Leigh Rubin calls himself “a sit-down comedian,” and it's likely you've chuckled — more likely guffawed — upon viewing his reality-bending cartoons before. His cartoon panel Rubes^® appears in hundreds of newspapers across the country and graces millions of greeting cards, mugs and T-shirts. He's published more than a dozen books to date and has an ongoing series of calendars, as well.

His focus, he says, is on what he calls “guerrilla warfare humor.”

“I want to surprise people. They don't really know what they're going to get any day,” he recently told Relish. But a common foil in his work is cattle, and that's what brings Rubes to our monthly BEEF Xpress page (page 6) starting this month.

Agenda is complete

The final agenda for the 2007 BEEF Quality Summit, set for Nov. 7-8, is now complete. Check out the schedule for this BEEF magazine-sponsored meeting in Omaha, NE, on page 91 of this issue.

Themed “Beef Quality In The Ethanol Era,” the program is designed to provide attendees with the background, knowledge and tools to garner more value from their cattle in this new ethanol-driven paradigm. The two-day meeting features presentations by top experts from the production, processing, retail and academic sectors of the U.S. beef industry who will delve into the topics of ethanol's effect on beef quality, ethanol's effect on the beef industry, and ethanol's effect on your operation.

Throughout the meeting, there will be ample opportunity for attendees to network with experts and other producers to learn how to increase the value of their cattle. A new feature of this year's BEEF Quality Summit is a one-on-one opportunity for attendees to meet with representatives of various value-based marketing alliances in attendance. And a special added bonus is the introduction of the winners of BEEF magazine's 2007 Trailblazer Award and National Stocker Award.

The registration fee includes the two-day conference, one breakfast, two lunches, an evening reception and a dinner. At just $125 for early registration (which ends Oct. 1, after which registration is $150), it's a great value, and a good investment in your operation's future. To learn more, or to register, visit www.beefconference.com, or call 1-800-722-5334, ext. 14606.