Media advisory issued April 19, 2004, effective immediately.
For media inquiries, contact Caroline Booth Lara, Communications Specialist, (580) 224-6379.
  email: cblara@noble.org.

2004 Junior Beef Excellence Program Winners Announced

ARDMORE, Okla. — The Noble Foundation has announced the winners of the 2004 Junior Beef Excellence Program. The annual contest is designed to highlight the carcass merit of steers shown at junior livestock shows in nine south-central Oklahoma counties. Sixty-eight youths entered 76 steers in this year's event.

Keysha McCarthick of Tishomingo 4-H entered this year's champion steer. Keysha earned a $2,500 check which was presented during the awards program on April 6 at the Southern Oklahoma Technology Center in Ardmore. McCarthick also received a custom designed winner's jacket.

Dakota Cole, Tishomingo FFA, had the second-place steer, taking home a $2,000 award.

The other winners were: 3rd – Travis Johnson, Davis 4-H, $1,500; 4th – Callie Jones, Turner FFA, $1,250; 5th – Steven Adkins, Wilson FFA, $1,000; 6th – Penny Lockwood, Velma-Alma FFA, $950; 7th – Donald Callaway, Dickson FFA, $900; 8th – Levi Shelby, Madill 4-H, $850; 9th – Micah Alford, Tishomingo FFA, $800; 10th – Andrew McArthur, Wilson 4-H, $750.

The contest steers are priced on a grid, meaning they are sold on their own merit instead of on the average. Shan Ingram, education and special projects manager at the Noble Foundation, said that the average total price for a contest steer was $1,075.17, which divided by the average live weight of 1,211pounds gives an equivalent live price of $88.76/hundred pounds.

"This is the highest price we have ever received for the steers," Ingram said."It was nice to see the kids benefit from an improved cattle market. Their steers averaged about $2 per hundredweight better than the industry average for the week they were harvested."

"The top ten award winning steers averaged $93.41 per hundred, over $5 more than the industry average," he added.

Seventy-five people competed in this year's Live Animal Evaluation Contest, which was held at the Junior Beef Excellence Program delivery. Participants judged five live steers and estimated the attributes that affect their beef market value. Scorecards were submitted the day of the contest, and the winners in the four divisions were announced during the awards ceremony.

The first place winners were: 4-H - Justin Woulfe of Dickson; FFA - Kelly Whetstone of Lone Grove; Adult - Roy Sparks of Wilson; Expert (previous adult division winners and Noble Foundation employees) - Glenn Mann of Sulphur.

Winners in each division received custom-monogrammed duffel bags and carrying cases.

This is the ninth year for the Junior Beef Excellence Program in its expanded format. Entrants must be from Carter, Garvin, Grady, Jefferson, Johnston, Love, Marshall, Murray or Stephens counties, and all animals must have been shown in a county junior livestock show. The steers are delivered to Ardmore, weighed-in, and commingled for two days before being sent to Excel Corporation's plant in Plainview, Texas.

Members of the Junior Beef Committee are Tracy Cumbie, Ingram, Ryan Reuter and Fred Schmedt, all of the Noble Foundation, and Leland McDaniel, Carter County Extension agent. Dr. Fred Ray, Extension animal foods specialist, assisted with the awards program and serves as contest official.

To learn more about next year's program, call the Noble Foundation at (580) 223-5810 or access Junior Beef Excellence Program information on the Foundation's Web site at www.noble.org/Ag/Jrbeef.

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Photo:

Cutline information: Front (left to right) — Andrew McArthur, Levi Shelby, Keysha McCarthick, Penny Lockwood, Callie Jones, Travis Johnson. Back (left to right) — Micah Alford, Donald Callaway, Dakota Cole, Steven Adkins.

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The Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation, headquartered in Ardmore, Okla., is a non-profit organization conducting agricultural, forage biotechnological, and plant biology research; providing grants to numerous non-profit charitable, educational and health organizations; and assisting farmers and ranchers through educational and consultative agricultural programs.

To learn more, visit the Noble Foundation Web site at http://www.noble.org.

More news releases available at www.noble.org/Press_Release