The award-winning and newly renamed David McKnight ’73 Ranch Management University is scheduled for April 8-12 at Texas A&M University in Bryan-College Station. Registration is open and seating has been expanded to the first 70 enrolled.

black and red cattle graze on dried grasslands
Everything from forage to livestock to agricultural laws and soil management will be discussed at the David McKnight ’73 Ranch Management University in April at Texas A&M University. (Texas A&M AgriLife photo by Michael Miller)

The workshop is a collaboration of the Texas A&M College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Department of Soil and Crop Sciences, Department of Animal Science, Department of Agricultural Economics and the Department of Rangeland, Wildlife and Fisheries Management. It also involves the Natural Resources Institute, NRI, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service.

This is the first spring session named for David McKnight, after the David McKnight ’73 Ranch Management University Endowment was created last fall. McKnight graduated from Texas A&M in 1973 and spent much of his adulthood pursuing his interests in land conservation, farming and ranching.

“We are honored that Mr. McKnight thought so much of this training that he wanted to make a donation to ensure it continued,” said Larry Redmon, Ph.D., Department of Soil and Crop Sciences associate department head and Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service program leader, Bryan-College Station. “The Ranch Management University is designed to give new or inexperienced ranchers and landowners a crash course on a lot of different subjects.”

Event details

Each spring and fall, participants spend five days learning about a variety of ranch management topics ranging from soil fertility to forage and weed management to livestock and wildlife management.

Registration is $625, and the deadline to register is March 29. Register online, or for more information, contact Linda Francis at [email protected].

Workshop attendees will meet at the Scotts Miracle-Gro Turf Facility located at 3100 F&B Road, College Station. The program will begin at 11 a.m. on April 8 and run from 7:15 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily until its conclusion at noon on April 12.

Meals and break refreshments will be provided as well as a resource flash drive containing over 250 publications addressing ranch resource management and a workbook of all presentations.

AgriLife Extension experts from across the state will lead the instruction. Three general Texas Department of Agriculture continuing education units will be offered to attendees.

Speakers and topics

Day 1:

a waterway that is surrounded by green trees and grasses and lake weeds
Watershed discussions will be a part of the long-running Ranch Management University training. (Texas A&M AgriLife photo by Sam Craft)
  • Soil Fertility, Soils in the Field – Jake Mowrer, Ph.D., AgriLife Extension state soil fertility specialist and associate professor in the Department of Soils and Crop Sciences, Bryan-College Station.
  • Planning for Profit, Marketing Livestock – Cow-Calf? Stockers? Feedlot? – David Anderson, Ph.D., AgriLife Extension beef economist and professor in the Department of Agricultural Economics, Bryan-College Station.

Day 2:

  • Ag Laws Texas Landowners Need to Know – Tiffany Lashmet, J.D., AgriLife Extension agricultural law specialist and professor in the Department of Agricultural Economics, Amarillo.
  • What is a Watershed? – Leanne Wiley, AgriLife Extension program specialist and Lone Star Healthy Streams program manager, Bryan-College Station.
  • Structure of the U.S. Beef Industry; Genetic Strategies for Profitable Beef Production; Nutrient Requirements and Supplementation of Beef Cattle/Body Conditioning Scores; Animal Handling Demonstration; and Niche Marketing: Non-traditional Production Strategies – Jason Cleere, Ph.D., AgriLife Extension beef cattle specialist and associate professor in the Department of Animal Science, Bryan-College Station.

Day 3:

  • Horse Production 101 – Jennifer Zoller, Ph.D., AgriLife Extension horse specialist and associate professor in the Department of Animal Science, Bryan-College Station.
  • Forage Establishment, Importance of Stocking Rate, Options for Wintering Cattle – Redmon.
  • Small Ruminant Production – Reid Redden, Ph.D., AgriLife Extension sheep and goat specialist, Department of Animal Science associate professor and center director at the Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center at San Angelo, and Jake Thorne, AgriLife Extension sheep and goat program specialist, San Angelo.
  • Texas Well Owners Network, TWON: Well Informed – Joel Pigg, AgriLife Extension program specialist, Bryan-College Station.
  • NRCS Programs for the Landowner – Jason Hohlt, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service range specialist, Bryan-College Station.

Day 4:

  • Using Wildlife as Agriculture for Property Tax Proposes, Northern Bobwhite Issues and Management, White-tailed Deer Management – Jim Cathey, Ph.D., professor and Texas A&M Natural Resources Institute associate director, Bryan-College Station.
  • Feral Hog Issues/Trap Demonstration – Jay Long, NRI project coordinator.
  • Aquatic Vegetation Management Basics – Brittany Chesser, AgriLife Extension aquatic vegetation program specialist, Bryan-College Station.
  • Management for Dove – Redmon.

Day 5:

  • Weed and Brush Management/Sprayer Calibration and Some Hay Considerations – Redmon.
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