday morning with a non-denominational church service in the cattle barn show ring at 7 a.m. followed by the resumption of the junior show at 8 a.m. The show will wrap up around 4 p.m. on Sunday.

“There is no admission charge to enter the cattle barn and stroll through the cattle stalls, walk the trade show to find that perfect Christmas gift or have a seat in the bleachers to watch the junior exhibitors proudly show off their prize beef cattle,” said Moore, who added that the Hoosier Beef Congress is in the West Pavilion of the Indiana State Fairgrounds on 38th Street.

840 RFID tags required
Also new for this year is the requirement that all steers and commercial heifers be tagged with 840 compliant RFID tags or an electronic identification (EID) tag beginning with the three-digit designation code “840.” Tags are available by the Indiana Board of Animal Health (BOAH) at no charge in an effort to promote the further use of EID technology with cattle producers.

“The Indiana Beef Cattle Assoc. is happy to partner with the Indiana State Board of Animal Health in helping producers become more familiar with the RFID tag technology, as well as take part in the 840 tag program,” said Moore.

This past summer many Indiana counties began requiring the tags for 4-H cattle with much success, according to Dr. Kerry Peterson, director of animal health programs for BOAH.

“With many county fairs moving to the RFID tags as their official county tag, we felt the time was right to adopt the technology for Hoosier Beef Congress,” added Moore.

Peterson said that more than 110,000 tags have already been distributed since the program’s inception in 2008.

“With HBC’s new requirement we can continue to make Indiana aware of the tag’s benefits and keep that total growing,” she added.

Tags beginning with 840 are considered “official identification” by USDA; therefore, they can be used for other exhibition and interstate movement requirements.

BOAH will be present during check-in, with a chute and staff, to tag all cattle that do not have the required identification. Like tags ordered directly from BOAH, those placed in the animals during the event will be free-of-charge, Peterson said.

This requirement applies to all steers and commercial heifers; registered heifers are exempt, and Moore explains, “The tags will help further automate the check-in process for the steers and commercial heifers, and help promote BOAH’s tag program by putting these tags to work in Indiana.”

“We want to build upon our partnership with BOAH and their premise ID registry, as well as showcase Indiana’s beef producers as leaders within the national beef industry,” said Moore.
For more on using the EID technology, visit the BOAH website at www.boah.in.gov/2533.htm

All of the Hoosier Beef Congress information such as showmanship, contest rules, tradeshow, schedule of events and other details are available online at www.hoosierbeefcongress.com