Beef And Forage Field Day To Focus On Pests, Shade Trees, Feed And Heifers
MONTICELLO, ARK.
The University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture will hold a beef and forage field day on Oct. 24 at the Southeast Research and Extension Center, located at the University of Arkansas at Monticello.
The field day will feature in-depth discussions on four essential topics to herd and pasture management, led by Division of Agriculture experts.
Dr. Rocky Lindsey, Assistant Professor of Animal Science at the UAM School of Agriculture, will talk about the evaluation of replacement heifers; Dr. Bill Headlee, an Assistant Professor at UAM specializing in forest measurements and natural resource biometrics, will speak about the benefits of shade trees for cattle; Dr. Kelly Loftin, extension entomologist for the Division of Agriculture, will speak about fall armyworms; and Dr. Kelly Bryant, dean and director of the Southeast Research and Extension Center, along with program associate Greg Montgomery and Amanda Foust, graduate student in Forestry and Natural Resources, will discuss residual feed intake.
Bryant said the field day will be packed with information cattle producers will find key to improving their operations.
“I’m excited about this year’s field day,” Bryant said. “Over the last year or two, Division of Agriculture scientists have been collecting and analyzing data that I believe our beef and forage producers will find very useful. For example, researchers have observed and recorded animal behavior in the presence of various options for shade and have summarized the benefits shade trees provide to a cattle operation.
“Other researchers have measured the efficacy of various options for fall armyworm control and can provide recommendations to forage growers,” he said. “Still another study sent 69 calves to a feeding facility where the residual feed intake for each animal was measured and linked to the sire. This information is useful when choosing herd bulls.”
On-site registration for the field day begins at 4:30 p.m., Oct. 24, and the program begins at 5:00. There is no cost to attend, and dinner will be served.
Contact Kelly Bryant with any questions about the field day at (870) 460-1091, or by email at bryantk@uamont.edu. ∆