Farmers and Ranchers Cow/Calf College at USMARC Jan. 28

LINCOLN, Neb. — The annual Farmers and Ranchers Cow/Calf College “Partners in Progress – Beef Seminar” will be held at the U.S. Meat Animal Research Center and Great Plains Veterinary Education Center near Clay Center Jan. 28.

The college will begin with registration, coffee and donuts from 9-9:40 a.m. The program will start at 9:45 a.m. and end approximately at 4 p.m.

Sponsored by the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension’s Farmers and Ranchers College, this year’s theme will center on celebrations of two note-worthy events — the U.S. MARC is celebrating its 50th anniversary and UNL Extension is celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Smith Lever Act and Extension at UNL. The seminar will feature internationally recognized speakers and is designed to provide information that should help cattlemen in planning for the upcoming year.

There is no cost to attend and the public is welcome. Pre-registration is required for meal counts.

The “Cow/Calf College” will kick off with John Pollak, director, USMARC, and Dale Groteluschen, who will give a welcome and a quick overview of their respective facilities.

This will be followed by a special presentation by Pollak on “USDA-MARC – 50 Years of History”. He will be followed by Ronnie Green, NU Vice President and IANR Harlan Vice Chancellor, who will give his thoughts on “Innovating the Beef Industry: Living in 2013 but Thinking in 2050”.

Beef producers will be able to look at beef production history and peer into the future in one setting. These presentations will be followed by a special recognition for a long time Beef Quality Assurance leader Dee Griffin by the Nebraska BQA director and Farmers & Ranchers College.

Lunch will be provided and will be handled with a rotation system during two noon sessions featuring Doug Straight, Nebraska Beef Council Director of Industry Relations, and Rob Ehrich, Nebraska Beef Quality Assurance Director, who will team up to give a presentation on: “A New Direction – Nebraska Beef Check-off & BQA Programs”.

Also in the rotation will be a special presentation by Chuck Hibberd, UNL Dean of Extension, who will kick of the celebration of the Smith Lever Act and UNL Extension with “UNL Extension:100 Years Young and Just Getting Started!”

Attendees also will get to sample some Nebraska Extension Centennial ice cream and MARC 50th anniversary cake to help celebrate the two special occasions.

The afternoon session will be kicked off by Terry Klopfenstein, UNL animal science professor emeritus in ruminant nutrition, who will treat producers to his discussion of “Cows, Corn and Ethanol –The Golden Triangle.”

He will be followed by Jerry Volesky, UNL range and forage systems specialist at WCREC, who will give his take on the “Range and Pasture Drought Recovery”.

Many beef producers are worried about how the last two year’s drought has affected grass and forage production. These two presentations should help beef producers look at feed resource alternatives and management suggestions for recovering from the drought.

All presenters will then join on stage to pull everything together, give their final thoughts and considerations during a coffee-shop style panel discussion. Cattlemen can ask questions and get answers on topic questions that came to them during the day’s sessions. Door prizes will be awarded to those that stay for the entire event.

Any beef producer or other interested individuals should pre-register by noon Jan. 24 by contacting UNL Extension, 621 North Cedar, Red Cloud, NE 68930, calling 402-746-3417 or emailing  Dewey Lienemann at  dlienemann2@unl.edu to insure a seat, lunch and proceedings for the day. Walk-ins are accepted, but may not get a lunch. For more information, visit the Webster County UNL Extension website at http://www.webster.unl.edu.