Ohio Beef School to Explore All Phases of Production

The 2017 Ohio Beef School webinar series will begin on January 17 with a close look at what the cow/calf sector can do in the foreseeable future that will enhance profitability. What follows in subsequent sessions on February 7 and February 28 will be similar looks at the next two phases of production and how they all relate. Specifically, the second session will explore management of feeder cattle as they come from the cow and progress to the feedyard. During the last evening we’ll closely scrutinize the demands of the consumer and whether the entire production system – cow/calf through the feedyard and to the retailer – is meeting those demands and what it will take looking forward to achieve that goal.

As we progress through each evening in the series, the goal will be to demonstrate how the relationships between the three primary sectors of the beef industry in Ohio – cow-calf, backgrounding/stocker, and feedlot – must work together to produce high quality beef for today’s consumer. As we begin the conversation on January 17, Dr. Justin Rhinehart, Associate Professor, Extension Beef Cattle Specialist, University of Tennessee Department of Animal Science, will focus on key management practices that will help the cow-calf producer stay viable in the beef cattle business.  He will discuss how genetics and nutrition are key components of reproduction management that will keep females productive.  Dr. Amy Radunz, Associate Professor, Beef Cattle Production, University of Wisconsin – River Falls will follow with “Achieving the genetic potential of your calf crop – it starts at conception!”  This presentation will cover how nutrition and management during gestation impacts the lifetime development of the resulting calf.

Dr. Francis Fluharty, Research Professor, The Ohio State University Department of Animal Sciences, will be the featured on February 7, 2017. This session will compare grazing versus confinement growing systems for feeder cattle.  Dr. Fluharty will evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of these two distinctly different management systems and explore how calf health and management impact the end product.

The series concludes on February 28, 2017 with Dr. Justin Sexten, Supply Development Director for Certified Angus Beef, discussing “Meeting consumer demand: Perspective from the feed yard to the consumer.”  He will challenge the audience to consider questions such as: How do feeder, packer, grocer and restaurateur demands influence the decisions the cow-calf manager makes? ; Does an end-user focused cow herd work on the farm? ; What opportunities exist to capture value added processes?

As in the past, each evening’s webinar will be broadcast live beginning at 7 p.m. from host locations throughout Ohio as well as one in West Virginia. For more information about attending at any of the remote location sites, contact the individuals listed below:

Athens County
Carthage Township Volunteer Fire Department, Coolville, OH
Contact Ed Brown (740-593-8555) for details

Auglaize County
Auglaize County Administration Building, 209 S. Blackhoof St., Wapakoneta, OH
Contact Jeff Stachler (419-739-6580 ) for details

Belmont County OSU Extension office
101 N Market St., St. Clairsville, OH
Contact Dan Lima (740-695-1455) for details

Brown County
Southern Hills Career and Technical Center, 9193 Hamer Rd, Georgetown, OH
Contact David Dugan (937-378-6716) for details

Buckeye Hills EERA
OSU Extension Southeast Region Office, 16714 Wolf Run Road, Caldwell, OH
Contact Christine Gelley (740-732-2381) for details

Carroll County OSU Extension office
613 North High Street, Carrollton, OH
Contact Sandy Smith (330-627-4310) for details
* Pre-registration is required. Contact the Carroll Co. Extension Office to register

Crawford County
Crawford County Courthouse, Lower Level Conference Room, 112 East Mansfield Street, Bucyrus OH
Contact Jason Hartschuh (419-562-8731) for details

Darke County OSU Extension office
Learning Center, 603 Wagner Avenue, Greenville, OH
Contact Sam Custer (937-548-5215) for details

Fairfield County OSU Extension office
831 College Avenue, Lancaster OH
Contact Stan Smith for details

Gallia County OSU Extension office
111 Jackson Pike, Suite 1572, Gallipolis, OH
Contact Jeff Moore (740-446-7007) for details

Hancock County OSU Extension office
Hancock County Extension Conference Room, 7868 Co. Rd. 140, Findlay, OH
Contact Ed Lentz (419-422-3851) for details

Hardin County OSU Extension office
1021 W Lima Street, Suite 103, Kenton, OH
Contact Mark Badertscher (419-674-2297) for details

Highland County
Hillsboro High School, FFA Classroom, 550 US 62 S., Hillsboro, OH
Contact David Dugan (937-393-1918) for details

Knox County OSU Extension office
160 Columbus Road, Mt. Vernon, OH
Contact Sabrina Schirtzinger (740-397-0401) for details

Licking County
Claylick Run Farm, 11970 Cross Rd., Newark, OH
Contact Dean Kreager (740-670-5315) for details

Logan County Cattleman’s Association
Benjamin Logan High School, Room 503, 6609 State Rt. 47 E, Bellefontaine OH
Contact Bob Stoll (937-935-7505) for details

Monroe County Extension office
101 N. Main St., Room 17, Woodsfield, OH
Contact Mark Landefeld (740-472-0810) for details

Morgan County OSU Extension office
155 E. Main St., Suite 325, McConnelsville, OH
Contact Chris Penrose (740-962-4854) for details

Morrow County
Ag Credit Building, 5362 US Highway 42, Mount Gilead, OH
Contact Carri Jagger (419-947-1070) for details

Muskingum County OSU Extension office
225 Underwood St, Zanesville, OH
Contact Clifton Martin (740-454-0144) for details

Perry County
New Lexington High School Ag Room, 2547 Panther Drive, New Lexington, OH
Contact Ted Wiseman (740-743-1602) for details

Pike County
OSU South Centers Endeavor Center, Room 160, 1862 Shyville Road, Piketon, OH
Contact Jeff Fisher (740-289-4837) for details

Vinton County
Community Building Meeting Room, 31935 St Rt 93, McArthur, OH
Contact Jess Bowen (740-596-5212) for details

Washington County OSU Extension office
202 Davis Avenue, Marietta, OH
Contact Marcus McCartney (740-376-7431) or follow this link for details

Wayne County
Wayne County Administration Building, Commissioners Meeting Room, 428 West Liberty Street, Wooster, OH
Contact Rory Lewandowski (330-264-8722) for details

West Virginia
Jones Run Farm Club, 3602 Jones Run Road, Lumberport, WV
Contact: Phil Osborne, Phone: 304-783-4592 or Greg Marshall, Phone: 304-783-4868

Williams County OSU Extension office
1425 E High St., Bryan OH
Contact Florian Chirra (419-636-5608) for details

Also, find the Ohio host counties highlighted in blue below.  If you’d like to see the 2017 Ohio Beef School webinar series hosted in your county, contact John Grimes or Stan Smith for details.