KPRA “Richest one-night rodeo in history” is coming back! Make plans to attend this and all the Beef Empire Days events.
Honoring The Mission
Without waver, the goal throughout the past half century plus of Beef Empire Days has been and remains the advancement in the production and quality of beef, improvement of communications and continued education and promotion of beef.
With more than a dozen plus events held annually, Beef Empire Days is THE premier beef industry event of the west. Join us as we honor age old traditions in everything from ranch style cowboying, beef production, to the best ways to serve up our favorite meat. There is an event for everyone in the family to enjoy!
Come celebrate the kickoff to the Beef Empire Days festival with a week long, family-friendly, carnival. There are rides and all of the amazing carnival foods you can imagine.
Bring your family out as the excitement mounts for this year’s celebration of Beef in southwest Kansas winds up!
The cattle begin arriving at dawn or before and the excitement level will peak by mid-morning when the annual Merck Live Show takes center stage. Anyone with an interest in the cattle feeding industry is invited to be in the stands at the Finney County Fairgrounds.
Once selections have been made the exhibited animals will be harvested and judged on carcass production. Winners of the event are announced at the Awards Banquet at the end of BED 2024.
Want to know how the traditional cowboy works the herd? The Ranch Rodeo includes events in which traditional working cowboys gather to compete and demonstrate skills that are used every day in cattle ranching operations. Although there are some similarities to the rodeos people are accustomed to seeing, ranch rodeo events typically use combinations of roping, horsemanship, and groundwork skills to create a more genuine presentation of real-life ranch work. This is considered to be a team event, not an individual competition. A team consists of three members. Events are doctoring, mugging and penning.
Garden City’s largest parade is sure to be a crowd-pleaser with 100 or more entries. The parade begins promptly at 10:00 a.m. at the American Legion going north towards Walnut.
Over the 10-day festival, there’s an event for everyone in the family to enjoy, whether it be carnival, parade, rodeo, livestock shows, tennis and softball tournaments, music, entertainment, and, of course, tons and tons of great beef.
"Of the sixteen events held during the twelve-day fiesta, each was full of laughter, thought provoking conversation, and undeniable kinsmanship. Don’t get me wrong; the competition is still stiff in the Live Cattle and Carcass Show competitions, the air was just that of good old friends celebrating what we do best, raise beef."
Jump on board! There are several ways to get involved with Beef Empire Days whether you want to be in the saddle or behind the scenes, we have a place for you! Please do not hesitate to learn more below or even contact us for further information. We can't wait to get you involved!
Sign up and registration for events has never been easier! Follow the link bellow to get involved in your favorite parts of the festival!
As a not-for-profit community organization we are ALWAYS in search of volunteers to help make this timeless tradition continue without skipping a beat.
Sponsoring Beef Empire Days is more than contribution to a one time event. It's a lifetime of tradition and community involvement in southwest Kansas. Your business deserves to be associated with this organization!
