WOOSTER, Ohio – After years of hosting its annual meeting and awards banquet in Columbus, the Ohio Cattlemen’s Association (OCA) board saw an opportunity to create an event that was more inclusive for all of Ohio’s beef industry.

The “Buckeye Cattlemen’s Summit” was held on Jan 24.

The new format featured partnerships with the Buckeye Hereford Association, Ohio Shorthorn Association and Ohio Simmental Association. Also, the Summit offered expanded opportunities for producer education not previously available.

OCA Executive Director Elizabeth Harsh explained that the time of year, attendance and partnerships with the cattle breed associations influenced the board’s decision to initiate a change.

“We saw our own event not really growing as well as we had hoped... and as we checked with some of the registered breed associations, they were struggling even more in terms of getting folks to their winter meetings because families are so busy,” she said. “It seemed to make sense to invite all the major breed associations to join us.”

Bringing the associations together under one roof brought together more of Ohio’s cattle community.

“Families are so busy and having to say, ‘OK, multiple weekends – some of them maybe have two different breeds of cattle, so to go to a Hereford banquet and a Shorthorn banquet on different weekends with everything else families are juggling... it seemed to make sense,” Harsh said. “By involving the breeds, I think that will be a step in the right direction in terms of increasing that involvement.”

This year’s event also featured a venue change. The Ohio State University Wooster Campus and the Shisler Conference Center are the inaugural home for the new format.

“We moved it out of Columbus to the Wooster campus simply because it’s a little bit different price point and it’s a little different in terms of accessibility,” Harsh said. “There’s a tremendous number of cattle producers in that part of the state, so we wanted to make it convenient.”

The summit highlighted reproduction advancements and beef quality research. Harsh explained that the OCA previously lacked time for an educational focus, so adding it back was a “huge success.”

“We had speakers focusing on different aspects of getting cows bred and all the things that new technology is identifying to be effective and efficient there,” she said. “The afternoon session was focused on cutting-edge research looking at different ways to determine red meat yield... we need to look at how we identify the most yield out of every carcass that we have.”  The event also featured a direct marketing panel for families looking to diversify their income and “bring back the next generation.”

With market volatility being a constant factor, the Summit focused on determining beef quality and value.

“We are at a 75-year low in terms of cattle numbers in this country, but we’re at a 40-year high in terms of consumer beef demand,” Harsh said. The reason for that is beef producers have listened to consumers and they have really focused on quality... that is what is really keeping consumers coming back, no matter the price. It makes sense that we need to look at: how do we identify the most yield out of every carcass that we have.”

The Summit put a spotlight on the Ohio Beef Youth Council through the Carcass and Beef Cut ID contests. The council was created to reach the full spectrum of youth, including those not focused on the showring.

“The rationale for creating the Ohio Beef Youth Council was to make sure we were reaching the full spectrum of Ohio’s beef industry youth, Harsh said. “Not everybody is focused on participating in the showring, but we want to make sure we can offer something for everyone and capture their interest. We want to expose them to careers they didn’t even think were possible through those kinds of contests.”

The OCA represents small family farms and large-scale operations throughout the state; a unified event like the Summit brings many stakeholders together to share ideas on representative policy.

“It is the members at the grassroots level that show up at meetings and are passionate about the industry that create those policies,” Harsh said. 

High attendance and feedback from producers regarding the mix of breed-specific meetings and general industry updates has been positive. “All three breed associations that they’d like to be involved again,” Harsh said. “Our numbers during the day were tremendous – we had over 300 people there despite facing a huge threat of snow coming in.

“We know we’re going forward with the Summit in 2027, Harsh said. “I think we’ll actually see more breeds involved when we look toward planning, and we anticipate staying in Wooster at this point. I’ll just say: stay tuned for new and exciting changes.”

The Summit concluded with the traditional OCA Awards Banquet, preceded by a cattlemen’s social and PAC auction. During the banquet, National Cattlemen’s Beef Association President-Elect Gene Copenhaver, of Virginia, highlighted the association’s successful work on behalf of the beef industry.