Events and Activities : Driftless Beef Conference set for Jan. 30-31

Do you have a hard-to-buy-for farmer in your life? Here’s a great suggestion for a Christmas gift – registration to the Driftless Beef Conference! What could be better than the gift of education? The second annual four-state Driftless Region Beef Conference will be held on Jan. 30-31, 2014, at the Grand River Convention Center in Dubuque.

The program will begin at 1 p.m. on Jan. 30 and run through 11:45 a.m. on Jan.31. Key speakers include Jerry Hatfield, Garland Dahlke, Patrick Gunn and Lee Schultz, Iowa State University; Amber Radatz, Rhonda Gildersleeve, and Brian Holmes, University of Wisconsin; Eric Mousel and Nicole Rambo, University of Minnesota; and Travis Meteer, University of Illinois and Galen Erickson, University of Nebraska . Thursday’s afternoon program will focus on the competitive advantage of grain and beef production systems, with Mike Pearson from Market-to-Market as the emcee. The evening includes Jamey Kohake from Paragon Investments talking about our competition followed by a farmer panel discussion focused on extending the grazing season with cover crops and annuals. Friday morning’s program includes three breakout sessions for feedlot operations and three for cow herds.

Registration for the conference is $80 before Jan. 15 or $100 after Jan. 15. Additional information about the conference is available atwww.aep.iastate.edu/beef. Registration opened for the conference on Dec. 1. Sponsor of the program with display booth at the conference currently include Diamond V, Genex Cooperative, Merial, Zoetis, Big Gain, Summit Buildings, Iowa Beef Systems, Mix 30 - Agridyne, Zinpro, Equity Coop Livestock Sales , Practical Farmers of Iowa, MULTIMIN USA, DeKalb Feeds, and VitaPlus.

The Driftless Region Beef Conference is sponsored by the University of Illinois Extension, Iowa State University Extension and Outreach, the University of Minnesota Extension, and University of Wisconsin Extension. The planning team strives to deliver the latest in research-based information regarding the beef cattle industry. For more information or to receive a brochure, contact Denise Schwab at 319-721-9624.