AMES, Iowa — A two-day short course that combines both classroom learning and hands-on instruction will be offered by the Iowa Beef Center on Feb. 6-7. The cow-calf short course will instruct advanced cattlemen in areas specific to beef cow nutrition, reproduction and calving management.
The program will be held at the Hansen Agriculture Student Learning Center in Ames, beginning at 12:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 6 and continuing until 5 p.m. Feb. 7.
“There will be several experts making presentations about reproduction and calving management, all in the same room,” said Erika Lundy, program specialist with the Iowa Beef Center. “The morning of day two will be a hands-on, intensive ‘Calving College.’ These sessions include a dystocia demonstration with a calving simulator (nicknamed Frosty the cow) and information on planning for calf size and newborn calf health management and processing.”
Other short course topics include:
- Body condition scoring demonstration
- Setting the female up for a successful pregnancy
- Exploring alternatives in the cow herd
- Beef Quality Assurance certification
Registration for the course is $100 and includes materials and meals. Online registration and a downloadable registration form are available at http://www.aep.iastate.edu/cowcalf/. Registration is due by Jan. 31; any cancellation requesting a refund must also be received by midnight Jan. 31.
Course instructors include:
- Taylor Grussing, cow-calf extension specialist at South Dakota State University
- David Bruene, beef teaching farm manager, Iowa State University
- Dr. Chris Clark, extension beef specialist, Iowa State University Extension and Outreach
- Dr. Grant Dewell, extension beef veterinarian, ISU Extension and Outreach
- Dr. Tyler Dohlman, professor of vet diagnostic and production animal scienc, Iowa State
- Erika Lundy, beef program specialist, ISU Extension and Outreach
- Marshall Ruble, Hansen Agriculture Student Learning Center director, Iowa State
- Joe Sellers, extension beef specialist, ISU Extension and Outreach
“Because our agenda was designed to be very hands-on and interactive, we anticipate a high level of interest,” said Lundy. “People who want to attend need to act quickly because registration is limited to 30 participants.”
For questions on the short course content contact Lundy at ellundy@iastate.edu. For assistance with registration, receipts, cancellation or questions on the status of your registration contact ANR Program Services at 515-294-6429 or anr@iastate.edu.
— Erika Lundy, Iowa Beef Center Program Specialist, Iowa State University Extension and Outreach
For more news from Iowa, click here.