Farms.com Home   News

Save The Date: OSU Extension To Offer Beef Cattle School Jan. 19, Feb. 2 And 16

By Tracy Turner
 
Beef cattle producers who want boost their profit potential and become more competitive in the cattle industry can learn how by attending the 2016 Ohio Beef Cattle School series Jan. 19, Feb. 2 and 16.
 
 
Beef cattle
 
 
The series is led by experts from Ohio State University’s College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences.
 
The three-session program will include a wide range of topics focusing on management decisions that producers can make to take full advantage of the beef economic outlook in the present and prepare for the long-term, said John Grimes, beef coordinator for Ohio State University Extension and a member of the OSU Extension Beef Team.
 
“The overall goal of the program,” he said, is to help producers continue to take advantage of the increasing consumer demand for high quality beef products as well as position themselves for continued long-term success.
 
“It’s been a great year for producers thanks to lower corn prices, improved pasture conditions and increased domestic demand,” Grimes said. “This workshop series is designed to provide producers with the information they need to keep them competitive and help them make their operations more profitable for the long-term.”
 
OSU Extension and Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center researchers and educators will teach the workshops. OSU Extension and OARDC are the outreach and research arms, respectively, of the college.
 
Each workshop begins at 7 p.m. and will be broadcast via Internet and can be viewed at several host locations that will be announced later this year. The workshop topics will also be announced at that time, Grimes said.
 

Trending Video

Swine Industry Advances: Biodigesters Lower Emissions and Increase Profits

Video: Swine Industry Advances: Biodigesters Lower Emissions and Increase Profits

Analysis of greenhouse gas (GHG emissions) in the Canadian swine sector found that CH4 emissions from manure were the largest contributor to the overall emissions, followed by emissions from energy use and crop production.

This innovative project, "Improving Swine Manure-Digestate Management Practices Towards Carbon Neutrality With Net Zero Emission Concepts," from Dr. Rajinikanth Rajagopal, under Swine Cluster 4, seeks to develop strategies to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions.

While the management of manure can be very demanding and expensive for swine operations, it can also be viewed as an opportunity for GHG mitigation, as manure storage is an emission source built and managed by swine producers. Moreover, the majority of CH4 emissions from manure occur during a short period of time in the summer, which can potentially be mitigated with targeted intervention.

In tandem with understanding baseline emissions, Dr. Rajagopal's work focuses on evaluating emission mitigation options. Manure additives have the potential of reducing manure methane emissions. Additives can be deployed relatively quickly, enabling near-term emission reductions while biodigesters are being built. Furthermore, additives can be a long-term solution at farms where biogas is not feasible (e.g., when it’s too far from a central digester). Similarly, after biodigestion, additives can also be used to further reduce emissions from storage to minimize the carbon intensity of the bioenergy.