News Update
February 6, 2012
Coverage of Cattle Industry Convention
& NCBA Trade Show Available
Cattle industry enthusiasts gathered in Nashville, Tenn., Feb. 1-4 to discuss the issues of the day, attend educational venues, visit with others from across the country and set policy to guide legislative efforts for the coming year at the 114th annual Cattle Industry Convention and NCBA Trade Show.
The convention included joint and individual meetings by five industry organizations: National Cattlemen's Beef Association (NCBA), Cattlemen's Beef Promotion & Research Board (CBB), American National CattleWomen Inc. (ANCW), CattleFax and the National Cattlemen's Foundation (NCF).
Visit the newsroom at www.4cattlemen.com for coverage of this year's conference provided by Angus Productions Inc. Links to coverage of past conferences are available in the Archive.
Beef Feed Efficiency Webinar from eXtension
The eXtension Beef Cattle Clearinghouse Community of Practice will conduct a one-hour webinar Feb. 9 starting at noon CST. Speakers will be Bob Weaber, Kansas State University (K-State) and Matt Spangler, University of Nebraska–Lincoln (UNL).
"Selection for Improved Feed Efficiency: A Genomics Approach" will feature comments by Spangler and Weaber, who will discuss the importance of feed efficiency in the U.S. beef value chain, various measures of efficiency and genetic relationships between feed efficiency and other production traits. Additionally, genomic methods for genetic improvement of feed efficiency and an overview of a large research and extension initiative will be discussed.
Webinar connection instructions: At the meeting time, simply click on the following link or copy and paste it into your browser to enter the meeting: https://connect.extension.iastate.edu/beefcattle.
When you go to the URL you will find yourself at a login page. Click on the radio button for 'Enter as Guest,' enter your name and click 'Enter Room' button. You may be asked to load the Adobe Connect Add-in, which is required for the webinar.
Anytime before the meeting you can visit the following URL to confirm your ability to connect to the Connect server: http://www.extension.iastate.edu/testconnect.
Please contact either Rick Rasby (UNL Beef Extension Specialist at rrasby@unlnotes.unl.edu) or Weaber at bweaber@k-state.edu with any questions.
East Texas School for Novice Ranchers Accepting Students
Though usually billed as being for novices, this year's three-day Pasture and Livestock Management Workshop will have information that all ranchers, both beginners and experienced, can use to cut costs and raise profits, according to the faculty at the Texas AgriLife Research and Extension Center at Overton.
Set for March 27-29 at the center, the workshop is now accepting students. As in previous years, registration is limited to 60 to allow plenty of one-on-one time between the instructors and students.
"The drought, its effects upon current and summer pasture conditions, hay supplies — and even the cost of corn is a game changer," said Monte Rouquette, Texas AgriLife Research forage scientist, and one of the program instructors.
Of course, Rouquette said, the foundation of any cattle business anywhere is built upon good grazing and forage management, and that's largely what the school is about.
Registration for the three-day school is $350, which includes meals, including lunches, barbecue, a steak dinner, Continental style breakfasts, break refreshments and educational materials.
"We've heard again and again from students that what they've learned in the first morning paid for the cost of the course many times over," said Greg Clary, AgriLife Extension economist and one of the course instructors.
The school is split between the classroom and instruction in the field. In-field demonstrations cover all aspects of running a beef operation, from establishing and maintaining high-quality forages, calibrating sprayers, taking soil samples, castrating and vaccinating cattle, and de-horning calves, said Vanessa Corriher, AgriLife Extension forage specialist and workshop instructor, Overton.
Also included will be training on writing a business plan for a ranch, keeping proper records, choosing the appropriate forage species for different soils, understanding soil fertility, establishing forage systems that minimize winter feeding costs, setting correct stocking rates, choosing the right cattle breeds, promoting good animal health and marketing cattle.
Also, dealing with wild pigs, aka feral hogs, has become crucial to ranchers throughout Texas. There will be extensive instruction on trapping and other types of control by Billy Higginbotham, AgriLife Extension wildlife specialist, Overton, a nationally recognized expert in the field, Rouquette said.
A full program agenda can be found at http://overton.tamu.edu/beef-cattle/grazing-school-2012/.
A registration form can be printed out from the same webpage and mailed with a check to the center.
Participants may also reserve an opening by phone or email by contacting Jennifer Lloyd, 903-834-619 or jllloyd@ag.tamu.edu. Lloyd will have information on class openings, local accommodations and driving directions to the center, Rouquette said.
Five Colleges of Veterinary Medicine Form Regional Consortium
Five prominent colleges of veterinary medicine located in the Western United States recently convened to create the Consortium of Western Regional Colleges of Veterinary Medicine. The Consortium was formed to collaborate in the advancement of initiatives critical to the future of the veterinary profession.
To ensure actions are put in place to address these priorities, representatives from each of the colleges created a regional think-tank with a commitment to action and mutual collaboration. Representatives, including the deans from Colorado State University, Oregon State University, Western University of Health Sciences, Washington State University and the University of California at Davis, met in San Francisco this past October and created the Consortium to pursue set objectives.
The inaugural meeting of the Consortium was funded and facilitated by Pfizer Animal Health as part of the company's Commitment to Veterinarians™ platform — which offers support through training and education, research and development, investing in the future of the veterinary profession, and philanthropy.
The Consortium collaborated on the following topics outlined as top priorities in veterinary medicine:
- Gaps between selected career tracks among veterinarians and societal needs
- Targeted recruiting and professional readiness among graduating veterinarians
- Learning and application of soft skills to keep veterinarians at the center of healthcare
- Identifying and devising ways for academic institutions to share resources and create Centers of Excellence
- The importance of strong and continued faculty development to promote rich and innovative learning environments
"The first meeting of the Consortium of Western Regional Colleges of Veterinary Medicine was tremendously productive; the concept behind the group and the identified areas of potential collaboration align closely with strategic priorities of the veterinary profession, as well as with short- and long-term goals of the institutions, with a focus on creating better-prepared graduates, developing faculty and modeling collaboration," said Vanessa Mariani, director of academic & professional affairs for Pfizer Animal Health. "We are fully committed to continued engagement with the Consortium in support of securing a strong, relevant future for the profession."
An important achievement during the inaugural meeting of the Consortium was the development of a rubric for collaboration, which will be used to develop and implement shared strategies. Unanimous agreement was reached to start working immediately on the topic of faculty development by creating a regional teaching academy. Plans are being developed for Consortium members to reconvene in the near future to work out the details of this initial collaborative project.
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