With nearly 2.5 million cattle in these four Midwest states, university Extension services in Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin are teaming together to once again offer the Driftless Region Beef Conference. The fifth annual event will be Jan. 24-25 at the Grand River Convention Center in Dubuque, Iowa.
The Driftless Region in these states contains rolling hills, streams and karst soil topography. Since soil and water conservation is best accomplished when much of this land is seeded for forage and livestock consumes those forages, the conference will focus on efficient and economic forage and beef production.
Feedlot operators, cow-calf producers
The conference will begin at 1 p.m. Jan. 24 with a program concentrating on keys to profitability. An evening discussion on marketing opportunities features a producer panel. The keynote speaker will be Burke Teichert, cattle reproduction specialist, retired manager for Deseret Land and Cattle, and columnist for BEEF Magazine.
An overview of the recently released Iowa State cow systems manual, and six breakout sessions for feedlot operations and cow-calf producers followed by a market outlook are on the agenda for the morning of Jan. 25.
Key speakers include Alfredo DiCostanzo from the University of Minnesota; Stephanie Hansen, Dan Loy and Teresa Wiemerslage from Iowa State University; Dan Schaefer, Brenda Boetel and Amanda Cauffman from the University of Wisconsin; Jim Lowe, Dan Shike and Travis Meteer from the University of Illinois; and Mary Drewnoski from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
Register early for discount
The early registration fee is $85 per person and must be received before midnight Jan. 12. The price increases to $115 after that date. More information on topics, speakers and lodging is at aep.iastate.edu/beef. Online as well as U.S. mail registration forms are available on the conference website.
The Driftless Region Beef Conference is sponsored by ISU Extension, University of Illinois Extension, University of Minnesota Extension, and University of Wisconsin Extension. For more information or to receive a brochure, contact Denise Schwab, beef specialist with ISU Extension at 319-472-4739.
Source: Iowa State University