The Iowa Cattlemen’s Foundation is wrapping up production on the first order of beef sticks to be sent overseas to Iowa soldiers. The “Beef’n Up The Troops” campaign launched at the beginning of this month as a way to send a taste of home to the soldiers overseas. I-C-F Executive Vice-President Joel Brinkmeyer says 13-thousand-500 of the one-ounce beef sticks will go out in the first shipment.He says the target is the Iowa National Guard and Iowa reservists, and they hope to get the sticks to all Iowans serving in Iraq, Kosovo and Afghanistan. Brinkmeyer says they also hope to get the sticks to regular duty troops. He says the will ship small quantities of the sticks to Iowans in the enlisted military if they can get their addresses. The I-C-F has raised over 13-thousand dollars in the campaign so far, and Brinkmeyer says that’ll cover the cost of the first shipment. He says the first shipment will cost around 75-hundred to eight thousand dollars to produce and ship, so he says with a little more fundraising, they should be able to make a second shipment. The first shipment is set to go out June 8th. The beef for the sticks came from the Iowa Quality Beef Plant in Tama and is being processed and packaged by Triple T Specialty Meats of Ackley. Donations to the program can be sent to the I-C-F, P.O. Box 14-90, in Ames, 50014. Call 515-296-2266 for more information.