Tri-State Cow/Calf Conference Proceedings

Conference Brochure

Agriculture in the Tri-State area of East Tennessee, Southwest Virginia and Western North Carolina is dominated by cow calf producers. The operations consist of several thousand full time and part time beef producers. With the reduced production of tobacco, beef producers have sought other sources of income. Some have intensified their beef operation, while others have pursued other alternatives. Cow calf producers are exposed to many forms of risk such as drought, price volatility for fertilizer, diesel, hay and cattle. In addition to these, there are risks associated with health of cows and calves, genetics, reproduction and nutrition. Some producers have by choice or necessity explored new marketing alternatives such as selling freezer beef, retaining calves to heavier feeder cattle weights or to finished slaughter weights. This conference presented information to assist cow calf producers in making decisions to reduce risk in the production and marketing from their cow herd.

 

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

• Tour of Tennessee Cow/Calf Operations
• Lessons Learned from 27 years of Retained Ownership - Tri-County Steer Carcass Futurity
  Darrell Busby, Extenison Beef Specialist, Iowa State University

 

 

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

• Beef Cattle Outlook and Industry Changes
  Dr. David P. Anderson, Professor & Extension Economist, Texas A&M University
• Managing Genetic Defects and Enhancing End Product
  Dr. Scott Greiner, Extension Animal Scientist, Virginia Tech
• Weaning Healthy Calves
  Dr. Fred Hopkins, Extension Veterinarian, University of Tennessee
• Cow/Calf producer Panel
  Mike Goldwasser, Hillsville, VA, Text
  Tim Sutphin, Dublin, VA, Text, Presentation
• Utilization of By-Product Feed in Beef Cattle Diets
  Dr. Lawton Stewart, Beef Extension Specialist, University of Georgia
• Decisions, Decisions, What do I do with my calf crop?
  Presentation 1
  Presentation 2
  Dr. Curt Lacy, Extension Economist, University of Georgia
• What to Expect from a Custom Feedlot When Retaining Ownership
  David Trowbridge, Manager, Gregory Feedlots, Inc.

 

This conference was presented under a grant from the Southern Region Risk Management Education Center with additional support from the University of Tennessee Extenison, Virginia Cooperative Extension and North Carolina Cooperative Extension