03/10/2005

Wiregrass REC Sponsoring Cattle and Forage Field Day

HEADLAND, Ala. – Beef cattle and forages will be the topics of discussion on March 24 when the Wiregrass Research and Extension Center (WREC) in Headland hosts a Cattle and Forage Field Day.

The event begins at 8:30 a.m. with registration, followed by a welcome and introductions at 8:45 a.m. The program kicks off with updates from Alabama Cattlemen’s Association Director Billy Powell on U.S. Department of Agriculture grants for forage-fed beef and the state beef checkoff program. Perry Mobley with the Alabama Farmers Federation/ALFA commodity division will also give an update on the Federation’s Beef and Hay and Forage division activities.

Following these presentations, field tours will be held at the REC, which is one of six research and extension centers in the state that are supported by the Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station and Alabama Cooperative Extension System. Presentations during the tours will offer information on by product feeds for beef cattle, how beef producers can utilize animal identification systems, details on grass-fed beef production and an overview of the cost of grazing gain for grass-finished beef. There also will be a presentation on how to integrate stocker cattle into sod-based row crop rotations, and information will be provided on winter grazing regimes.

Lunch will be served at noon, sponsored by the Alabama Cattlemen’s Association and the Alabama Farmers Federation. Following lunch, an Alabama Beef Quality Assurance Workshop will be held for those needing certification or recertification.

Program participants include Larry Wells and Brian Gamble, superintendent and associate superintendent, respectively, of the WREC; Don Ball and Dallas Hartzog, both of Auburn University’s Department of Agronomy and Soils; Ricky Hudson, regional extension agent for livestock and forages with Extension; Chris Kerth, Lisa Kriese Anderson and Darrell Rankins, all faculty members in AU’s Department of Animal Sciences; and Walt Prevatt, a faculty member in the AU Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Sociology.

The meeting is co-sponsored by the Experiment Station and the Extension System and is open to all persons regardless of race, color, sex, religion or national origin.

For more information on the meeting, contact Wells at 334-693-2363 or wellslw@auburn.edu.

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News from:

Office of Ag Communications & Marketing

Auburn University College of Agriculture
Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station
3 Comer Hall, Auburn University
Auburn, AL 36849
334-844-4877 (PHONE) 334-844-5892 (FAX)

Contact Jamie Creamer, 334-844-2783 or jcreamer@auburn.edu

For immediate release