Extension Communications
3614 Administrative Services Building
Ames, Iowa 50011-3614
(515) 294-9915
2/19/01
Contacts:
Russ BreDahl, Iowa Beef Center, (641) 782-8426, rbredahl@iastate.edu
Wendy Miller, Iowa Beef Center, (515) 294-9124, wmiller@iastate.edu
Genetic Tools, Forage Management Hot Topics at Beef Bonanza
CRESTON, Iowa - As winter's icy grip begins to weaken, beef herd managers begin to seriously consider their pastures, months dormant under a blanket of snow. "Often, producers wonder if they could or should be doing things differently to maximize their forage potential," said Russ BreDahl, Iowa Beef Center beef-forage field specialist. "Now is the time to start thinking about spring and summer management plans, from genetic selection to pastures and forage."
The 2001 Beef and Forage Bonanza will be held from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday, March 5 at the Berning Activity Center in Creston.
The program is aimed primarily at cow-calf producers who manage pastures and beef breeding herds. The speakers will include Iowa Beef Center staffers Daryl Strohbehn and Stephen Barnhart; Clarke McGrath, Iowa State University Extension crops field specialist; and David Miller, director of commodity services, Iowa Farm Bureau.
Strohbehn will discuss using modern genetic tools to breed cattle that not only hold profit potential for the producer, but a high perceived consumer value as well. A leader in helping Iowa producers capitalize on superior beef genetics through value-based marketing, Strohbehn is a featured personality at many Iowa beef conferences.
Barnhart and McGrath will discuss forage-related issues. Barnhart will characterize the carrying capacity, grazing tolerance, seasonal growth distribution, competitiveness in mixtures, ease and cost of establishment, landscape preferences and quality factors of many Iowa pasture forages. McGrath will outline soil and fertility management practices that produce optimum pasture and hay yields.
Miller will address opportunities and challenges associated with carbon sequestration in forage crops. Carbon credit markets and possible supplementary income from those markets for forage producing acres are hot topics for grazing managers.
The noon meal will be served at the meeting site. There is a $10 registration fee, which includes the cost of the meal and printed materials. There will not be a trade show associated with the program this year.
For more information, call BreDahl at the Union County Extension Office, (641) 782-8426 and request a program brochure, or see the brochure on-line at the Iowa Beef Center's Web site http://www.iowabeefcenter.org. The brochure includes all registration information.
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Extension programs are available to all without regard to race, color, national origin, religion, sex, age, or disability.