TOPEKA, Kan. — DL Cattle Company of Fredonia will host the final 2017 Kansas Livestock Association (KLA)/Kansas State University Ranch Management Field Day August 23. Joe and Helen Donohue and their son and daughter-in-law, Daryl and Jody, own the commercial cow-calf operation, which consists of both a spring- and fall-calving cowherd. The cattle are grazed year-round on native grass pastures in Wilson County using sustainable management practices.
A program highlight will be a presentation on controlling invasive species in native grasslands, including sericea lespedeza, with late-summer prescribed burning. As manager of the Woodson County Wildlife Area, John Johnson has conducted late summer prescribed burning and high-intensive, low-duration rotational grazing on 1,700 acres of the wildlife area. He will discuss his experiences with this project and the challenges ranchers and landowners face in controlling invasive plants in this region of southeast Kansas. K-State Range Beef Cattle Nutrition and Management Specialist KC Olson will join Johnson on the program to share his findings on using late-season burning to control sericea lespedeza on a northern Flint Hills ranch.
Natural Resources Conservation Service Rangeland Management Specialist Garan Belt will be on hand to discuss a process developed by the agency to determine the forage production capabilities and appropriate stocking rate for a specific pasture. He will provide an example of how plant communities change among soil types and demonstrate how a grazing land manager can measure and monitor forage production.
Also on the agenda will be Oklahoma State University entomologist Justin Talley. He will discuss the latest on fly and tick control for beef cattle operations and explain the difference between face flies, horn flies, stable flies and deer flies. He also will provide timely research results on effective management practices that offer optimum control for these commonly found pests.
With anaplasmosis becoming more prevalent in cowherds each year, it is important for ranchers to recognize the signs. K-State Extension Beef Veterinarian A.J. Tarpoff will be on hand to tell those in attendance how to identify and detect anaplasmosis infections. He also will provide management strategies that help control or minimize incidences of the disease in Kansas cowherds.
The August 23 field day will begin with registration at 3:30 p.m. and conclude with a free beef dinner at 6:45 p.m. Pre-registration is not required. All livestock producers and others involved in the business are invited to attend.
The location for the DL Cattle Company field day is a pasture north of Fredonia in northwestern Wilson County. From the intersection of Highways 400/96/39, about 6 miles north of Fredonia, go 2½ miles west on Highway 400/96 to Edwards Road. Then, go 1½ miles north on Edwards Road to the pasture entrance. Directional signs will be posted.
Black Diamond Angus Ranch near Spearville will host the first 2017 KLA/K-State ranch field day August 17. Mark Diederich Family Farms of Greenleaf will be the site of the second field day August 22. Bayer Animal Health and the Farm Credit Associations of Kansas are sponsoring all three events. For more information, go to www.kla.org or call the KLA office at (785) 273-5115.
KLA is a trade organization representing the business interests of independent livestock producers at the state and national levels. Members of the association are involved in all segments of the industry, including cow-calf production, backgrounding, cattle feeding, swine, dairy and sheep.
— Kansas Livestock Association
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