The 44th annual Randall County Ag Day and Crops Tour, hosted by the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service, is set for Aug. 31 at the Kuhlman Extension Center, 200 N. Brown Road, Canyon.

three head of cattle in a pen
Beef Quality Assurance training has been added to the Randall County Ag Day on Aug. 31. (Texas A&M AgriLife photo by Laura McKenzie)

The program will run from 8:30 a.m. until 5:40 p.m. and include a free lunch. An RSVP is requested by Aug. 27 by calling the AgriLife Extension office at 806-468-5543. This event is free, with the registration fee covered by Happy State Bank of Canyon.

Three Texas Department of Agriculture continuing education units will be available for private pesticide applicators.

The Randall County Ag Day and Crops Tour is the largest-attended agricultural educational event that the AgriLife Extension in Randall County hosts each year, said J. D. Ragland, Ph.D., AgriLife Extension agriculture and natural resources agent in Randall County.

“I feel we have an outstanding program put together that is jam-packed full of very timely and impactful topics along with an outstanding slate of presenters,” Ragland said.

Something new this year, he said, is the entire afternoon session will be held at the Bain Arena on the West Texas A&M University, WTAMU, campus, and it will solely focus on a variety of live cattle demonstrations all associated with Beef Quality Assurance, BQA, requirements.

Morning session topics and speakers

The morning session will address crop varieties, conditions and markets. Topics and speakers will be:

2021 Top Wheat Variety Picks, Jourdan Bell, Ph.D., AgriLife Extension agronomist, Amarillo.
– Current Wheat Disease and Fungus Issues, Ken Obasa, Ph.D., AgriLife Extension plant pathologist, Amarillo.
– Sorghum IGROWTH Study Results and Updates, Kevin Heflin, Ph.D., AgriLife Extension agronomy program specialist, Amarillo.
– Recent Commodity Price Trends and Outlook, Justin Benavidez, Ph.D., AgriLife Extension economist, Amarillo.
– Commodity Wrap Session – Angie Martin, Texas Corn Producers; Kody Bessent, Plains Cotton Growers; Darby Campsey, Texas Wheat Producers; and Wayne Cleveland, Texas Sorghum Association.

The noon luncheon will feature keynote speaker Tom Sell, with Combest/Sell, speaking on “Current Ag Issues and Concerns Within the Legislation” and “Ag Policy, Insight on the Farm Bill.”

Following the keynote address will be the presentation of the Randall County Extension Top Hand, Outstanding Result Demonstrator and Outstanding Agribusiness awards. The luncheon is sponsored by Happy State Bank, and breaks and refreshments are sponsored by Palo Duro Soil and Water Conservation District and Plains Land Bank.

Afternoon session topics and speakers

The afternoon session will offer an opportunity for those who attend to be granted a BQA Certificate of status. All BQA certificates are good for three years and allow producers to promote their cattle rearing from a BQA certified herd, Ragland said. This, in return, establishes the grounds for higher profitability to the producer at cattle sale time.

– Overview of BQA – Jason Smith, Ph.D., AgriLife Extension beef cattle specialist, Amarillo.
– Facility Design – David Lust, Ph.D., professor of animal science, WTAMU, and Smith.
– Chute-Side Safety and live cattle demonstrations of vaccination, dehorning and castration – Dan Posey, DVM, clinical professor, and Jenna Funk, DVM, clinical assistant professor and beef cattle veterinarian, both with WTAMU.
– Ultrasound with live cattle demonstrations of DNA sampling and pregnancy ultrasounds – Tommy Perkins, Ph.D., associate professor of animal science, WTAMU, along with graduate students Jake Trout and Noah Jesko.
– Live Cattle Handling – Lust.
– Wrap Up/ BQA Certification Test – Smith.

For more information, contact Ragland at 806-468-5543 or email him at [email protected].