Proven ways to produce grouped, high-quality calves aimed at the prime grade markets will be told during the annual field day at the University of Missouri Thompson Farm on Tuesday, Sept. 21.
This website brought to you in part by the following sponsor:
In the opening talk, David Patterson, MU Extension beef reproduction specialist, will explain how “Fixed Time AI and High-Accuracy Sires Improve Carcass Quality.” The breeding used in the research led to the award-winning pen of cattle that topped all feedlot pens in the central region in the second quarter of 2010 when sold in Kansas.
The feed yard manager who fed those cattle will explain what he looks for in Missouri cattle. Mark Sebranek of Irsik and Doll Feed Yard, Garden City, Kan., will talk about managing high-quality cattle.
From Manhattan, KS, Larry Corah, vice president of Certified Angus Beef (CAB), will report on the growing demand for high-quality beef. He will explain how artificial insemination is used to increase the supply to meet that demand. CAB led the cattle industry in marketing branded beef.
In the final talk of the general session, Abner Womack, MU agricultural economist, will talk on economic returns of producing high-quality beef. Womack, founder of the MU Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute (FAPRI), will also look ahead at the U.S economy and demand for beef
The field day will then break into three groups for tours.
Tour A features management and marketing of high-quality beef.
Tour B covers breeding synchronization, economics of high-accuracy sires and reproductive health.
Tour C will show the region’s portable AI breeding barn, discuss winter hay quality and present weaning management tips.
Pasture tours to see cattle and forages will follow the tour talks.
The goal of the field day is to show the latest beef research, including new breeding protocols, said David McAtee of Trenton, manager of Thompson Farm.
Commercial exhibits, including AI studs, will be on view during breaks. Free lunch will be served at noon. There is no advance registration or fee to attend the field day.
The day starts with registration at 8 a.m. Welcome will be at 9 a.m. by Rod Geisert, Thompson Farm superintendent, and Tom Payne, dean of the MU College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources.
Thompson Farm is in northwest Grundy County, seven miles west of Spickard on Highway 65 at the end of Highway C. Visitors can also reach Highway C with shortcuts on Highway A, either from Highway 136 from the north or from Highway 65 north of Trenton. For more information, see www.aes.missouri.edu/thompson/contact.php.
Talks will be held in the Drury Beef Reproduction Barn, named for the donor of the farm, Dr. George Drury. The 1,600-acre crop-and-grassland farm is named in honor of Drury’s father-in-law, Guy Thompson, pioneer stockbreeder.
Thompson Farm is part of the Missouri Agricultural Experiment Station.