2007 Show Feed VIP

A few pictures from the Show Feed VIP!

Let the Adventure Begin! On June 13-15 a select group of Vo-Ag teachers, 4-H leaders, breeders and show enthusiasts representing 23 states gathered in Gray Summit, Missouri for our annual Show Feed VIP. This exclusive event featured exciting hands-on demonstrations by Show Chow® Ambassadors and Honor®Advantage Breeders, as well as some very informative nutritional presentations from the Land O' Lakes Purina Feeds Ph.D experts. 'This is our 5th annual Show Feed VIP' said John Zeloski, Marketing Manager. 'We were pleased to welcome these 217 attendees to this special gathering that showcases not only our history, but our nutritional research and the cutting-edge products derived from it! ' We kicked off the beginning of this exciting and educational event with a night of socializing and introducing the guest speakers and special visitors. Early the next morning, the group traveled to the vast grounds of LongView Nutrition Farm, Land O' Lakes Purina Feeds impressive research farm. This 1,188 acre facility is where LOL Purina' s world-renown livestock research and development takes place. The VIP guests were definitely excited to visit this innovative farm! After snacking on fruit, donuts and juice, the group attentively listened to nutritional presentations focused on topics such as show lamb nutrition, market show poultry, rabbit nutrition, goat nutrition, show cattle nutrition and show pig nutrition from our panel of experts including Dr. Kevin Burgoon, Dr. Gary Lynch, Dr. Steven Myers and Keith Staggs. Everyone received information and tips on proper nutrition basics and management. After listening to our speakers, we enjoyed a delicious lunch filled with hamburgers, chips, and potato salad followed by homemade vanilla ice cream and brownies! Lunch was a great time to relax and socialize with new and old faces. Throughout lunch, the LongView Country Store opened for a chance to purchase t-shirts, beanies, pencils and much more. Show Chow® and Honor® merchandise, beef cattle video programs, pig grooming video programs and pig brushes were also available to purchase. Meanwhile, Ron Obermark and Lori Unnerstall provided eager listeners information and hands-on demonstrations of how to palpate a rabbit. Their presentation was a huge success! Before we knew it, it was time to load up the buses for tours of LongView Nutrition Farm. The different tours included the Rumen Research, Beef Cattle Nutritional Research, Equine Palatability Barn and Equine Exercise Physiology. Throughout each tour, everyone had an opportunity to watch each demonstration on the animals, take lots of pictures, and carefully listen to each speaker. Mouths especially dropped wide open while watching volunteers from the crowd reach their hands into a live cow's stomach to observe what was digested that day! The rest of the day, everyone split off into different groups and rotated around to observe show cattle, show pig, show goat, and show lamb demonstrations. The professionals (including Dave Guyer, Kirk Stierwalt and Dave Allan on show cattle, Kent Bennington, Bryan Vaughan and Chris Brazel on show pigs, Mike Harbour on show goats, Mark Johnson and Adam Lira on show lambs) demonstrated fitting and management skills to the audience while answering important questions along the way. Each of the speakers did live demonstrations (clipping, fitting and showmanship) on their animals, so this made for an especially thorough and memorable experience. Educational tips continued during each presentation, while the speakers let the audience in on their exclusive 'tricks-of-the-trade.' Everyone learned quite a bit that afternoon from the pros! We all returned back to the conference center where dinner was served. It was nice to sit back, relax and discuss our busy day. Off to bed to prepare for another day of learning excitement! Friday was our last day of the Show Feed VIP. Sessions on show cattle, show goats and show lambs were repeated to cover all the aspects of taking care of high quality show animals. A fun and entertaining session on quality manufacturing and process research from Kent Lanter 'put a ribbon' on all of the research that is done before new products come to market. The event closed by wrapping it up with a video on 'Life's Lessons' such as 'call your mom' and 'be a hero to someone. ' Goodbyes were exchanged, hugs were given and the buses drove off to the St. Louis Airport. 'The 2007 Show Feed VIP was a great success, and we thank our speakers, LongView Nutritional Farm employees, and most of all, you! 'said John Zeloski. ' In the end, animals make better people and we make better animals. '