Workshop will help beef producers plan successful season

WESTPHALIA — Feed costs and reproductive inefficiency are the two largest expenses in a beef cow enterprise.

To help beef producers gear up for a successful breeding season, the Iowa Beef Center at Iowa State University, ISU Extension and Outreach Shelby County and Farm Service Cooperative are partnering on a breeding season workshop focused on nutrition.

The program is set for 6-8 p.m. April 29 at St. Boniface Parish Hall, 305 Duren St., Westphalia. A meal will be served at 5:30 p.m.

Erika Lundy-Woolfolk, ISU extension beef specialist for southwest Iowa, is coordinating the workshop and said attendees will benefit from the variety of topics addressed.

“Nutrition is one of the most important factors that must be managed well in order to reach calf crop goals,” Lundy-Woolfolk said. “The workshop will include both classroom and hands-on learning opportunities focused on the importance of nutrition leading up to and through the breeding season.”

Presentations will address nutrition’s role in reproduction, livestock risk protection options and using ration formulation software to assess beef diets.

Presenters will also answer questions from those in attendance.

In addition to Lundy-Woolfolk, presenters are Tim Christensen, ISU Extension and Outreach farm management specialist; Dan Hosch, with Zinpro, and Noah Sellner, with Nelson Farm Supply.

The workshop is offered at no cost to attendees, and, thanks to sponsorship from Farm Service Cooperative, the evening meal is also provided at no charge.

RSVP no later than April 23 by calling Shelby County Extension at 712-755-3104 or emailing dlascot@iastate.edu.