AMARILLO – Cattlemen will have a chance to improve their feed management skills during a three-month series of seminars sponsored by the Texas AgriLife Extension Service.
“Beef Nutritional Management 2015” is a series of educational activities for people involved in the beef industry, according to the organizers.
“Whether you are in the cow/calf, stocker, cattle feeding or allied industry sector, an owner, a customer-based operator or an employee, this program offers an opportunity to learn more about factors influencing beef quality and value,” said Brandon Boughen, AgriLife Extension agent for Potter County.
The four meetings making up the program will each be held from 6-9 p.m. The first meeting is March 1 and the last one is on May 24, Boughen said. All activities will be held at the AgriLife Extension office for Potter County, 3301 E. 10th Ave. in Amarillo. Dinner will be served at each meeting.
Preregistration is required. The fee is $60 per participant and due by Feb. 27. Registration forms can be found at http://potter.agrilife.org/forms/. The registration form and fee, made payable to Potter Agriculture Committee, should be sent to Potter Agriculture Committee, 3301 E. 10 Ave., Amarillo, Texas 79104.
Speakers for this program are professionals involved in the beef industry or with beef educational programs, Boughen said.
The meeting schedule and topics are:
March 1 – Introduction to Nutritional Management: review of terminology used in feed/forage analysis, nutritional requirements of cattle, nutritional management objectives and evaluating cost benefits.
March 27 – Feedstuff: nutritive value of commodities and supplements, commodities and supplements in management programs, and evaluating nutrient costs and relative feed value.
April 17 – Forages: forage analysis – what’s needed; factors affecting forage nutritive value; forage intake and nutritive value; nitrates, prussic acid, bloat and other forage-related issues; and determining stocking rates.
May 24 – Supplementation: supplementation and substitutions, when are supplements required and what is the best approach, software decision aids and mineral supplementation.
For more information contact Boughen at 806-373-0713.
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