Farms.com Home   News

2024 Beef Fest Award Winners Named

Steers owned by Matt and Julia Anderson of Alma and heifers owned by Joe and Debbie Reinert from Cassoday were the winners of grand awards at the Flint Hills Beef Fest in Emporia. The awards are based on the best combined finish in the grass futurity and live stocker show.

An entry from Brandon Litch and Kelsey Porter, both of Melvern, won the steer division of the live stocker show. Second place was a pen of steers owned by Michael and Steven Arndt from Emporia, with the grand award-winning entry from the Andersons placing third.

A pen of three owned by Brad and Michelle Haun of Fall River placed first in the heifer division of the live stocker show. Those in second were entered by Don and Carole Haun from Fall River. The heifers placing third were the grand award winners owned by the Reinerts.

Entries in the grass futurity were on pasture from late April through mid-August. Cattle were ranked by the greatest adjusted gain on grass. Wes Cahoone and Lee Glanville, both of Cottonwood Falls, entered the champion steers in this division. The cattle gained 3.03 lbs. per day. An entry from Parker and Paige Meats of LeRoy won second, gaining 3.01 lbs. per day. Steers owned by Kevin and Emily Darbyshire from Hartford finished third, with an average daily gain of 2.89 lbs.

Click here to see more...

Trending Video

Seaweed-Based Solutions: Building Natural Performance in Modern Swine Production

Video: Seaweed-Based Solutions: Building Natural Performance in Modern Swine Production

In today’s pork industry, producers are under increasing pressure to do more with fewer inputs—while maintaining performance, improving animal health, and meeting sustainability expectations.

we sit down with Sylvain David and Scott Preston from Olmix to explore how seaweed-based solutions are emerging as a foundational tool in modern swine nutrition.

Rather than acting as simple alternatives, these solutions are designed to support gut health, immune resilience, and overall system consistency—especially during key stress periods like weaning, feed transitions, and disease challenges.

The conversation dives into:

• What seaweed-based solutions actually are and how they work

• Why consistency and standardization matter in “natural” products

• How gut health connects to immune function and performance

• Where producers are seeing real-world impact today

• The role of natural solutions in the future of sustainable pork production