The premier national event in beef cattle reproductive management returns to Iowa this year, hosted by the Iowa Beef Center at Iowa State University. The 2026 Applied Reproductive Strategies in Beef Cattle meeting is set for Nov. 10–11 in Des Moines at the Holiday Inn Des Moines- Airport/Conference Center. The meeting is organized by the Beef Reproduction Task Force.

Research scientist with the Iowa Beef Center and task force member Garland Dahlke said Iowa is a prime location for this annual meeting because of the sheer number of cows in the state and surrounding region. ARSBC was first held in Iowa in 2016, with 249 attendees from 29 states.

“We consistently hear from producers looking for scientifically sound practices to reach their breeding goals,” he said. “The goal of this task force and the ARSBC meeting is to get producers the information and tools they need to get more females bred to the ideal sire at the right time.”

The ISU Extension and Outreach beef team worked with the task force to develop this year’s schedule, and extension cow-calf specialist at Iowa State Randie Culbertson said the conference was created with U.S. beef industry professionals in mind.

“We wanted to make this conference applicable to everyone working in cattle reproduction across the region and successfully incorporated timely topics from excellent speakers,” she said.

Attendees can expect this one-and-a-half day conference to tackle a wide range of topics. Estrus synchronization, embryo transfer, sexed semen, natural service herd sire management and breeding a more efficient cow are just a few of the sessions. See the full schedule, hotel and registration information on the program website.  

The conference will be held Nov. 10 from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Nov. 11 from 7:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. The early registration rate is set at $200 until Sept. 15, when it increases to $250. Late registration, from Oct. 26 to Nov. 11, increases to $300. This program has been submitted for Registry of Approved Continuing Education approval (not yet approved) for 12 hours of continuing education credit in jurisdictions that recognize RACE approval.

Students can contact Beth Reynolds at bethr@iastate.edu for a $50 discount code to use during registration. Those who prefer to call in to register or want to pay by check should contact Iowa State University Registration Services at 515-294-6222 or email registrations@iastate.edu.

The Beef Reproduction Task Force is a multi-disciplinary group formed by research and extension faculty members from universities across the U.S. with a focus on beef cattle reproduction, management and reproductive technologies.

For more information, contact Beth Reynolds at bethr@iastate.edu.