NEW SHARON, Iowa — The pride is evident in the voice of Carleton Meinders Jr. — better known to his friends as Junior — when he talks about the family farm.

“We’re pretty proud of our family and what we have built,” he says.

From the time bulls are born, breeders already have a good idea which ones they will likely take to the annual Illinois Performance Tested Bull Sale, said Curt Rincker, a Simmental and Angus beef producer in Shelby County.

Rincker Simmentals includes Curt and Pam, daughter Cari of Champaign, and son Brent of Shelbyville. Together they were named the Illinois Beef Association Beef Farm Family of the Year in 2014.

BUCKNER, Mo. — A January snow covered Missouri’s brown pastures, but for producers like Bruce Mershon, he knew in a few months that grass would turn green, the spring rains would fall, and one of the best cattle- raising regions of the country would spring to life.

Mershon, the president-elect of the Missouri Cattlemen’s Association, says these resources have given the state’s cattle producers an open door for generations, even if sometimes it is more narrow than others.

Brady Kramer, his wife and sons live in his grandfather’s original farmhouse near Farina in southern Illinois.

Here, they carry on a family tradition of raising cattle that started six generations ago.

Mallory Robinson began her duties as director of the Iowa Beef Expo in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, and unlike many shows, she has this year’s event right on schedule.

The winter event will be held Feb. 13-21 at the Iowa State Fairgrounds in Des  Moines.

Joe Nelson and Byron Wheeler admit to being a bit nervous as the COVID-19 pandemic started impacting the Midwest last March.

But 11 months later, both livestock market owners say they have adapted and continue to host large sales.