Emporia, Kans. — On Saturday night, Americus was a superpower.
Ranchers from the small town northwest of Emporia claimed both of the Beef Fest Grand Awards this year. The prize for heifers went to Glen and Ernestine Hatch and the steer division was won by Leffler Farms.
The prizes came in the midst of a tough year for cattle. Several of the category winners had an average daily gain that was just above 2 1/2 pounds, a number that might not have had them in contention at a different time. But this year ...
“Not bad!” proclaimed the emcee.
The awards helped cap off a weekend that was all about the beef, whether that meant raising it, cooking it or just throwing a cow chip or two. And for just about everyone, the 20th Flint Hills Beef Fest was about having a little fun in the bargain.
“My kids love the horses and the cattle,” said Dianatha Stutesman of Madison. “My husband and his brother both rodeo so we like to watch it whenever we can.”
When Beef Fest started 20 years ago, it was meant as an attempt to educate both ranchers and the general public about beef. Since then, it’s added rodeos, barbecue contests, even pedal tractor pulls for the children. The core has remained the same, though. And founder Pres White would like to see the event get even bigger.
“There’s room for expansion,” said White, who got the idea for the event after years of helping Garden City with its Beef Empire Days. “If you don’t keep growing or talking about growth, stagnation sets in.”
One of the fastest-growing parts in recent years has been the barbecue contest, which started seven years ago and now draws cooks from all over. Cooking teams set up shop Thursday night and worked almost continuously into Saturday.
Fortunately, the weather cooperated, staying warm, but consistent. That allowed the cooking conditions to be kept constant so that the meat could be brought out just right.
“One of the biggest challenges is keeping in mind that it’s a meat contest,” said Hugh Van Duersen of the Kansas City Barebecue Society as the judging began. “It’s not a garnish contest and it’s not a sauce contest.
“A lot of cookers will tell you, if you put sauce on it, you must have made a mistake.”
And for something like this, there’s not a lot of room for mistakes.
“Ninety percent of the barbecue that is here today is great barbecue, but there can only be a few winners,” said Mike Ayers of Wichita, a first-time entrant in the contest. “If you cook bad barbecue, you’re not out here.”
At times, it seemed as if just about everyone was out there. A line for 1,000 free hamburgers given away by KVOE never seemed to shorten, keeping the cooks and the hamburger assembly line busy.
“Of course, it’ll only be 993 that make it now,” said Lee Schroeder of the radio station, as he glanced at a few uncooked patties that had fallen off the grill. “We had a little accident.”
Nearby, one of the most vocal crowds on the fairgrounds could be heard cheering on the children in the pedal tractor pull. For the youngest competitors, about 4 years old, the weight being hauled was negligible. But older children quickly found it adding up.
One third-place finisher, 10-year-old Ashley Storrer, found herself pulling 300 pounds behind her tractor before she was done.
“That was really hard,” she said. “It was heavy.”
Storrer qualified for the state competition by finishing first recently at the Lyon County Free Fair.
“This is the closest I get to driving a tractor for a while,” she said, smiling.
Often, the adults were as excited about it as the kids.
“It gets your adrenaline going,” said Chris Bahr of Burlington as he waited for his sons to take their turn. “You wouldn’t think it would, but it does. Forty years old and you’re getting all pumped up.”
Even for long-time Beef Fest goers, the festival hadn’t lost it charm.
“This is probably our seventh year that we’ve had cattle in the Beef Fest,” said Emily Darbyshire of Hartford. “It’s a good time to come back and see people, take off work and relax a little bit.”