Beef Cattle Program Advisory Committee Meeting
Thursday, July 21, 2011 - 6:30 p.m.
Evangeline LSU AgCenter Office
Meeting was called to order at 6:40 by President Jake Guillory. In attendance were:
Tom Ardoin, Dr. Craig Fontenot, Keith Fontenot, Jake Guillory, Dr. Dale Reed, Wayne Vidrine,
Jake Nichols, Kyle Fontenot, and Tony Rozas. Not present due to attending Braford Show were:
Vince Deshotel, Mike Fontenot, David Miller, Randy Deshotel and Todd Fontenot called in with
other commitments.
Newly elected president, Jake Guillory welcomed all to meeting and thanked board for
giving of their time to attend.
Minutes of last board meeting held on March 10, 2011 were read by Secretary Keith
Fontenot. Tom Ardoin moved, seconded by Dale Reed, unanimous vote to accept as read.
Introduced was special guest, Mr. James LeLeux, Regional Vice President from
Vermilion Parish. Mr. Leleux thanked the board for the invite and gave an update on the
regional BQA program meeting to be held this Saturday, July 23, 2011 at the Acadia Parish
Office. He also discussed the LCA having some by-law changes at last state board meeting.
Tom Ardoin and Kyle Fontenot interrupted agenda to discuss briefly the cooking
schedule agreed upon at the last board meeting. Tom and Kyle will prepare a meal for the next
scheduled meeting on September 22, 2011.
The next item was the report on the Field Day Tour of Eagle Ranch. A power point
presentation was made by Keith Fontenot with a few pictures and details of a very enjoyable
trip. Mr. Leleux shared experiences from some of the annual tours their association usually
takes to many out-of-state locations. etc.
Blood Drive report was the next item. Jake thanked all board members for their
attendance and participation when possible at the 3 blood drives conducted in the parish this
year: May 12, 2011 at Billy Campbell grocery in Pine Prairie; June 9, 2011 at Ville Platte Wal
Mart parking lot; and June 28, 2011 at Mamou Citizens Bank. Results given by Tom Ardoin
indicated 120 or 122 units donated total. Tom Ardoin suggested the president and whoever
else would like to, prepare to possibly attend the state convention to accept a plaque if
Evangeline does indeed end up being the high unit donated parish for the second year.
Fall Beef Classic show discussion was next. Committee to work the show will again be
needed to assist in clean up and set up. Wayne Vidrine will head committee and will also check
into getting trustees to assist on Wednesday and Thursday, November 16 & 17, 2011 to assist
with this work.
Show discussion included:
Entry Fees: Will be raised to $25 and $35 for late entry with no Showmanship entry fee. In
discussion the board felt it is better not to charge at the gate for showmanship but to just raise
the entry fee and be done with it.
Steers: Discontinue steer class due to non participation.
Change Commercial Heifers: Add both Brahman & Non-Brahman Influence Grand and Reserve
Grand Champion Awards. It was felt that this would influence to increase participation.
Awards: Keep Showmanship Belt Buckles, also Bags for Champions are fine.
Judges: Were good, David Fleming and Taylor Poncik would be fine again if need be, or if we
felt we needed to replace Fleming since he has been here 2 years.
Annual Meeting and Ladies Night was next topic up for discussion. Keith Fontenot
explained the very busy schedule last year with our Annual Meeting & Ladies night on Friday,
Jim Bowie show on Saturday, parent & exhibitor meal at our show on Saturday night, and our
show on Sunday all on same weekend. The Board agreed we do not want to do it again if at all
possible. All agreed on: first choice Friday, November 11, 2011; second choice Friday,
November 4, 2011; at the Crawfish Barn, with DJ for music. Allow Crawfish Barn to prepare all
food. Steak or shrimp plate with salad, baked potato, soft drink. Keith will check on availability
and prices as compared to previous years.
Under Any Other Business, Wayne Vidrine brought up the topic of the cattleman’s
association looking into the possibility of purchasing ryegrass seed as a consortium to possibly
lessen the cost per cwt. He stated that this is happening on a small scale with 3 or 4 growers
getting together and saving by ordering seed by the pallet. Much discussion ensued, with input
from the entire board along with Mr. Leleux sharing his knowledge on how the Vermilion group
works this same type program. After much discussion the following was decided:
Committee of Wayne Vidrine, Tom Ardoin, Jake Guillory & Keith Fontenot will work on details:
Letter will be sent to current association members to explain program and ask them to send in
a deposit. The member will send a deposit either $5 or $10 for each cwt. of seed they would
like to order. Varieties the board decided to look at are Gulf & Prine ryegrass and Durana
Clover, as some may wish to plant some clover at this time. Once the committee reviews the
deposits and amounts of seed ordered, they will know approximately how many pounds of
seed of each are needed. The committee will send a letter to vendors asking for a sealed bid
per cwt. of ryegrass, and per pound on clover seed. Once all bids are returned to the office, the
committee will meet and open. The vendor with the lowest prices will be informed. Letter will
then be sent to all members who sent a deposit asking for remaining payment by a deadline
date. This money (deposit & final payment) will then be sent to the vendor winning the bid
along with a list of cattlemen and the total amount of seed they ordered and paid for. Pickup
and/or delivery, or mixing of seed etc. will then be up to the individual cattleman and the
vendor to work out.
After even more discussion, the meeting adjourned at approximately 8:45 p.m. to a
meal of beef roast, rice, bread, and green bean casserole with a peach cobbler brought by Jake
Guillory for dessert.