By Laura Cauthen / Apr 2, 2018 1:57:56 PM
The Alabama Beef Cattle Improvement Association, or BCIA, has named Auburn University’s Gulf Coast Research and Extension Center in Fairhope its 2017 Commercial Producer of the Year.
The award, presented to center director Malcomb Pegues during the association’s recent annual conference, is based on a number of criteria that include short- and long-term goals, recordkeeping, breeding systems, selection objectives/culling criteria, forage resources and stewardship, use of technology and contributions to community and industry.
The 800-acre Fairhope facility has row crops, small fruits and pecans in addition to its herd of Simmental and Angus cross commercial cattle. Thanks to the climate, the cattle can graze about 320 days a year. Performance recordkeeping is an integral management tool at the Gulf Coast unit.
As Alabama’s commercial producer of the year, the Gulf Coast Research and Extension Center will compete in June for the national Beef Improvement Federation’s 2018 Outstanding Commercial Producer of the Year Award.
The Alabama Beef Cattle Improvement Association is a nonprofit organization that promotes and facilitates the use of performance data, recordkeeping and marketing opportunities to improve the Alabama cattle industry.