NDSA All Breeds Cattle Tour
Oct. 13-14, Bismarck and Mandan, N.D.

The North Dakota Stockman’s Association (NDSA) will showcase seedstock operations in the Bismarck and Mandan areas during its annual All Breeds Cattle Tour. The Seven Seas hotel in Mandan will serve as tour headquarters. To make reservations call (701) 663-7401. For more information about the tour, call (701) 223-2522.

2006 Fall Beef Cattle Workshop
Oct. 14, Converse, Texas

The workshop, sponsored by Texas Cooperative Extension, will be from 8:30 a.m. to 4:15 p.m., at the Connell Life Skills and Livestock Center at Boysville. Topics will include herbicide and brush control, fly control and pesticide application, laws and regulations, wildlife predator control, cattle vaccination and bioterrorism.

Six continuing education credits will be available. The workshop costs $15 and includes lunch. Make reservations by Oct. 12 by calling Sonija Tedesco at (210) 467-6575.

Multi-county Program
Oct. 17, Ozona, Texas

Texas Cooperative Extension will hold a multi-county mesquite and pricklypear herbicide plot tour from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Oct. 17. The tour will begin at the Crockett County Youth Civic Center, 103 Medical Drive in Ozona. Six Texas Department of Agriculture (TDA) continuing education units will be available for participants.

Program topics will include test plot treatments and cost, selection and calibration of ground equipment, TDA laws and regulations, plant response to control treatments, rangeland pesticide labels, individual plant treatments, and the new rangeland pilot insurance program.

Individual registration is $15 by Oct. 12, and $20 thereafter. To register and for more information, call the Extension office in Crockett County at (325) 392-2721.

Extension, FSA meeting
Oct. 19, San Antonio, Texas

The Texas Cooperative Extension, the Texas Department of Agriculture and the Farm Service Agency (FSA) will host a free meeting to introduce two new USDA programs — the 2007 Pasture, Rangeland and Forage Risk Management Insurance Pilot Program and the Livestock Assistance Grant Program.

The meeting will be from 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m., in room 100B of the Performing Arts building of the Palo Alto College in San Antonio. The sign-up deadline for the insurance program is Nov. 30; the livestock assistance program sign-up deadline is Nov. 13.

Call the Bexar County Extension office at (210) 467-6575 to register by Oct. 16.

Far West Texas Range Workshops
Oct. 25-26, Coyanosa, Iraan

Texas Cooperative Extension in Pecos and Reeves counties will host two identical range workshops. The first will be Oct. 25 in Coyanosa; the second, Oct. 26 in Iraan. Both programs will start at 9 a.m. Three Texas Department of Agriculture continuing education units will be available at both sites.

The morning session topics will be “Stocking Rates vs. Carrying Capacity,” “Grazing Behavior and Effective Stocking Rates,” “Riparian Areas in the Trans Pecos,” “Range and Forage Monitoring,” and “Range Nutrition.” Following a lunch break, the afternoon program will cover “Toxic Plants,” and “Pasture Rangeland and Forage Risk Management Insurance Program.”

Adjournment will be at 4 p.m. following a hands-on field work session. Both meetings are free and open to the public. Lunch is “on your own” at both sites.

A digital camera appropriate for use in range monitoring will be given to the person at each site who makes the most accurate range forage estimate.

For more information and to register, call the Extension office in Pecos County at (432) 336-2541 or Reeves County at (432) 447-9041.

HOLT CAT® Symposium
Oct. 26-27, Kingsville, Texas

The third HOLT CAT® Symposium on Excellence in Ranch Management will take place Oct. 26-27 at Texas A&M University-Kingsville Campus and the King Ranch Institute for Ranch Management.

The “Ranch Business Planning: A Balanced Approach” symposium will teach ranchers how to create a successful business plan that addresses a ranch’s natural resources, livestock, wildlife, business and people. The “Balanced Scorecard” concept will be discussed. Industry experts will work with symposium participants in a small group, workshop environment. Topic-related tours of King Ranch will complete the workshop. Spanish translation will be provided.

Visit http://krirm.tamuk.edu or contact symposium planners at (361) 593-5401 or krirm@tamuk.edu for more information.

Women in Agriculture Conference
Nov. 1-3, Louisville, Ky.

The Kentucky Women in Agriculture will host its seventh conference, themed “Rooted in Tradition — Exploring the Future,” at the Clarion Hotel and Conference Center in Louisville.

Two preconference workshops, focused on small-scale producer business planning and sustainable ag programs, will kick off the event. The conference will begin Nov. 2 with three sets of concurrent sessions throughout the day in tracks titled heritage, agritourism, farm safety and security, and telling your story. Roundtable discussion and meals are planned.

Preregistration for the conference is required, and registration is limited. Register, by the Oct. 20 deadline, at www.kywomeninag.org.

Beef Improvement Federation
June 6-9, 2007

The 2007 Beef Improvement Federation (BIF) annual research symposium and annual meeting will be June 6-9, 2007, in Fort Collins, Colo. Colorado’s beef cattle producers and scientists extend an invitation to return to the Centennial State’s majestic mountains and plains for the 40th anniversary of the birth of BIF.

“Forty years ago, a group of visionary cattle producers and scientists changed the industry by formalizing a plan to bring objective measurement to the selection of cattle,” said Tom Field, animal sciences professor at Colorado State University (CSU) and one of the 2007 Colorado BIF Convention organizers. “Looking back at the last 40 years of production and innovation, the tie can be made between the improvements made and visionary plan set into motion on that great day. Now, 40 years later in the Centennial State, we have an opportunity to chart a new course. This opportunity comes once in a lifetime, and there isn’t a cattle producer in the country that should miss it.”

A spouse/family tour will explore Estes Park and Rocky Mountain National Park. For more information, visit www.beefimprovement.org.

The meeting will be hosted by CSU, Colorado Livestock Association, Colorado Cattlemen’s Association and BIF. Program details and registration information will be available soon.

— compiled by Micky Wilson, assistant editor, Angus Productions Inc.