News Update
June 12, 2014
Master Grazer Program Hosts
Eastern Kentucky Field Day
Eastern Kentucky livestock and forage producers who are interested in learning about making their pastures more profitable should consider attending the East Region Grazing Field Day.
The University of Kentucky (UK) Master Grazer Program field day will be Saturday, June 21, at the Morgan County Extension farm, rain or shine. Registration begins at 8 a.m. EDT. Presentations begin at 9 a.m.
Specialists and extension associates from the UK College of Agriculture, Food and Environment and county extension agents for agriculture and natural resources will lead the program. Topics will range from fence construction to understanding soil test results, to identifying and treating weeds in pastures.
The program may fulfill the educational requirements for County Agricultural Investment Program funding. Interested individuals should contact their county extension agent for agriculture and natural resources for details.
The field day will also include a free lunch and door prizes. The event will conclude at 3 p.m.
The farm is located just past the intersection of U.S. Route 460 and state Route 172 in West Liberty.
More information is available on the UK Master Grazer Program website at www2.ca.uky.edu/grazer/ or by contacting Cody Smith, UK Master Grazer coordinator at 859-257-7512. Producers can also contact the following county extension agents for agriculture and natural resources for more information:
- Morgan County: Sarah Fannin, 606-743-3292 or sfannin@uky.edu
- Wolfe County: Daniel Wilson, 606-668-3612 or daniel.wilson@uky.edu
- Elliott County: Mary McCarty, 606-738-6400 or mary.mccarty@uky.edu
- Menifee County: Courtney Jenkins, 606-768-2524 or courtney.lacy@uky.edu
Sponsors include the Kentucky Agricultural Development Fund, UK Robinson Center for Appalachian Resource Sustainability and various county extension district boards.
For more information, please view the Angus Journal Virtual Library calendar of upcoming events here.
Upcoming Field Days to Feature the
Latest in Beef Cattle Research
Illinois beef producers will have the opportunity to engage in discussion with University of Illinois (U of I) faculty, researchers, and Extension educators at four upcoming field days, featuring the latest in beef cattle research.
A research update and farm tours will be given at the U of I’s off-campus research stations, Dudley Smith Farm, Pana, Ill.; Dixon Springs Ag Center, Simpson, Ill.; and Orr Research Center, Perry, Ill. “Participants can gain insight into the latest research, industry trends and new management strategies that can all help them make more profitable decisions,” said Travis Meteer, a U of I beef Extension educator.
The Dudley Smith field day will take place on Tuesday, June 24, at the farm in Christian County near Pana, Ill. The program will start with registration at 9:30 a.m. Discussions on grazing management and supplementing cows on pasture will be featured with a tour of the farm following the discussions.
The Dixon Springs field day will be Thursday, July 31, at the Dixon Springs Agricultural Center in Simpson, Ill. The meeting will start at 5 p.m. The program will focus on reproductive, nutritional and forage research conducted at Dixon Springs.
The Orr Research Center field day will be Wednesday, Sept. 3, at the John Wood Community College Ag Center just off IL Rt. 104, outside of Perry, Ill. The event will start at 5 p.m. After a discussion on management strategies and an update on research at the Orr Center, participants will be shuttled to the farm just one-mile south and have an opportunity to tour the facility.
Another opportunity for southern Illinois producers is the Southern Illinois Beef Day. It is scheduled for Friday, July 18, at the Applied Science Center at Rend Lake College, Ina, Ill. Registration starts at 8:30 a.m. Topics include antibiotic issues and their effects on the cattle industry, non-nutritional reasons why cattle are not pregnant, and financial and forage production benefits of adaptive high-stock density grazing.
All locations will have refreshments available, but an RSVP is required.
For more information, please view the Angus Journal Virtual Library calendar of upcoming events here.
“Reconnect. Retool. Reclaim.” 2014 AABP
Annual Conference Aims to Recharge Veterinarians.
The 2014 47th American Association of Bovine Practitioners (AABP) Annual Conference Sept. 18-20 in Albuquerque, N.M., is taking continuing education to new heights with this year’s program. Registration is now open.
The 2014 program theme, “Reconnect. Retool. Reclaim.” is intended to encourage attendees to renew relationships with other like-minded cattle veterinarians (reconnect), expand their professional skillset (retool), and improve their business opportunities (reclaim), says AABP President-elect and Program Chairman John Davidson. “We have a top-notch program committee of dedicated private practitioners, clinicians and industry leaders focused on delivering timely, relevant and practical education that each attendee can take back to his or her practice and implement immediately,” Davidson says.
Davidson says the session line-up represents the very best of current and practical topics tailored to each segment of this far-reaching profession, with areas focused on cow-calf, feedlot and dairy, delivered by knowledgeable professionals. Ten limited enrollment clinical forums will be hosted by experts in an informal environment to allow for one-on-one interaction for maximum benefit. The keynote address will be delivered by Lowell Catlett, an internationally recognized agricultural economist and futurist.
Students will play a large part in the conference with student sessions, the 5th annual quiz bowl, student case competition and scholarship awards. Large animal veterinary technicians also have dedicated sessions.
For those seeking a deeper level of education in specific topics, more than 20 preconference sessions will be offered Sept. 14-17. AABP Vice President and Preconference Seminar Chairman Fred Gingrich says, “The preconference seminars this year offer a variety of practical information that veterinarians will be able to take home and implement immediately to help their clients and the cattle they care for each day.”
The AABP conference offers entertainment, awards for members, more than 100 exhibitors in the trade show, honors the 2014 Cattle Production Veterinarian Hall of Fame inductees, the 7th annual job fair, the Amstutz Live and Silent auctions, and the second 5K Stampede Run along the Rio Grande Valley.
Preregistration for the AABP Annual Conference Sept. 18-20 ends Aug. 19.
For more information, please view the Angus Journal Virtual Library calendar of upcoming events here.
Cornell Launches New School of Integrative
Plant Science with $35M Investment
Plant and soil scientists at the Cornell University (Cornell) College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS) have been sowing the seeds of sustainability, food security and improved human health for more than a century.
A new initiative will help position the college for the future and create a new face for the plant and soil sciences at Cornell by integrating five departments — plant biology, horticulture, plant breeding and genetics, crop and soil sciences, and plant pathology and plant-microbe biology — in one School of Integrative Plant Science.
Cornell President David Skorton commended the college for creating a school that will help advance Cornell’s mission of service to the state, nation and world.
“This is a step toward increasing the impact — that is already enormous — of the very high level of expertise that CALS has in this area,” Skorton said. “Through the new school, CALS aims to strengthen its teaching and research and extension work in plant science and to attract more students to the field — students who will be future leaders in these vital areas.”
Skorton was joined by Kathryn Boor, the Ronald P. Lynch dean of CALS; David Stern, president of the Boyce Thompson Institute (BTI) for Plant Research; and Alan Collmer, the professor of plant pathology who has been appointed as the school’s first director.
CALS will be teaming up with BTI and the USDA to invest $35 million in the new school over the next decade, for faculty hiring, research and student support.
For more information, please view the full release here.
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