Florida Beef Cattle Short Course Set for May 8-10 in Gainesville

Cattle ranchers are invited to attend the 2019 Florida Beef Cattle Short Course May 8-10 in Gainesville, Fla. The Program Planning Committee and the University of Florida Department of Animal Sciences know that producers will enjoy the program and take away new knowledge about the beef cattle industry’s future direction, additional management decision making skills, and new information about specific production and management practices that impact your beef cattle enterprise.

Online Registration:  2019 Beef Cattle Short Course
ATTENTION: This year we are not charging for the Steak-Out Dinner on Thursday night. If you are going to attend the Steak-Out please RSVP to Rebecca Matta (rmatta@ufl.edu) so she can add you to the master list to get an accurate head count for the meal. There are numerous hotels and motels in the Gainesville area available to accommodate your lodging needs. Mention UF/IFAS when calling to make reservations. Some of our local venues have special pricing for our guests.

SCHEDULE:

“Connecting the Dots, Calf to Carcass”
Straughn Extension Professional Development Center, 2142 Shealy Drive, Gainesville, FL

Wednesday, May 8, 2019
1:00 Welcome
1:15 Cattlemen’s Comments – Alex Johns, President of Florida Cattlemen’s Association
1:30 Market and Industry Trends in the Beef Business – Trey Warnock, Amarillo Brokerage Co.
2:15 Customer Satisfaction and National Tenderness Survey – Dr. Jason Scheffler, University of Florida
3:00 Break
3:30 Value and Mechanics of Meat Export – Travis Arp, Meat Export Federation
4:15 Cattle Cloning: Alpha and Omega – Dr. Ty Lawrence, West Texas A & M University
5:00 Evening Trade Show and Brisket Feed – Beef Teaching Unit-South

Thursday, May 9, 2019
8:30 Influence of Environment on Tenderness – Dr. Tracy Scheffler, University of Florida
9:15 Genetic Markers for Meat Quality – Dr. Steven Shackelford, USDA-MARC
10:00 Break
10:30 Physiology of Marbling – Dr. Susan Duckett, Clemson University
11:00 Fed Beef Challenge/How Do FL Cattle Compare – Dr. Baily Harsh, University of Florida
11:30 Producer Panel with Experience Feeding Cattle
12:30 Lunch at Animal Sciences Building, Sponsored by Farm Credit of Florida
1:30 Afternoon Program –
• Live Animal Evaluation
• Harvest and Processing
• Carcass Evaluation
• Performance and Profit (Loss)
• Taste Panel
6:00 Cattlemen’s Steak Out – Horse Teaching Unit

Friday, May 10, 2019
8:30 Brahman Disposition – Dr. Todd Thrift, University of Florida
9:00 Issues in Cow Herd Health – Dr. Kelsey Arellano, University of Florida, CVM-FARMS
9:30 Mycotoxins in Forages – Dr. Ann Blount, University of Florida
10:00 Break
10:30 Using Ionophores in Cattle Production – Dr. Matt Hersom, University of Florida
11:00 Reproductive Challenges in Cow-calf Operations – Dr. Mario Binelli, University of Florida
11:30 Forage Management Application – Dr. Marcelo Wallau, University of Florida
12:00 Adjourn

Source: Doug Mayo, IF/IFAS Jackson County Extension