Beef cattle conference set for Monday in Green Forest

One of the top beef cattle meetings in the United States, the North Central Arkansas Beef Cattle Conference is scheduled for Monday, Aug. 2, at the North Arkansas Livestock Auction in Green Forest.

"It's a program that cattle producers in Arkansas and surrounding states shouldn't miss," said Leon Duncan, Carroll County Extension Agent with the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture.

He said the North Central Arkansas Beef Cattle Conference is a joint educational effort by the Division of Agriculture and Farm Credit Services of Western Arkansas.

It's designed to provide beef cattle producers with the latest information on beef cattle management by featuring many nationally recognized experts in several areas.

The program will focus on extending the grazing season to 300 days, a live animal evaluation on what to look for when culling cows and what the future might bring for beef cattle markets.

The program begins with an update from the Department of Animal Science's 300-day grazing herd. Drs. Brett Barham, Shane Gadberry, John Jennings and Tom Troxel, all from the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture Department of Animal Science, will be providing the latest information from the 300-day grazing herd at the experiment station at Batesville. The goals for the 300-day grazing herd were to:

* Enhance the utilization of forages;

* Demonstrate efficient and targeted fertilizer use;

* Reduce supplemental hay needs to fewer than 60 days;

* Achieve 90 percent net calf crop and average weaning weight of 550 pounds.

For the winter of 2009-10, hay was fed to 38 cows for only 54 days. Their presentation will highlight how that was accomplished.

Eldon Cole, University of Missouri livestock specialist, will conduct a live animal evaluation on factors to consider when culling cows. Culls make up approximately 20 percent of a cow/calf producer's income, so culling the right cows in a timely manner can make a big difference to the bottom line.

Cole has provided key leadership in the Missouri Steer Feedout, Show-Me-Select Beef Heifer Replacement Program, bull breeding soundness clinics, and grazing schools.

Travis Justice will present a beef cattle outlook for this period of unstable markets. Justice, a senior economist for the Arkansas Farm Bureau, coordinates activities of the organization's Beef Cattle Division and its Equine Division. He also is the administrator for the Arkansas Beef Council.

For more information about the North Central Arkansas Beef Cattle Conference, contact your county extension agent.

A registration fee of $20 will be collected at the door. Conference registration and dinner begins at 5:30 p.m., and the program starts at 6:10 p.m. The program will conclude about 8:30 p.m.

For more information, contact Duncan at (870) 423-2958.