Twenty thousand potential buyers are expected to descend on Louisville March 6-8 to attend 12 purebred cattle shows and sales at the 23rd annual Kentucky Farm Bureau Beef Expo at the Kentucky Exposition Center.

Angus and Red Angus breeds will kick off the shows at 10 a.m. Friday, March 6, followed by Salers at 11:30 a.m., Chiangus and Hereford at 1 p.m., Beefalo and Pen Heifer (all breeds) at 2 p.m., and Red Poll and Simmental at 4 p.m. The shows continue on Saturday, March 7 with Limousin and Shorthorn at 10 a.m., followed by Charolais at noon.

All 12 sales are on March 7, starting with Red Poll at 9:30 a.m., Salers and Red Angus at 10 a.m., Simmental at 11 a.m., Beefalo at 11:30 a.m., Angus at noon, Hereford at 12:30 p.m., Shorthorn at 1 p.m., Pen Heifer (all breeds) at 2 p.m., Limousin at 3 p.m., Chiangus at 3:30 p.m. and Charolais at 4 p.m.

Other expo activities include Junior Jackpot Steer, Heifer and Market Heifer Shows, a youth judging contest for 4-H and FFA members and a trade show.

The Kentucky Department of Agriculture works closely with the beef expo board in promoting, advertising and coordinating the event. KDA staff will help conduct the shows and sales.

The shows and sales will be broadcast over the Internet for the first time. For more information, visit the expo’s Web site at www.kybeefexpo.com.

Besides the KDA and Kentucky Farm Bureau, the Expo’s other major co-sponsors include the Kentucky Cattleman’s Association, Kentucky Farm Credit, Burkmann Feeds, Merial and Nutrena.