Entries are being accepted for the 2008 Flint Hills Beef Fest Cattle Contests. This is the 22nd year for the Flint Hills Beef Fest, which is headquartered in Emporia, Kan.

What is the Flint Hills Beef Fest? The Flint Hills Beef Fest is a celebration of the Kansas Flint Hills grass cattle industry to promote the kind and quality of cattle that graze the Kansas grasslands. Four contests for stocker cattle are conducted in pens of three head with separate divisions for steers and heifers. The contests are:

•Grass Futurity—Measures weight gain on grass

•Live Stocker Show—Quality judging on muscle, confirmation & overall performance on grass

•Feedlot—Weight gain in the feedlot

•Carcass—Carcass quality on grade & yield

For this year’s contest, the cattle will be received on Saturday, April 26 from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. at Emporia Livestock Sales. The cattle will be turned out to grass and will graze until August 14.

The cattle will graze at the Highland Ranch near Olpe, Kan., again this year.

On August 14, the cattle will be gathered and weighed off grass. The winners of the Grass Futurity and Live Stocker Show will be announced during the evening awards banquet on Saturday, August 16.

Those cattle entering the Feedlot and Carcass contests will be shipped to the feedlot where they will be fed for 120 days. For this year’s cattle contests, over $15,000 in cash awards will be handed out.

Entries are being accepted on a first come, first served basis and only 40 pens of steers and 40 pens of heifers will be accepted for this year’s contests. To ensure your spot, be sure to return a completed entry from by April 16.

For more information or to request an entry form, contact Cathy Lieber, at 620-344-3849 or by e-mail at catlpat@hotmail.com.