Grass-N-Beef Review Set for Jan. 28

The North Dakota State University Central Grasslands Research Extension Center’s 2009 Grass-N-Beef Research Review will be Jan. 28.

“This daylong program will provide producers with information on how to make their operation more efficient and profitable,” says Paul Nyren, center director.

The event will be held in the center’s conference room. It will start at 9:30 a.m. with a welcome from Nyren and remarks from D.C. Coston, NDSU vice president for Agriculture and University Extension.

Other speakers and their topics are:

• Using annual forages to extend grazing – Bryan Neville and Greg Lardy, NDSU Animal Sciences Department; and Kevin Sedivec, NDSU School of Natural Resource Sciences
• How NDSU’s new Beef Cattle Research Center will enhance North Dakota’s livestock industry – Rob Maddock, NDSU Animal Sciences Department
• The optimal cow in a high-cost environment – John Dhuyvetter, NDSU North Central Research Extension Center
• Integrated beef production systems for the Coteau – Greg Mantz, Central Grasslands Research Extension Center, Minot
• Niche and specialty beef marketing opportunities – Lardy
• Reducing cow costs – Lardy
• Using genetic information to improve animal production efficiency – Mike MacNeil, U.S. Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service Fort Keogh Livestock and Range Research Laboratory, Miles City, Mont.
• Drought management – Jeff Printz, Natural Resources Conservation Service, Bismarck, and Gale Dunn, USDA-ARS, Fort Collins, Colo.
• Emerging energy sources, including biofuels and cattails, and the Spiritwood power plant project – John Mittleider, North Dakota Commerce Department
• Evaluation of perennial herbaceous biomass crops for ethanol – Nyren
• Evaluation of break-even farm-gate switchgrass prices in south-central North Dakota – Larry Leistritz and Dean Bangsund, NDSU Agribusiness and Applied Economics Department
• Resilience on the northern Plains – Tom Isern, NDSU History Department

The program also will include a panel discussion on range monitoring. Panelists will be representatives from the North Dakota Grazing Lands Coalition and Chuck Lura, a biology professor at Minot State University-Bottineau.

The Central Grasslands Research Extension Center is four miles north of Streeter or 11 miles south of Interstate 94 on North Dakota Highway 30. From Highway 30, take 48th Street five miles west to 48th Avenue and drive south for one-quarter mile.

The program is free of charge and will include a catered lunch. Registration is not required.

For more informationm, visit the center's Web site at http://www.ag.ndsu.nodak.edu/streeter/ and click on Field Days and Events or contact Nyren at (701) 424-3606.

NDSU Agriculture Communication