ZANESVILLE, Ohio — From fencing to facilities, field days have long been a great educational tool used to show farmers new technologies and management practices. With that in mind, Garth Ruff, Beef Cattle Field Specialist with OSU Extension said plans are being finalized for the return of a statewide Ohio Beef Cattle Field Day, on Saturday, July 16 in Muskingum County. 

Ruff said he has been with OSU Extension for five years and the last beef field day was before his time. “Field days used to be an annual event at one of our research farms where researchers and farmers could connect,” he said.

“I started as the Beef Cattle Field Specialist in fall of 2020 and one of my goals was to be able to demonstrate that there are multiple ways to be successful in the beef cattle business,” said Ruff. “Getting producers off of their farms to see how other producers manage their beef enterprise is one way to demonstrate that idea. Also, we have not been able to be in person due to Covid until this spring, so it’ll will be great to interact with farmers, and hopefully they interact with each other.”

The 2022 Beef Field Day will be a drive-it-yourself tour of beef operations in the area. 

“We are going to see nearly ever facet of beef production,” said Ruff. “Anyone interested in learning about cow-calf, feeding cattle, direct marketing beef, or cattle health should attend.”

It will kick off with registration at Muskingum Livestock, 944 Malinda St. in Zanesville, before departing on a multiple-stop tour in the Adamsville area. Ruff recommends that participants should plan on carpooling due to limited parking at one of the tour stops. 

“Muskingum Livestock is one of the larger, if not the largest weekly cattle auction in Ohio, said Ruff. “From there we’re headed to Michel Livestock where at any given time they will have around 700 of beef cattle on feed. 

Ruff said Michel Livestock is a diversified farm operation with the cattle feeding operation managed by Dennis Michel. Michels maintain a cowherd of around 150 head and feed out about 700 head at any time in addition to farming several hundred acres of row crops. 

“Facilities are definitely a highlight here,” said Ruff. “During this stop, the focus will be facility design and cattle receiving, as Michel Livestock maintains a nearly continuous flow of purchased cattle into their receiving barns and markets fat cattle every week.” The Michel family also owns and operates Farm Supply Center in Zanesville, where they mix and sell feed and fertilizer.

The second stop on the tour will be Shirer Brothers Processing, one of several small meat processors in Muskingum County. The business recently transitioned principal operators, as Seth Scheffler has taken over operations from the Shirer family. 

“At Shrier Brothers Meats, we will talk to the owner about the demand of local meats and how COVID affected their business,” said Ruff. 

During the stop at the processing facility,  Peggy Hall, Ag Law Field Specialist for OSU Extension will be on hand to discuss the local meat industry and address any questions attendees may have regarding direct to consumer meat sales. 

The third stop will be Hatfield Farms and Fencing operated by Wade and his son, Wesley Hatfield. Hatfields started with a small herd of cattle and a fencing business. When Wesley Hatfield returned to the farm, they grew the cattle enterprise. They currently have about 200 cows with both spring and fall calving cows. Hatfields have experimented with different management strategies and during the farm tour, they will share what works and what they would do differently. They will also share tips on proper fence-building techniques. 

The field day will conclude at Roger’s Auction Barn. Lunch will be courtesy of the Muskingum County Cattlemen. A lunch program will be presented by representatives from the Ohio Beef Council who will be highlighting some recent programming and sharing insight into consumer trends. The field day will conclude with Dr. Justin Kieffer, Clinical Veterinarian at the OSU Department of Animal Science discussing herd health updates. 

“The benefit to producers can be measured a couple of ways – learning new management concepts, seeing how other make facilities and marketing work,” said Ruff. “With this tour approach certainly we will see quite a bit of cattle, and have meaningful discussions. .” 

Pre-registration for the program is required at go.osu.edu/2022beefday by July 7. The program fee is $10 per person to cover costs, including handouts, refreshments, lunch, and Beef Quality Assurance certification for all attendees. If there are any questions regarding the program contact Garth Ruff, Beef Cattle Field Specialist at ruff.72@osu.edu or 740-305-3201.