Area beef producers should make plans to attend the Three-State Beef Conference set for Jan. 16, 17 and 18, 2018, with locations in Iowa, Missouri and Nebraska. The Three-State Beef Conference offers opportunities for producers to visit with experts on cow-calf profit and loss and calculating breakevens, alternative cow-calf production systems and using reproductive management and technologies to improve profitability.

When it comes to profit and loss in the cow-calf operation, knowing your cost of production not only helps with managing risk, but also provides an opportunity to make changes to improve the bottom line. Shane Ellis, farm management specialist with Iowa State University Extension and Outreach, will address this topic on cow-calf breakevens.

Also on the program is Erika Lundy, extension beef program specialist with Iowa State’s Iowa Beef Center. Lack of available and affordable pasture has contributed to the growing interest in confinement systems and other alternative production systems.  She will talk about opportunities and challenges with some of the alternative systems, and share data from cooperator herds.

Beef cattle reproductive technologies have advanced rapidly and provide producers with incredible opportunities for genetic improvement, among other benefits. Dr. Sandy Johnson, extension livestock specialist with Kansas State University Extension, will share how those technologies can be used to increase calf value and increase profitability of the cow herd.

The conference is a traveling program, repeated three times in three different locations. At each site, registration will open at 5:30 p.m., and the program will start at 6 p.m. The registration fee is $25 per person and includes a meal and copy of the presentations. Preregistrations are appreciated by Friday, January 12 to help with meal planning and reducing costs.

The first session of the conference is the Iowa location in Creston at Southwestern Community College on Tuesday, Jan. 16. To register for this session, contact the ISU Extension and Outreach office in Union County at 641-782-8426 or kdowning@iastate.edu

The second session, on Wednesday, Jan. 17, will be in Missouri at the MU Hundley-Whaley Learning Discovery Center in Albany. Contact MU Extension in Gentry County at 660-726-5610 or deerings@missouri.edu.

The third session is Thursday, Jan. 18 in Nebraska at the Gage County Nebraska Extension Center in Beatrice. Registrations can be directed to Nebraska Extension in Gage County at 402-223-1384 or kristen.ulmer@unl.edu.

The conference brochure has agenda information and a registration form.

For more information contact your local university extension office or visit the conference website at https://www.extension.iastate.edu/feci/3StBeef/. For more general information, contact ISU Extension and Outreach beef specialist Chris Clark at 712-250-0070 or email at caclark@iastate.edu You also can contact your regional Iowa State Extension livestock specialist.

Source: Iowa Beef Center