OVERTON A three-day intensive workshop for start-up ranchers has seven openings left.
Set April 1-3, the Pasture and Livestock Management Workshop is designed for those who have recently inherited or bought rural acreage for the first time.
“Unlike other Extension ranching programs, the focus of this program is not so much how to fine-tune an operation, but how to get started in ranching and pasture management the right way with research-based information,” said Dr. Larry Redmon, forage specialist with Texas Cooperative Extension. “We will start the program with the assumption that our audience knows next to nothing about ranching except that they want to do it.”
The program will be held at the Texas A&M University System Agricultural Research and Extension Center at Overton. The center is the regional headquarters for both Extension specialists and scientists with the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station. A number of Extension specialists and Experiment Station scientists will be involved in the program.
Enrollment for the program is limited to 40 people to allow closer interaction between participants and faculty.
Those attending the workshop will learn how to establish a business plan for the ranch, keep proper records, evaluate alternative agricultural enterprises, choose the appropriate forage species for East Texas, fertilize pastures, design forage systems that minimize winter feeding costs, set up pastures for cattle with correct stocking rates, choose the appropriate cattle breeds for East Texas, pick the optimum animal breeding/calving seasons, promote good animal health and market cattle.
In addition to the outdoor and hands-on activities, researchers will give tours of the various forage and grazing study sites, showing how theory is carried to actual practice. There will be demonstrations on how to move livestock with stock dogs, and how to perform implants, ear-tagging and castration. Other demonstrations will focus on how to take soil samples, and how to calibrate planters for proper seeding rates and sprayers for weed management.
Cost of registration is $250 per person, which includes two evening meals, two lunches, break refreshments, and educational materials. Also included in the registration fee is a limited edition available only to workshop attendees – cap and shirt.
“This $250 will probably be the least expensive and wisest investment landowners ever make in the cattle business,” Redmon said. “The registration fee covers the meals and educational materials. The opportunity to pick the brains of eight senior researchers and Extension specialists is basically free.”
He said that past participants have commented that what they learned in just one hour of instruction and interaction paid for the registration fee.
“We’re giving 24 hours of information during three days of instruction designed to save them money – big money – and headaches,” Redmon said.
To register, send a check or money order to “Texas Agricultural Experiment Station, Grazing School Registration, P.O. Box 200, Overton, TX 75684. Make the check or money order out to “TAES”.
For more information, contact Redmon by phone, (903) 834-6191, or by email:l-redmon@tamu.edu
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