Writer: Kay Ledbetter, 806-677-5608, skledbetter@ag.tamu.edu
Contact: Andy Holloway, 806-323-9114, andy.holloway@ag.tamu.edu
CANADIAN – The Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service in Hemphill County will host the 2015 Beef Conference and Ag Tour, which organizers hope will become an annual event, on April 28-29.
“We wanted to create an event to assist cow/calf and beef producers with educational information that could add value to their calf crops,” said Andy Holloway, AgriLife Extension agriculture and natural resources agent in Hemphill County.
The two-day event will be at the Hemphill County Exhibition Center, 10865 Exhibition Center Road in Canadian. Both days of the conference will begin at 8:30 a.m. with registration, coffee and donuts. The April 28 session will end at 3:30 p.m. and the second day at 6:30 p.m.
The fee is $100 and includes three meals. RSVP is requested by April 24 to the AgriLife Extension office for Hemphill County at 806-323-9114 or on the website at http://hemphill.agrilife.org/agnatural-resources/. Those needing hotel arrangements should also contact the office.
Two general Texas Department of Agriculture continuing education units will be offered.
Speakers and their topics on April 28 include:
– Dr. Tim Steffens, AgriLife Extension range specialist in Canyon: “Show Me the Money! Where is the Profit in a Range Beef Cattle Operation?,” “Managing for What You Want; Not Against What You Don’t Want,” and “Asking the Right Questions is a Lot Harder than Getting the Right Answers.”
– Minnie Lou Bradley, Bradley 3 Ranch in Memphis: “The Right Size Cow for Today’s Beef Industry and How Do You Produce Her?”
– J.D. Russell, manager of the Spring Creek Matador Ranch, Eureka, Kansas: “The Right Beef Cow to Meet the Demand for Today’s Consumer.”
The tour on April 29 will include the following stops and presentations:
– Canadian Feedyard, and a presentation by Luke Thrasher, “Current State of the Cattle Feeding Industry and What the Future Holds.”
– The Cattle Exchange with a taste test panel and presentation by Milton Cooke, “The Wave of the Future in the Restaurant Industry Regarding Prime Beef.”
– Abraham Equine Inc. and Wildlife Reflections LLC, with Jason Abraham speaking on “The Power of Cloning: Its Future to the Beef and Wildlife Industry.”
– Gageby Valley Ranch, which has an Angus and Half-blood Akaushi breeding program, with Bubba Bain, American Akaushi Association, speaking on “The Possibilities for Prime Beef Today.”
– Indian Mound Hereford Ranch, owner Lee Haygood, speaking on “EPD’s and Their Impact on Today’s Beef Industry and What’s Next.”
A conclusion dinner will be at Indian Mound Hereford Ranch, sponsored by Panhandle Plains Federal Land Bank. Other meal sponsors include Capital Farm Credit and Cookya, Inc.
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