Event Dates: April 11th -- April 13th, 2024
Hotel phone number: (573) 635-1234
Each party will need to book their own hotel rooms in our provided block. The block number you will need is the following: (240411202) and just let them know you are with the Block and Bridle National Convention.
Registration Fee: $250 per registered individual; Early Registration ends March 15th (After March 15th, the registration fee will increase to $300 and a T-shirt is not guaranteed).
What does this include? Tours, provided meals, and a T-shirt!
EACH INDIVIDUAL WILL NEED THEIR OWN REGISTRATION FORM BUT, PAYMENT CAN BE SUBMITTED AS ONE ORGANIZATION
IF YOU ARE AN ADVISOR, REGISTER AS A STUDENT AND SPECIFY YOU ARE AN ADVISOR WITH YOUR NAME
Tour descriptions are listed below.
Please understand that all tours are first come; first serve and if spots are not available, the attendee will be placed in whichever spots are available.
The Southwest Swing: Take a trip to Southwest Missouri to
encounter one of the best semen collection and bovine reproductive businesses
in the country, Show Me Genetic Services, run by two Block and Bridle alumni. Visit
a fish hatchery called Lost Valley Hatchery that is run by the Missouri
Department of Conservation and specializing in warm and cool water fish species
with 77 production ponds. Stopping back in Jefferson City, visit the historic George
Washington Carver Farm operated by HBCU, Lincoln University. At the Carver Farm
they specialize in both plant and animal research with integrated systems.
Cows, Mares, and Corn, Oh My: Travel North to one of the
world’s best known multi-breed cattle semen and collection businesses, Cattle
Visions at its home base in Clark. Follow with a short drive to Mexico,
Missouri to visit the internationally known Angus producers at Sydenstricker
Genetics whose genetics reach across the country and globally. North of Mexico,
visit our Missouri Director of Agriculture, Mrs. Chris Chinn at her family’s
feed mill in Clarence to learn about their multi-generational hog operation and
integration. Lastly, head back South with a stop in Columbia to visit the
University of Missouri Horse Farm and learn about our state animal, the
Missouri Mule, with our hitch team.
Ponies and Cheese: This tour is a chance to visit one of the
most iconic equine facilities in the world, the Anheuser Busch Clydesdales at
Warm Springs Ranch in Boonville. These horses are known globally as the face of
the adult beverage companies and a signature opening day hitch team of the St.
Louis Cardinals professional baseball team. In the afternoon visit one of
Missouri’s value-added dairy farms, Shatto Dairy to
learn about their cow operations, dairy processing, and Agri-tourism
businesses. Hemme Brothers specializes in cheese production with a focus on
regenerative agriculture management practices on their farm. Shatto Dairy is
known for their specialty milk taken from the cow, bottled, and to the store in
less than 24 hours.
Research, Exotics, and Wurst: If you love animal nutrition,
this is the tour for you. The morning of this tour will be spent in Gray Summit
Missouri at Purina Farms, where they perform research for their animal
nutrition lines and educate the public about agriculture. This will be followed
by a stop at the Oak Creek Whitetails Ranch to learn about farm raised
whitetail deer, red deer, elk, and other exotics, including some world record individuals,
and their guided hunt business. Lastly, stop in at the Hermann Wurst Haus, a family-owned
German style meat shop who has won international awards for their bratwurst,
German sausage, and bacons. There will even be an opportunity to taste the products
that they are extremely proud of.
