Annual Cattle Trails Cow-Calf Conference Set for December 2 in Lawton Oklahoma

Getting back to the basics of fundamentally sound ranch management will be the focus of the Cattle Trails Cow-Calf Conference, a joint effort between the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service and the Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service.

The event will be held December 2 in Lawton, Oklahoma. This annual conference, with the slogan of “driving your operation to profits,” provides cow-calf producers the most up-to-date information on topics that influence cattle profits, said Stan Bevers, AgriLife Extension economist in Vernon, Texas.

The conference, which alternates between Texas and Oklahoma each year, will be held from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Comanche County Fairgrounds Coliseum, 920 S. Sheridan in Lawton, Oklahoma.

Registration is $25 per person and includes educational materials, a noon meal and refreshments. Additional information can be obtained at http://agrisk.tamu.edu 

“This is probably the strongest agenda we have put together for any of our cattle conferences,” Bevers said. “We are fortunate to have Rich Roth, vice president of the IX Ranch from Big Sandy, Montana, coming down to speak.”

He said Roth is the latest generation of ranch managers for the ranch. The IX Ranch, in its current state, was created in 1955, but the history of the ranch dates back to 1879. The ranch is strictly a cow-calf operation with a current inventory of 3,500 mother cows.

“Rich is a relatively young manager who blends the old with the new,” Bevers said. “He documents most activities on the ranch, from data collection to using his smart phone to capture and post the activities. The ranch’s information system allows the management team to quickly identify and respond to any potential issues, such as low calving rates to rising fertilizer costs.

“Folks will want to come hear Rich discuss his management of this large, efficient cow-calf operation,” Bevers said.

Roth’s presentation is titled, “This Ain’t Your Daddy’s Ranch Management Anymore.”

Also on the agenda will be Bevers and Derrell Peel, Extension livestock economist with Oklahoma Cooperative Extension at Stillwater, Oklahoma, discussing cattle markets and the beef industry.

Other topics and speakers include:

·         Understanding Forage Quality and Analysis for Beef Production, Ryan Reuter, assistant professor at the Noble Foundation in Ardmore, Oklahoma.

·         Matching Your Supplementation Program to Your Forage, Dave Lalman, Extension beef cattle specialist from Oklahoma State University in Stillwater, Oklahoma.

·         Your Cow-calf Herd Health, D.L. Step, Oklahoma State University veterinary clinical sciences professor in Stillwater, Oklahoma.

Industry sponsors also will have their products on display during the event.

To aid with meal count, producers are encouraged to preregister by contacting their local AgriLife Extension county agent in Texas, their Oklahoma Cooperative Extension county educator, or by contacting the Southwest Oklahoma area Extension office at 580-255-0546.