Cattle Trails Cow-Calf Conference To Be Held Dec. 3 In Wichita Falls

Nov 26, 2015

The Cattle Trails Cow-Calf Conference, jointly hosted by the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service and Oklahoma Cooperative Extension, will be Dec. 3 in Wichita Falls.

Becoming as efficient as possible is the focus for this year’s conference, said Stan Bevers, AgriLife Extension economist in Vernon. Each speaker will address how ranchers can achieve efficient levels of production and financial success while minimizing risk.

The conference is set for 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the MPEC Center, 1000 5th St. in Wichita Falls. Registration is $25 per person and includes educational materials, a copy of the Cattle Trails Cow-Calf Conference materials, a noon meal and refreshments.

Producers are asked to preregister by contacting their local AgriLife Extension county agent, their Oklahoma Cooperative Extension county educator or by contacting Allison Ha at 940-552-9941, extension 225 or by email at allison.ha@ag.tamu.edu.

The program will include the following speakers and topics:

– Bevers, targets for key performance activities of ranchers, including productivity levels to achieve as well as expense levels to minimize.

– Dr. Ron Gill, AgriLife Extension livestock specialist from College Station, balancing safety, cattle movements and cost in designing corrals and cattle processing areas.

– Dr. Derrell Peel, Oklahoma Cooperative Extension livestock economist in Stillwater, Oklahoma, an overall report on and forecast of the cattle and beef markets.

– Dr. Dave Lalman, Oklahoma Cooperative Extension beef cattle specialist in Stillwater, Oklahoma, efficient use of supplements in the cow herd.

– Dr. Twain Butler, Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation forage research agronomist, Ardmore, Oklahoma, appropriate forage systems for the southern Great Plains area.

– Dr. Tiffany Dowell-Lashmet, AgriLife Extension agricultural law specialist in Amarillo, factors that every landowner should know about grazing leases.

Click here to see more...

Video: US Soy: Pig growth is impaired by soybean meal displacement in the diet

Eric van Heugten, PhD, professor and swine extension specialist at North Carolina State University, recently spoke at the Iowa Swine Day Pre-Conference Symposium, titled Soybean Meal 360°: Expanding our horizons through discoveries and field-proven feeding strategies for improving pork production. The event was sponsored by Iowa State University and U.S. Soy.

Soybean meal offers pig producers a high-value proposition. It’s a high-quality protein source, providing essential and non-essential amino acids to the pig that are highly digestible and palatable. Studies now show that soybean meal provides higher net energy than current National Research Council (NRC) requirements. Plus, soybean meal offers health benefits such as isoflavones and antioxidants as well as benefits with respiratory diseases such as porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS).

One of several ingredients that compete with the inclusion of soybean meal in pig diets is dried distillers grains with solubles (DDGS).

“With DDGS, we typically see more variable responses because of the quality differences depending on which plant it comes from,” said Dr. van Heugten. “At very high levels, we often see a reduction in performance especially with feed intake which can have negative consequences on pig performance, especially in the summer months when feed intake is already low and gaining weight is at a premium to get them to market.”

Over the last few decades, the industry has also seen the increased inclusion of crystalline amino acids in pig diets.

“We started with lysine at about 3 lbs. per ton in the diet, and then we added methionine and threonine to go to 6 to 8 lbs. per ton,” he said. “Now we have tryptophan, isoleucine and valine and can go to 12 to 15 lbs. per ton. All of these, when price competitive, are formulated into the diet and are displacing soybean meal which also removes the potential health benefits that soybean meal provides.”