Visitors Receive the VIP Treatment at LongView Nutrition Farm!
In June of 2002, Honor® and Show Chow® invited around 20 vo-ag teachers, 4H leaders, educational instructors, influential breeders and prospective customers to LongView Nutrition Farm (Land O’Lakes Purina Feeds' world-famous nutritional research facility) for an exclusive VIP event.
“We wanted to bring in the leaders of today's youth to discuss hot topics of the show industry, what trends are happening in livestock judging and share our commitment to show animal projects,” said John Zeloski, Marketing Manager for the Honor® Show Chow® Show Feeds.
After a steady increase in attendance over the past six years, this year's VIP was proud to welcome 282 guests! Visitors from 23 states eagerly arrived in Gray Summit, Mo., ready to learn about the new Honor® Show Chow® brand, animal nutrition, showmanship, grooming, selection and fitting.
The two-day workshop consisted of presentations from Honor® Show Chow® nutritionists Dr. Kevin Burgoon and Dr. Steven Myers, as well as exclusive demonstrations from veterinarians, research teams, and Honor® Show Chow® Ambassadors.
Honor® Show Chow® Ambassador Dave Guyer grabbed the large crowd's attention with an energetic presentation on Club Calf Selection, and had plenty of helpful tips to offer. One pointer Dave wanted to instill in everyone's minds was that you should only buy from a breeder you like and trust. Your breeder can be your guide and mentor, helping you to make your project more successful. However, just believing, 'I think I can make it' won’t cut it…hard work is what will get you places!
Kirk Stierwalt and Bob May provided an excellent demonstration on Cattle Fitting. It was amazing to watch the pros in action! Although Kirk and Bob have years of experience in this area, Kirk admitted that clipping can definitely be intimidating. His advice was, “When you're clipping, always clip like you would for the show. It's a slow process, but the art of it is to take your time and get in the zone.”
Dave Allan, another Honor® Show Chow® Ambassador, wrapped up the cattle presentations with a discussion on Showmanship. This is an especially important part of experiencing success in the show ring, since this is the area where you have the most control. Although the day was extremely hot and humid, the visitors walked away with a wealth of knowledge and useful information from our Cattle Ambassadors!
The following day, the guests were treated to special discussions on Lamb Judging and Showmanship by Mark Johnson and Clay Weber, Show Goat Demonstration by Mike Harbour, Pig Selection by Chris Brazel, Pig Showmanship by Katie Dillon, Pig Management and Feeding the Final 30 Days by Bryan Vaughan, and Show Poultry Management by Keith Staggs. One thing was made clear during these presentations – in order to reach your goals (both in and out of the show ring), you must stay committed to the challenge. Raising project animals is about more than competition - it's also about your passion to achieve your goals.
Guests also had the opportunity to listen to presentations on Show Pig Nutrition, Show Cattle Nutrition, Show Lamb Nutrition, Quality Assurance Programs (Ingredient Purchasing and Manufacturing Procedures), Product Evaluation and the company's marketing support of 4H and FFA. All of the guests walked away with more than the instructional DVDs, small pig brushes, and product samples they received before departing…they gained exclusive guidance they can share with everyone back home!
Honor® Show Chow® Show Feeds plans to continually strive to be the best of the best in animal nutrition and research by maintaining the company belief that 'Animals make better people…and we make better animals.™' Honor® Show Chow® Show Feeds is looking forward to another VIP in June of 2009 and wishes all show exhibitors continued success and winning results in the year to come!
