BROOKINGS, S.D. — Dairy beef producers, dairy producers, industry, academia and students along the I-29 region are invited to attend the I-29 Moo University Dairy Beef Short Course Tour held March 27,2018.
Please arrive by 8 a.m. to ensure prompt departure and at 8:15 a.m. and will return at 4:30 p.m.
The tour will include two dairy beef feedlots and a livestock auction barn focused on the sale of dairy beef. The tour will cover Southwest Minnesota and Northwest Iowa.
The tour is sponsored by the I-29 Moo University.
Travel details:
The bus will leave the Denny Sanford Premier Center complex (1201 N. West Ave, Sioux Falls, SD 57104) at 8:15 a.m. and arrive back at 4:30 p.m.
Tour is open to the public. Register at iGrow.org
Tour Schedule:
8 a.m. – Register & load
8:15 a.m. – Depart – Opening Discussion on State of the Industry for Dairy Beef (on the bus), led by Warren Rusche, SDSU Extension Beef Feedlot Management Associate & Beth Doran, ISU Extension Beef Specialist
9:15 a.m. – Binford Farms – Luverne, Minnesota: Binford Farms is a family operation owned by Grant & Rebecca and Eric and Shari Binford. They have seven children between the two families ranging in ages from 15 to 4 years of age that they hope will become the next generation in agriculture.
Binford Farms is a farmer feeder operation with management divided between Grant managing the cattle feeding and Eric managing the farming and trucking aspects of the business. The operation has primarily fed Holsteins since 2002 from 350 pounds to finish with some Holstein calves in the mix.
10:45 a.m. – Depart for second stop – Introduction of sponsors and bathroom break included
11:45 – 12:30 p.m. – Lunch at Tri-State Livestock Auction in Sioux Center, Iowa
12:30 pm – Tri-State Livestock – Sioux Center, Iowa: Mike Koedam, co-owner and cattle buyer will provide us with his insights regarding the buying and selling of dairy beef.
Tri-State Livestock auction market sells all classes of livestock specializing in dairy cattle. They believe that true market value of your livestock can only be achieved through competitive bidding which only an auction can provide.
1:45 p.m. – Depart for third stop
2 p.m. – Rock River Feeders – Rock Valley, Iowa: Rock River Feeders is a family owned and operated feedlot in Sioux County, Iowa.
Kent and Sylvia Pruismann, along with other family members, have taken great care to develop the feedlot with special attention to animal well-being, environmental sustainability and the incorporation of new technologies.
The feedlot currently houses 3500 head of cattle in outside yards meeting all federal and state manure management regulations.
Kent is a member of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Board, so it is no surprise that Beef Quality Assurance is the normal mode of daily operation. All cattle are tagged upon arrival with an electronic identification tag, which is used to track animal origin, health and movement. Placement weight of incoming calves averages 270 pounds.
The feedlot rations are a TMR consisting of earlage, corn, wet distillers grains and mineral supplementation. They market their dairy steers on a high energy grid to JBS in Wisconsin.
3:15 p.m. – Leave for Sioux Falls
4:30 p.m. – Return to Sioux Falls Denny Sanford Premier Center
Registration information:
Registration for this event is due by March 23, 2018 and is $30 per person to cover transportation, snacks and lunch.
To register, visit iGrow.org/events.
If you have questions, contact Tracey Erickson, SDSU Extension Dairy Field Specialist, Tracey.Erickson@sdstate.edu or call 605-882-5140; or Fred Hall, ISU NW Iowa Dairy Specialist at FredHall@iastate.edu or call 712-737-4230.
— SDSU Extension
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