Award Winners
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 19, 2014
For more information contact:
Joe Cassady, executive director, Beef Improvement Federation, South Dakota State University; 605-688-5165; www.BIFconference.com; www.beefimprovement.org
For a high-resolution photo of the winner, click here.
CB Farms Family Partnership Named BIF Commercial Producer of the Year
LINCOLN, Neb. (June 19, 2014) — The Beef Improvement Federation (BIF) awarded CB Farms Family Partnership the Commercial Producer of the Year Award during the organization’s 46th annual meeting and research symposium in Lincoln, Neb., June 18-21.
CB Farms Family Partnership of Preston, Kan., was named the 2014 Beef Improvement Federation Commercial Producer of the Year during an awards ceremony June 19 at the Cornhusker Marriott Hotel in Lincoln, Neb. Pictured at the awards ceremony are (from left) Steve Whitmire, 2013-2014 BIF president; Carla and Berry Bortz, recipients; and Burt Rutherford, BEEF magazine, award sponsor.
Berry and Carla Bortz began ranching near Preston, Kan., more than 30 years ago. After they both graduated from Kansas State University in 1982. They were married the following week and started farming in eastern Pratt County with two irrigated circles, two dryland quarters and about 300 acres of grass, which they used to background calves.
They started a family in 1986, with the birth of their son Brandon, who was soon followed by daughter Amber in 1987 and son Darnell in 1991. As the kids grew, so did the farm. In 2001, they started their cow herd and reduced the number of cattle purchased per year. Brandon and his wife, Cari, returned to the farm in 2012.
Today they farm 19 irrigated circles, 2,500 acres of dry land and 2,000 acres of native grass. They have 550 spring-calving cows, of which 150 are registered black Angus. They also operate a 1,500-head feedyard. They grow corn, wheat, soybeans, milo, sunflowers, cotton, alfalfa, Bermuda and feed. They finish all their calves, along with calves purchased from their bull customers, at home. The calves are marketed through U.S. Premium Beef (USPB).
They were presented the BIF Commercial Producers of the Year Award at a luncheon Thursday, June 19.
For more information about this year’s symposium, including additional award winners and coverage of the meeting and tours, visit www.BIFconference.com. For more information about the BIF organization, visit www.beefimprovement.org.
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About BIF:
The Beef Improvement Federation (BIF) is an organization dedicated to coordinating all segments of the beef industry — from researchers and producers to retailers — in an effort to improve the efficiency, profitability and sustainability of beef production. The organization was initiated almost 70 years ago to encourage the use of objective measurements to evaluate beef cattle. Continuing the tradition, BIF is now the clearinghouse for developing standardized programs and methodologies for recording of performance data for all traits, from birth weights to carcass traits. Its three-leaf-clover logo symbolizes the link between industry, extension and research.
About www.BIFconference.com:
The www.BIFconference.com website is an event coverage site compiled by the Angus Journal staff as a service to its subscribers and the beef industry at large. The Angus Journal’s coverage of this event is made possible through the collaboration of BIF; host organizations including the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, the U.S. Meat Animal Research Center at Clay Center, and the Nebraska Cattlemen; and LiveAuctions.tv, which provided live-streaming video during the event and video for archival purposes. The Angus Journal encourages reprinting of the articles by those who adhere to the reprint guidelines available on the site.
About Angus Journal:
The Angus Journal is the flagship publication of the American Angus Association and a primary means of communication with its membership. Published 12 times each year, the magazine communicates important information about Association programs and services; reports news from shows, events and sales; and provides production, marketing and management information that seedstock breeders need to be successful. The publication also serves an effective vehicle for producers to use in marketing their herds to other members around the country. Advertisements are offered in a variety of sizes at rates to match most budgets, and a creative staff is available to help design an eye-catching layout.
