Beefmaster Celebrates 60 Years on Conventions!
The 60th Annual Beefmaster Breeders United (BBU) Convention was hosted in Fort Worth, Texas at the Omni Fort Worth Hotel from October 28 – 30, 2021. The unofficial kick-off to the convention was the 2021 BBU Sporting Clays Classic hosted at Defender Outdoors Shooting Center. The official kick-off of the 2021 convention was highlighted with award winning speeches from the Junior Beefmaster Breeders Association (JBBA) members Lane Hendricks, Kayl Tassin and Westeon Brooks, followed by featured speaker Danielle Beck who serves as the Senior Executive Director of Government Affairs at the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association.
During the convention, BBU held their general membership meeting and BBU members elected new Board directors and officers. Chris Kauffman of Searcy, Ark., was elected treasurer and Kendall McKenzie of Angie, La., was elected secretary. The following individuals were elected to the BBU Board of Directors with a three-year term: Ruben Gutierrez of Monte Alto, Texas, Dave Loftin of Nixa, Mo., Lauren Lyssy of San Antonio, Texas and Ronnie Teague of Ramer, Tenn. Clay Howell of Axtell, Texas was elected to fill an unexpired term to expire in 2022.
During convention, Beefmaster producers attended educational seminars that were sponsored by the Beefmaster Educational Endowment Foundation (B.E.E.F.). Dr. Jason Cleere of Texas A&M University updated attendees on the Texas A&M University Beefmaster Herd. Dr. Andy Herring also used the Texas A&M Beefmaster herd to cover how beef producers can utilize EPDs to improve genetics. To wrap up the first day of convention seminars, Dr. Kari White with Neogen GeneSeek, reviewed the new Beefmaster Residual Feed Intake EPD and Feed Efficiency Index. The convention also featured Dr. Joe Paschal, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Livestock Specialist, discussing selection for carcass merit and the importance of carcass data. A presentation on Beefmasters and feed efficiency was presented by Bryce Schumann, who serves as the Vytelle Seedstock Sales Director. Lastly on Friday, a panel discussion about successful seedstock marketing was showcased, which allowed attendees to seek answers from Derek Thompson of Nextgen Cattle Company and Trey Scherer with Collier Farms Beefmasters, on various seedstock marketing matters. On Saturday morning the convention hosted Kevin Good of CattleFax, who presented a cattle industry outlook seminar and answered questions. He was then followed by a BBU staff question and answer session, where the membership could provide feedback on programs and ask various association related questions.
The evening activities provided members the opportunity to meet other members, visit with trade show exhibitors and enjoy historic downtown Fort Worth, Texas. On Friday night the convention committee raised funds for the Beefmaster Breeders Cattlewomen, JBBA and convention expenses through selling exclusive items during the auction. The dinner was concluded with a dance featuring the Coby Carter Band and the World Series game on live stream.
On Saturday, the annual awards luncheon honored the Beefmaster breed membership award winners. New member of the year was awarded to Cannon Cattle of Brooksville, Fla., and Dr. Jim Colvin of Seguin, Texas was announced as the member of the year. Larry Lairmore of Heber Springs, Ark., was announced as performance breeder of the year and the environmental award was presented to Swinging B Ranch owned by Mackie and Norma Jean Bounds of Axtell, Texas. Breeder of the year was awarded to Bill and Dusty Carr of Laredo, Texas. Beefmaster Cattlewoman of the year was awarded to Brenda Woelfel of Giddings, Texas. Finally, Fred and Judy Long of Beeville, Texas and Mike Collier of Brenham, Texas were both inducted into the BBU Hall of Fame. The BBU Hall of Fame has been established to honor the exceptional, visionary men and women who have made outstanding contributions to the Beefmaster breed.
On behalf of the BBU staff, officers, board members and the convention committee, thank you to all our generous sponsors, trade show partners and auction participants. Join BBU at their 61st Annual Convention to be held in Oklahoma City, Okla., on October 20 – 22, 2022 at the Omni Oklahoma City Hotel.
For more information about Beefmaster Breeders United and its convention please contact the BBU office at 210-732-3132 or visit www.beefmasters.org. Stay connected to BBU through Facebook, view our videos on YouTube, follow us on Twitter and receive our news updates through joining our mailing list.
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Beefmaster Breeders United (www.beefmasters.org), located in Boerne, Texas, is a not-for-profit breed registration organization that provides programs and services for its members. Beefmaster, Beefmaster Advancer and E6 cattle are selected on the “Six Essentials” of disposition, fertility, weight, conformation, milk production and hardiness.