Cow/Calf Days Seminar Tour and Trade Show in January and February

GRAND RAPIDS, Minn. (12/22/2016)—The University of Minnesota Beef Team is proud to host the annual Cow/Calf Days Seminar Tour and Trade Show at 10 locations across the state in January and February. This event has been held for over 40 years and continues to be the leading information, technology, and research outlet for cow/calf producers in the state of Minnesota.

The 2017 event will feature information on managing scours in calves, results of a U of M study on the impact of different hay rake designs, grazing management, and results of a U of M study on the impact of hay feeder design on hay waste. Updates from the Minnesota State Cattlemen’s Association will also highlight the event. The corresponding tradeshow will feature vendors with new information, technology, and products with a wide-array of practical uses for the operators in the cow-calf sector.

The program is directed at cow/calf producers, allied industry representatives, and is open to the public. A meal will be served with the program and a registration fee of $10 per person (register and pay at the door) will include the meal, proceedings book, and program materials.

Location and start times are listed below; each session is approximately three hours. More information can be found at the Cow/Calf Days Seminar Tour and Trade Show website: www.extension.umn.edu/beef or contact Eric Mousel at 218.398.1916, emmousel@umn.edu. 

Southern Tour

JAN 23 – Mora, MN, 5:30 PM, Kanabec County Jail, 18 N Vine Street

JAN 24 – Starbuck, MN, 9:30 AM, Jim Wulf Bull Development Center, 30819 250^th Street

JAN 25 – Pipestone, MN, 9:30 AM, MN West Community & Technical College, 1314 N Hiawatha Avenue

JAN 26 – Oronoco, MN, 5:30 PM, Tony Rossman Farm, 7000 70^thStreet NW

JAN 27 – Le Center, MN, 9:30 AM, Le Sueur County Fairgrounds, 320 S Plut Avenue

Northern Tour

FEB 7 – Staples, MN, 9:30 AM, Central Lakes College, 1830 Airport Road

FEB 7 – Bagley, MN, 5:30 PM, American Legion, 288 Main Avenue N

FEB 8 – Lancaster, MN, 5:30 PM, Community Center

FEB 9 – Roseau, MN, 5:30 PM, Gene’s Bar & Grill, 1095 3^rdStreet NW

FEB 10 – Iron Junction, MN, 5:30 PM, Clinton Community Center, 8907 MN-37

Calving Preparation Short Courses Set

Beef producers will have two opportunities in December to learn how to prepare their herd for calving and assess difficult births.

The North Dakota State University Extension Service's "Preparin' for Calvin' in 2012" short courses also will educate producers on what they can do to assist cows having trouble giving birth and when to get veterinary help.

The short courses are scheduled for Dec. 13 at the Grant County Fairgrounds in Carson and Dec. 14 at Napoleon Livestock in Napoleon. Both courses will start at 9:30 a.m. local time and end with a question-and-answer session at 2:45 p.m.

The cost is $30 per person or $50 for two people from the same operation if paid by Dec. 2. The cost is $40 per person or $70 for two people from the same organization if paid after that date. The fee includes lunch, breaks and program materials.

Speakers for the short courses are an NDSU Extension beef cattle specialist, Extension agents and other calving experts.

The NDSU Extension offices in Emmons, Grant, Logan, Morton and Sioux counties are sponsoring the short courses.

To register online, go to http://www.ndsu.edu/cattledocs. For more information, contact Grant/Sioux County Extension agent Jorey Dahners at (701) 622-3470 or jorey.dahners@ndsu.edu or Logan County Extension agent Sheldon Gerhardt at (701) 754-2504 or sheldon.gerhardt@ndsu.edu.

Dakota Cow/Calf Clinics Set

Beef cattle herd health and stretching short feed supplies will be the topics at the North Dakota State University Extension Service's 2011-12 Dakota Cow/Calf Clinics.

The clinics will be held Dec. 13, 2011, and Jan. 13, 2012, via videoconference at six locations.

The Dec. 13 clinic will focus on stretching feed supplies. Topics include high feed costs, the economic implications of converting grain acres to forage
acreage, harvesting straw and corn stover, using stover and straw to stretch feed supplies, the availability and use of byproducts, and using forages in
rations.

General herd health will be the focus of the Jan. 13 clinic. Topics include health issues resulting from severe moisture conditions in pastures and
feedlots, helping beef cattle handle the stress of hot and cold weather, vaccination strategies, common beef diseases and pregnancy checking. This clinic also will have an ask-the-vet question-and-answer session.

"These clinics will increase cow/calf producers' awareness of byproducts and how to use them in cow rations, provide producers with some strategies for dealing with continued high feed costs and give them a better understanding of how to keep their herd healthy in North Dakota's extreme weather conditions," says Karl Hoppe, Extension area livestock specialist at the NDSU Carrington Research Extension Center and one of the clinic presenters.

Each clinic will run from 10 a.m. to noon at the following locations:

* Ashley -- McIntosh County Courthouse, IVN room

* Bottineau -- Bottineau County Courthouse, IVN room

* Carrington -- Carrington Research Extension Center

* Grafton -- Chase Building

* LaMoure -- LaMoure County Courthouse, IVN room

* Langdon -- Langdon Research Extension Center

Presenters for the clinics are NDSU Extension livestock, farm management, nutrient management, beef cattle and economic specialists; the Extension
veterinarian; and other livestock health and beef cattle experts.

The clinics are free of charge, but seating is limited at each location, so anyone wanting to attend should preregister. For more information or to
register, contact:

* Bottineau County - Tim Semler, Extension agent, (701) 228-2253, timothy.semler@ndsu.edu

* Cavalier County - Ron Beneda, Extension agent, (701) 256-2560, ronald.beneda@ndsu.edu

* Foster County - Joel Lemer, Extension agent, (701) 652-2581, joel.lemer@ndsu.edu

* LaMoure County - Al Ulmer, Extension agent, (701) 883-5301, ext. 209, al.ulmer@ndsu.edu

* McIntosh County - Crystal Schaunaman, Extension agent, (701) 288-3465, crystal.schaunaman@ndsu.edu

* Walsh County - Brad Brummond, Extension agent, (701) 284-6624, bradley.brummond@ndsu.edu

Dakota Feeder Calf Show Set for Oct. 15

The North Dakota State University Extension Service is partnering with the Dakota Feeder Calf Show to offer cattle producers an opportunity to explore possibilities for retaining ownership of cattle beyond the cow-calf phase of production.

The 13th annual Dakota Feeder Calf Show and Feedout is set for Saturday, Oct.15, in Turtle Lake. Cattle will be accepted at the weighing station before 11 a.m. and exhibited. Spring-born steer calves consigned to the Dakota Feeder Calf Show and Feedout then will be fed to market weight at the NDSU Carrington Research Extension Center feedlot.

"When cattle prices are low or high, it's important to know how well your cattle perform through the market chain," says Karl Hoppe, Extension area livestock specialist at the Carrington Research Extension Center. "This cattle feedout project will give producers information on how their calves perform in the feed yard and on the calves' ultimate carcass value."

The feedout is a low-risk way of learning about these options with three or four calves instead of 100, he adds. Also, cattle producers have used the feeding and carcass information to select bulls that will improve the feedlot value of their calves.

During last year's feedout, the calves gained an average of 656 pounds in 200 days, with a total feeding cost (excluding interest) of 93.6 cents per pound of gain. The average sale weight was 1,272 pounds. The calves were fed with a market weight break-even of $104.73 per hundredweight.

"It's the variation among cattle that makes this project educational," Hoppe says.

In the 2010-11 feedout, the spread in net return per head between the average of the top five herds and average of the bottom five herds was $109.69. The top profiting herd made $239.53 per head, while the bottom herd made $129.84 per head. Weight gain per day of age was 3.67 pounds for the top profiting herd and 3.01 for the bottom herd.

"Small differences in production have a huge impact on profit," Hoppe says.

Feedout project staff will gather data on rate of gain, feed conversion and other characteristics during the trial. After the calves are marketed, the staff will collect and provide information to the entrants on carcass weight, meat quality and value.

Producers will be assessed an entry fee of $15 per calf. Dakota Feeder Calf Show officials will present $2,500 in awards to producers at the end of the trial.

For more information or to preregister calves, contact Hoppe at (701) 652- 2951; Darwin Chesrown, Turtle Lake Farmers Union Oil, at (701) 448-2356; Teresa Presser, Bank of Turtle Lake, at (701) 448- 2323; or Irene Graves, McLean County Extension, at (701) 462- 8541, ext. 208.

Cattle may be registered the day of the show, but the feedout is limited to 160 head.

NDSU Schedules Dakota Cow-Calf Clinics

Cattle producers will have an opportunity to improve their production and management practices at a two-part beef cattle series through the Interactive Video Network on Jan. 19 and Feb. 16.

The North Dakota State University Extension Service's Dakota Cow-Calf Clinics will be broadcast in Interactive Video Network rooms at the Bottineau, Steele and LaMoure County courthouses; NDSU Carrington Research Extension Center; and Chase building in Grafton. The clinics begin at 10 a.m. and conclude at noon.

The title of the Jan. 19 meeting is "Cover Crops and Cattle." Topics to be covered will be the cost and nutrient values of common cover crops; Carrington
Research Extension Center cover crop trial results and mixes; and soil health, nutrient cycle and soil compaction issues when using cover crops.

The title for the Feb. 16 meeting is "Beef Cattle Reproduction." Topics to be covered include synchronizing estrus, heat detection and artificial
insemination; understanding the bull sale catalog; heifer development; and third-trimester and post-partum nutrition.

Presenters include Karl Hoppe, NDSU Extension area livestock specialist, Carrington; Kevin Sedivec, NDSU Extension rangeland specialist; Tim Semler, Bottineau County Extension agent; Blaine Schatz, director of the Carrington Research Extension Center; Dave Franzen, NDSU Extension soils specialist; Carl Dahlen, NDSU Extension beef specialist; David Buchanan, professor, NDSU Animal Sciences Department; and John Dhuyvetter, NDSU Extension area livestock specialist, Minot.

The clinics are free and registration is not required. However, those wanting to attend should preregister because seating at each location is limited. You may attend one or both clinics.

To preregister, contact:

* Al Ulmer, LaMoure County, (701) 883-5301, ext. 209, albert.ulmer@ndsu.edu

* Tim Semler, Bottineau County, (701) 228-2253, timothy.semler@ndsu.edu

* Andy Johnson, Steele County, (701) 524-2253, andrew.k.johnson@ndsu.edu

* Joel Lemer, Foster County, (701) 652-2581, joel.lemer@ndsu.edu

* Brad Brummond, Walsh County, (701) 284-6248, bradley.brummond@ndsu.edu

The Bottineau, Foster, LaMoure, Steele and Walsh County offices of the NDSU
Extension Service are sponsoring the clinics.