May is National Beef Month

May 04, 2015

Cattle shows and celebrations taking place all month

May is National Beef Month and there will be events going on in the United States and around the world to celebrate the beef and cattle

industry and how much it means to farmers and consumers.

Florida will host two cattle shows during the month of May.

On May 8^th & 9^th, The Anglers Cup, Inc. will host the 2015 Southeastern Beef Expo “Spring Showdown”. The event will feature a heifer show, steer show and bull show with competitors being eligible for cash prizes. The show will be held at 4601 Highway 710 E, Okeechobee, FL, 34974.

Closer to the end of the month on May 23^rd and 24^th, the Turner Agri Civic Center will hold the Charlotte County FFA Alumni 2015 Spring Fling. Cash prizes of up to $250 are available for Grand Champions.

In Illinois, Red River Valley Blood Center and the Stephenson County Beef Association are teaming up to celebrate beef and helping one another. People who donate blood starting on May 11 will receive a prepackaged stick of beef after their

donation. Beef can have high levels of iron and protein and can sometimes be used to increase red blood cell levels.

A little farther away from home, Australia will hold their National Beef Exposition from May 4^th – 9^th.

The show will feature a variety of things for visitors to take in, including seminars about animal research and profitable beef production. Celebrity chefs like Alvin Leung and Matt Golinksi will be on hand preparing recipes that highlight Australian beef.

Some statistics about American beef and the kind of moo-la it generates:

$44 billion in farm gate receipts
$5.711 billion in exports in 2013. Up from $3.839 billion in 2010
Japan, Canada, Mexico and South Korea are the top export markets
Texas, Nebraska, Kansas, California and Oklahoma are the top beef producing states

Join the conversation and tell us how you’ll celebrate National Beef Month. How much of a role does beef play in your farming practices?

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.