A Ranch-Raised Beef Conference will be hosted on June 1-2 in College Station by the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service and the Texas A&M College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Department of Animal Science.
The conference is designed to explore the production and marketing of beef from the ranch, including both grass-finished and grain-finished, said Jason Cleere, Ph.D., AgriLife Extension beef cattle specialist and event coordinator, Bryan-College Station.
“The interest in producing and marketing beef from the ranch to add value to cattle has been increasing in the last five years,” Cleere said. “Consumers want to connect with those who raised their beef, and as the population of Texas increases, the demand will continue to rise.
“This conference is designed to cover how to grow the forages for raising cattle, grazing strategies, finishing diets for forage- and grain-finished programs, fabrication of the carcass, understanding processor cut sheets and marketing strategies.”
The program will begin with registration at 8 a.m. on June 1 in the Texas A&M Rosenthal Meat and Technology Center, 488 Olsen Blvd., on the Texas A&M campus and conclude at 4 p.m. on June 2. Parking will be designated, and more information provided upon registration.
The fee of $300 will include 16 hours of classroom training, resources, face-to-face access to the experts and meals throughout the two days. To register and get more information, go to https://beefcattleshortcourse.com/beef-706-2-2/.
On the agenda
The following topics and AgriLife Extension experts are on the agenda for the two-day event:
- What Kind of Beef Do You Want to Market? Defining Freezer, Natural, Forage-Finished and Organic Beef, Ron Gill, Ph.D., livestock specialist, Bryan-College Station.
- Types and Breeds of Cattle for Ranch-Raised Beef, Cleere.
- From Weaning to Harvest: What Is the Process for Grain- or Forage-Finished Beef? Bruce Carpenter, Ph.D., livestock specialist, Fort Stockton.
- Growing Forages for the Pre-Grain-Finishing and Forage-Finishing Phases, Larry Redmon, Ph.D., professor and associate head for AgriLife Extension in the Department of Soil and Crop Sciences.
- Your Check-off Dollar at Work, Texas Beef Council.
- Developing a Grazing Management Plan to Facilitate Pasture Growing or Finishing Programs, Jeff Goodwin, Ph.D., director of the Texas A&M Center for Grazinglands and Ranch Management, Bryan-College Station.
- Forage Finishing Cattle, Jason Smith, Ph.D., beef cattle specialist, Amarillo.
- Grain Finishing Cattle, Smith.
- Sustainability of Forage- and Grain-Finished Beef Systems, Jacquelyn Prestegaard-Wilson, Ph.D., sustainability specialist, Bryan-College Station.
- Fabrication – from Carcass to Retail Cuts: Where is the Value, Davey Griffin, Ph.D., meat specialist, Bryan-College Station.
- Meat Quality Sensory Demonstration: Factors That Influence Eating Satisfaction, Griffin.
- Selling Live Animals or Retail Beef: What is the Best Option?, Griffin.
- Working with Customers and Processors on Cut Sheets and Carcass Fabrication, Griffin and Dustin Dean, Ph.D., Dean and Peeler Premium Angus Beef.
- Marketing Ranch-Raised Beef, Dean.
For more information, contact Cleere at jjcleere@tamu.edu or 979-845-6931.
Courtesy of Texas A&M AgriLife
