Farm & Ranch
Ranch technology to be spotlighted at Texas A&M Beef Cattle Short Course Aug. 7-9
Beef cattle production event expected to draw 1,900 to Bryan-College Station
The 69th annual Texas A&M Beef Cattle Short Course in Bryan-College Station will offer some cutting-edge information and ranch technology, along with basic beef cattle production information.
The 69th annual Beef Cattle Short Course will introduce cattle producers to new technology designed to help improve overall profitability. (Texas A&M AgriLife photo by Sam Craft)
The annual event is set for Aug. 7-9, with more than 1,900 cattle producers expected to come to the Texas A&M University campus, making it the largest event of its kind in the nation. The event is hosted by the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service and the Texas A&M College of Agriculture and Life Sciences’ Department of Animal Science.
Both in-person and online attendance is offered. The cost is $260 for in-person attendance and $160 for online if registered by Aug. 2. The price will increase to $300 after that date. To register, go to https://tx.ag/BCSC23Reg or call 979-845-6931 for more information.
Jason Cleere, Ph.D., conference coordinator and AgriLife Extension beef cattle specialist in the Department of Animal Science, Bryan-College Station, said they have made a special effort to highlight advancing ranch technology this year.
“We added a session specifically dedicated to beef cattle technologies,” Cleere said. “Some topics include precision livestock data management, cattle electronic monitoring and artificial intelligence on the ranch. As more data is collected on ranches, ranchers need ways to manage it to improve profitability.”
There are also several new companies that will showcase their technologies during the trade show, Cleere said. More than 140 companies are expected at this year’s trade show, he noted.
“We believe this year’s Beef Cattle Short Course offering is shaping up to be one of the best ever, and the interest from ranchers thus far has been great,” Cleere said.
Embracing ranch technology to improve profitability
The special session on technology will be from 8 a.m. to noon on Aug. 8 as a part of the Cattleman’s College sessions. The following are the topics and speakers:
- Optimizing Ranch Profitability by Managing Your Livestock, Grazing and Team All in One Place — Coby Buck, AgriWebb director of strategic accounts, Wray Ranch, Wray, Colorado.
- The Intersection of Technology and Genetic Acceleration: Shaping a Sustainable Beef Industry — Kerryann Kocher, CEO and co-founder of Vytelle, Kansas City.
- Leveraging Drones for Cattle Management: How, What and Why? — Meir Ginsburg, CattleQuants co-founder and director of business development, Cleveland, Ohio.
- Computer Vision for Animal Care — Geoffrey Shmigelsky, co-founder of OneCup AI, Vancouver.
- The Possibilities of Ranch Tech and the Role of Remote Monitoring — Andrew Coppin, Ranchbot Monitoring Solutions, co-founder and CEO, Sydney, Australia.
From horses to grazing management to cattle nutrition
Before the three days of activities surrounding beef cattle, the annual Ranch Horse Program will be Aug. 6 in the Hildebrand Equine Complex. Registration is included within the full Beef Cattle Short Course registration, or individuals can attend just this event for $60.
More than 50 hours of training will be offered in the Cattleman’s College, featuring 20 concurrent sessions, with topics including animal health, nutrition, reproduction, breeding, genetics, selection, research, marketing and handling. The management sessions will cover business, forage, range and purebred cattle, landowner issues and fence building.
The course will also offer attendees 10 Texas Department of Agriculture pesticide continuing education units and 15 veterinarian continuing education credits.
By Barry Whitworth, DVM, MPH
With the prolonged drought, most pastures in Oklahoma end up in poor condition. With the lack of available forage, animals may go in search of alternative foods.
If oak trees are in the pastures, acorns may be a favorite meal for some livestock in the fall. This may result in oak poisoning.
Oak leaves, twigs, buds, and acorns may be toxic to some animals when consumed.
To read more, pick up a copy of the November edition of North Texas Farm & Ranch magazine, available digitally and in print. To subscribe by mail, call 940-872-5922.
By: Tony Dean
There are a handful of grasses on North Texas grazing lands ranchers need to know, not because they are highly desirable, but rather because they are not of much value. I call them “decom” plants, which is am acronym for “Don’t Ever Count On Me.” Silver bluestem is a “decom” grass.
Silver bluestem is a perennial which grows in all areas of Texas. It can survive in almost all soil types, and in full sun conditions or in semi shade. It grows up to three feet tall and is easily recognized with the presence of the white fuzzy seed head. Also, one of the identifying characteristics of Silver bluestem is a bend in the stems at each node, causing the plants to take on a rounded shape as they mature.
To read more, pick up a copy of the November edition of North Texas Farm & Ranch magazine, available digitally and in print. To subscribe by mail, call 940-872-5922.
By: Rayford Pullen
Fall is here which means winter is closing in on us and before we officially get into winter, we need to make sure our factories are either producing or will be producing in a few months.
We have been pregnancy testing our cows this fall and if they are not bred or nursing a calf, we are bidding them adios. With annual costs somewhere between $900.00 and $1,000.00 per cow, those cows not producing a live weaned calf are costing us quite a bit.
To read more, pick up a copy of the November edition of North Texas Farm & Ranch magazine, available digitally and in print. To subscribe by mail, call 940-872-5922.
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