Industry Events
July 19, 2007

Michigan Angus Ass’n Field Day
July 28, Clarksville

Michigan Angus breeders are encouraged to attend the Michigan Angus Association Field Day Saturday, July 28, hosted by Bonnie and Darwin Canfield at their farm in Clarksville, Mich.

Field day activities, which are scheduled to begin at 3 p.m., include educational seminars, a judging contest for both youth and adults, and a door prize drawing. Events will conclude following a complimentary dinner at 6 p.m.

The educational seminars will feature several guest speakers discussing the following herd management topics: heat detection and synchronization programs, general beef cattle nutrition and methods for maximizing forage in beef cattle.

The field day, along with scheduled activities, is free and does not require a registration. For more information regarding the Michigan Angus Association Field Day, contact Bonnie Canfield, Michigan Angus Association treasurer, at 616-350-7415 or 616-868-6412; bondarhnb@aol.com; or 8002 Freeport Ave., Clarksville, Mich. 48815.

— Information provided by the American Angus Association.

Texas A&M Beef  Cattle Short Course
Aug. 6-8, College Station

Nineteen educational sessions will be offered at the 2007 Texas A&M Beef Cattle Short Course. The three-day program will take place at the Texas A&M University campus in College Station and is sponsored by Texas Cooperative Extension. 

This year’s program highlights many changes and innovations introduced to the beef industry. A Cattleman’s College is scheduled, and participants can select from more than 70 hours of beef cattle instructional training through seminars, workshops and demonstrations taught by more than 50 speakers.

Traditionally, the Wednesday morning sessions feature hands-on demonstrations for participants, but this year participants can choose from several live-animal demonstrations. 

Live-cattle demonstrations will include different processing equipment and setups and will demonstrate proper cattle handling techniques. Focus will be on cattle and cowboy safety along with low-stress, efficient cattle handling principles.

 A carcass value demonstration at the Texas A&M Meats Lab will give participants an opportunity to see different cuts of meat and discuss ranch management practices that can affect beef quality.

Other topics to be covered Wednesday include beef cattle selection, chute-side calf processing techniques and maintaining production and financial records. Participants will also have an opportunity to obtain a private pesticide applicator’s license. 

Short course registration is $140 per participant (if registered by July 30), and includes admission to the conference, a copy of the short course proceedings (a 300-page publication), trade show admittance, tickets to the special Aggie prime rib dinner, additional meals and refreshment breaks. Seven pesticide continuing education units, 16 veterinary continuing education credits and numerous Beef Quality Assurance credits may be obtained.

For further information or to register, visit http://beef.tamu.edu or call 979-845-6931.

Texas A&M Summer Field Tour
Aug. 8, Bushland

Titled “Alternative Energy Sources from Agriculture,” the field day will focus on agriculture’s role in the energy industry.

The field day will take place at the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station and U.S. Department of Agriculture-Agriculture Research Service (USDA-ARS) research facilities west of Bushland.

Topics will include wind energy, feedlots and bioenergy, solar energy, and potential ethanol production from perennial wheat, sorghum, dryland corn and grass mixtures.

The statewide Experiment Station research program and future directions in biofuels will be the topic for the keynote address.

Registration will begin at 9 a.m., and the tours will start at 9:30 a.m. A noon meal will be served.

For more information, contact Kay Ledbetter, Experiment Station communications specialist, at 806-677-5600.

K-State Beef Conference
Aug. 9-10, Manhattan, Kan.

The two-day conference will take place at Weber Hall at K-State’s Manhattan campus and will focus on adding value to calves. The event will include presentations aimed at increasing efficiency and profit on cattle operations. Nine presentations are scheduled for Thursday, followed by three more the following day.

The conference will begin with registration at 9 a.m. Thursday and end at 6 p.m. The conference will begin at 8 a.m. Friday and end at noon.

Lunch and dinner will be provided on the first day of the conference. Breaks will be provided both days. Registration fees are $150 per person and are due by Aug. 3.

For more information visit www.asi.ksu.edu/beefconference or call Larry Hollis at 785-532-1246. Call Linda Siebold at 785-532-1281 for questions regarding conference registration.

2007 Kansas Angus Tour
Aug. 10-11

Angus breeders and enthusiasts of all ages are invited to experience “Angus on the Santa Fe,” the 2007 Kansas Angus Tour, Aug. 10-11.

This year’s Kansas Angus Tour involves a mix of family fun and fellowship along with educational experiences. The two-day event highlights 10 Kansas Angus breeders and cattle operations, including tours of the following three ranches: Bohi Land and Cattle Co., Wellsville, Kan., Sankey’s 6N Ranch, Council Grove, Kan., and Clay White Ranch, Peabody, Kan. In addition, “Angus on the Santa Fe,” features guest speakers and several sponsor exhibits. An array of authentic cowboy experiences, including delicious meals and entertainment, will also contribute to an enjoyable event.

The 2007 tour begins with registration on Friday, Aug. 10, at Bohi Land and Cattle Co. In addition to a ranch tour, attendees can meet with the following featured Angus breeders serving as cattle display hosts: BAX Maternal Beef Genetics, Sund Farm, and May-Way Farms. Friday’s events also include guest speaker, Bill Bowman, American Angus Association vice president of information and data programs and director of performance programs. Bowman will discuss new heifer pregnancy (HP) expected progeny differences (EPDs). The evening concludes with a steak dinner, entertainment and youth activities.

Good food and entertainment begin Saturday’s events, as registrants enjoy a breakfast of biscuits and gravy at the oldest restaurant west of the Mississippi, the Hays House Restaurant. Entertainment includes Josh Hoy’s Chuck Wagon Experience and Cowboy Coffee, cowboy balladeer and author Jim Hoy, and Christian horseman Rex Buchman.

Saturday ranch tours begin at Sankey’s 6N Ranch. In addition to a ranch tour, participants have the opportunity to experience more industry sponsor exhibits and visit the following herd gathering displays: R & L Angus, Hedgewood Prairie Angus, Vohs Angus Farm and Trademark Ranch.

Youth attendees have the exciting opportunity to partake in the “Lil Cowboy and Cowgirl Ranch Rodeo” featuring stick-horse barrel and pole bending races as well as a much anticipated straw bale calf roping competition.

“Angus on the Santa Fe” concludes with a third ranch tour of Clay White Ranch, sightseeing of a historic three-story stone barn, and lunch.

There is no registration cost for the Kansas Angus Tour; however, tour participants are responsible for their own lodging reservations and cost of lodging. Registrants are also responsible for transportation between tour stops.

Those interested in attending “Angus on the Santa Fe,” are encouraged to preregister; preregistration closes Aug. 1. You may register online at www.kansasangus.org. Registrations and additional event information may be obtained by contacting Anne Lampe, Kansas Angus Association secretary/manager at 5201 E. Rd. 110 Scott City, KS 67871; 620-872-3915; or kansasangus@wbsnet.org.

Tour lodging headquarters are at the Cottage House Hotel and Motel in Council Grove, Kan. Call 1-800-727-7903 to make reservations. Attendees may also make reservations at the Comfort Inn, located in Ottawa, Kan., near Bohi Land & Cattle. Call the Comfort Inn at 785-242-9898 to make reservations.

— Information provided by the American Angus Association.

K-State Risk and Profit Conference
Aug. 16-17, Manhattan, Kan.

Two nationally prominent speakers will highlight the 2007 K-State Risk and Profit Conference Aug. 16-17 at the K-State Alumni Center in Manhattan.

Keynote speakers will be Elwynn Taylor, a professor of agronomy and Extension climatologist at Iowa State University, and Sarah Fogleman, an Extension agricultural economist at K-State and an expert in farm and ranch human resource management.

The theme for this year’s conference, sponsored by K-State’s Department of Agricultural Economics, is “Wild Weather, Policy Politics, and Energy Equilibriums.”

Taylor will kick off the event on Thursday with a presentation titled “Long-Run Weather Trends and Crop Yields.” Fogleman’s presentation on “Cultivating a Culture of Success” is slated for Thursday evening, following dinner.

Other presentations will focus on topics pertinent to today’s farming and ranching operations, including an update on biofuels and a presentation on disaster aid and crop insurance. Other topics of interest to the agricultural community will also be featured. Attendees can choose to attend up to eight different sessions from among such topics as: disaster aid, crop and whole-farm revenue insurance; the 2007 Farm Bill; effect of government subsidies on rural development; biofuels; interrelationship of ethanol, dried distillers’ grains (DDGs) and cattle; ethanol production in Brazil; higher land values; autoguidance equipment; grain handling and transportation in western Kansas; no-till efficiency; cattle feeding return risk; appeal of U.S. agricultural products to Japanese consumers; web savvy tips; and results from a water quality trading experiment conducted in 2006.

Registration begins Aug. 16 at 10 a.m., with lunch served at 11:30 a.m. On Aug. 17, the conference begins with breakfast from 6:45-7:30 a.m. The conference ends late Friday afternoon.

Registration fees are $180 for the initial participant in a group and $160 for each additional person, if postmarked by Aug. 8. Fees for late registrants are $200 for the first person and $175 for each additional participant. The fees include four meals (two lunches, one dinner, and one breakfast), a compact disc containing the conference proceedings and a parking pass.

More information, including downloadable registration forms, are available on the web at www.agmanager.info/events/ or by calling 785-532-1504.

Plant management workshop, field day
Aug. 17, Pampa, Texas

A workshop and field day designed to help ranchers improve their plant identification skills is set for Aug. 17 at the Mesa Vista Ranch, located 32 miles north of Pampa, Texas, on U.S. Hwy. 70 in Roberts County.

“Plant Management: The Key to Better Rangeland Management” will begin at 11:30 a.m. with registration and conclude with a ranch tour that includes practical plant identification methods.

Lunch, provided by Mesa Vista Ranch, will be served at noon, and afternoon topics of discussion will include “Plant ID: Is it Worth the Effort?,” “Know Your Plants and How to Manipulate Them,” “Why I Like Weeds,” and “The Value of Plants to Wildlife,” by Ken Cearley, Extension wildlife specialist.

Three continuing education units — two in the general and one in integrated pest management — will be offered for pesticide applicators.

Registration is free, but participants are asked to make reservations on or before Aug. 10 so meal arrangements can be made. For more information or to register call 806-868-3191.

Missouri Angus Tour
Aug. 24-26

The Missouri Angus Association will host a tour of northeast Missouri, headquartered in Hannibal.

The tour, which includes meals and bus transportation, costs $75 per person and does not include hotel accommodations.

Quality Inn & Suites in Hannibal will serve as the host hotel. Rooms start at $76.95 or $86.95 for suites. Call 573-221-4001 to make reservations. Ask for the Missouri Angus block of rooms.

All tour entries should be sent to Kris Graupman, 4152 CR 230, Palmyra, MO 63641. Be sure to include the names of each tour participant as well as $75 for each person. Make checks payable to the Missouri Angus Tour.

For more information contact Graupman at 573-769-2956.

OSU Summer Workshops
August-October, Ohio

The Ohio State University’s Sustainable Agriculture Team will sponsor a series of tours and workshops throughout the summer.

A farm that makes its own biodiesel, cattle and poultry that thrive on grass, and sheep and goats that transform weeds into pasture will highlight the tours.

• Aug. 28, Soil Health and Quality Workshop in Wood County — Agricultural Incubator Foundation, 13737 Middleton Pike Rd. (state Route 582), Bowling Green, 9 a.m.-3:30 p.m., $25 (includes lunch and books). For farm families, crop consultants, Extension educators and others. Hands-on activities to assess, measure and improve the overall health and quality of farm soils. Call Alan Sundermeier at 419-354-9050 by Aug. 18 to register.

• Aug. 30, Organic Grain Research Field Day — West Badger Farm, Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center (OARDC), 1518 Barnard Rd., Wooster, 1-4 p.m., free, 330-202-3528. Presented by scientists with OARDC’s Organic Food and Farming Education and Research program, now in its ninth year. Tour organic grain plots and compare different production methods.

• Sept. 27, Soil Health and Quality Workshop in Wayne County — Fisher Auditorium, OARDC, 1680 Madison Ave., Wooster, 9 a.m.-3:30 p.m., $25 (includes lunch and books). See Aug. 28 details. Call Alan Sundermeier at 419-354-9050, by Sept. 17 to register.

• Oct. 10, Organic Livestock and On-farm Biodiesel Production — Mike and Dawn Roberts Farm, 7203 Waynesburg Rd. N.W., Waynesburg, 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m., free, 330-866-2132. A certified-organic, grass-based operation that milks Normande cattle using an all-forage diet in a managed grazing system, produces and direct-markets pasture-raised beef and poultry, and recently received a U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education grant to develop an on-farm biodiesel system to refine used cooking oil and use it to power the farm’s equipment.

Visit http://sustainableag.osu.edu to download the schedule, along with the schedule of summer tours and workshops offered by Innovative Farmers of Ohio, the Ohio Ecological Food and Farm Association, the Ohio Grassland and Forage Council, and the Small Farm Institute.

For more information, contact Mike Hogan, Carroll County office, OSU Extension, 32 W. Main St., Carrollton, OH 44615; 330-627-4310; hogan.1@osu.edu.

Purdue agribusiness conferences, seminars
Oct.-Nov.

Purdue University will host conferences and seminars aimed at those in agribusiness. Among the seminars are:

• Oct. 22-26 — Agrimarketing

• Nov. 13-14 — National Conference for Agribusiness: “Re-Thinking Service Strategies: Innovations that Drive Profit.”

For more information about these conferences and seminars, contact Purdue’s Center for Food and Agricultural Business at 765-494-4247 or agbusinessinfo@purdue.edu.