Beef Expo considering permanent move to Bloomington
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;" class="BODY">Organizers of the Illinois Beef Expo -- a showcase for the state's top livestock producers -- are in discussions to move the show to Bloomington-Normal after a 20-year run in Springfield.
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<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;" class="BODY">Illinos Beef Association Director of Industry Programs Cimeron Frost said Wednesday that members are being asked their preferred location.
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<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;" class="BODY">"There are a lot of things we liked about Bloomington, and there are some things they need to work with us on," Frost said.
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<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;" class="BODY">About 600 members of the beef association and the Illinois Pork Producers Association were at the Hilton Springfield for a joint lobbying day that included afternoon sessions with state legislators at the Capitol.
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<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;" class="BODY">The Beef Expo, which annually draws 10,000 to 12,000 participants, is among shows that have been forced to relocate by electrical problems at the Illinois State Fairgrounds. One of the show highlights, the Illinois Performance Tested Bull Sale, has been at the fairgrounds for 40 years.
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<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;" class="BODY">A five-day show originally scheduled for mid-February was cut to three days by the last-minute move to the Interstate Center in Bloomington-Normal.
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<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;" class="BODY">Frost said the Interstate Center worked well for the expo, as the facility is part of the McLean County Fairgrounds, but that changes also would need to be made to accommodate the winter event.
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<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;" class="BODY">"They have very nice facilities, but they are open buildings. They were not designed for winter shows," said Frost.
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<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;" class="BODY">McLean County Farm Bureau manager Mike Swartz, who also manages the county fairgrounds, said organizers of other livestock shows normally held in Springfield have contacted the bureau.
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<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;" class="BODY">But he said efforts now are concentrated on the Illinois Beef Expo.
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<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;" class="BODY">"They are interested in coming here again, and we'd be glad to have them back," said Swartz, who added that a decision is expected in a matter of weeks.
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<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;" class="BODY">The 107-acre McLean County Fairgrounds is on the east side of Bloomington-Normal, just off Interstate 55.
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<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;" class="BODY">University of Illinois Extension specialist Dave Seibert said the change of dates reduced the number of show animals this year to about 600, compared to 1,000 at the 2007 event. But he said overall attendance was normal.
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<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;" class="BODY">"We were a little worried about that because of the change of locations, but we were pleasantly surprised," said Seibert, who manages the annual bull sale.
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<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;" class="BODY">Seibert said the average $2,545 sale price for bulls this year was the third highest on record and was up $471 from last year's average.
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<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;" class="BODY">Tim Landis can be reached at (217) 788-1536.