Area beef meetings set for 10 Indiana locations
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Purdue University and the Indiana Beef Cattle Association will hold 10 area beef meetings across Indiana in December and January.
The meetings, open to all beef producers, will feature a presentation titled "How Do You Know if You Are Feeding the Right Mineral?" by Ron Lemenager, Purdue Extension beef specialist. Each meeting also will include information on beef issues and policies and programs and will feature local food.
Lemenager will discuss topics such as ways mineral requirements change with stage of production; ways mineral status of the cow affect subsequent calf health and performance; how to interpret a mineral supplement feed tag's guaranteed analysis; how to evaluate the feed tag ingredient list to determine mineral availability; where inorganic versus organic, or chelated, mineral forms fit; how to monitor and regulate mineral consumption; when medicated mineral supplements make sense; and which vitamins and how much are needed.
He will present several common feeding scenarios and evaluate which type of mineral supplement best fits each scenario.
"Historically, producers have fed hay to their beef herds. But as they've shifted to using alternative feeds, such as cover crops, stockpiled forages, crop residues and grain byproducts, there is a need to re-evaluate our mineral supplementation strategies," Lemenager said. "Beef producers are now feeding things like corn stalks, distillers grains, corn gluten meal, soybean hulls and cover crops such as rye, turnips and radishes. Each of these has a different mineral profile, so it can be challenging to know which supplements are needed."
Also included in the meetings will be information from the Indiana Beef Cattle Association and the Indiana Beef Council as well as discussion of changing consumer demands and the growth opportunities for Indiana's beef industry.
"IBCA is excited about taking its programs and issues on the road again this year and hearing from its members and beef producers about their thoughts on the state of the beef industry," said Joe Moore, IBCA's executive vice president. "We know that to be relevant for our business at this point in time, it is very important we hear about the issues and opportunities from our own producers."
Meeting times and locations are:
* Area 1: 6:30 p.m. Jan. 12. Southeast Purdue Agricultural Center, Butlerville. Register with Ken Salkeld at 812-352-3033 by Jan. 10. Counties in this area are Bartholomew, Brown, Dearborn, Decatur, Jackson, Jefferson, Jennings, Ohio, Ripley and Switzerland.
* Area 2: Noon. Jan. 14. Cornerstone Hall, Salem. Register with Brad Shelton at 812-883-4601 by Jan. 4. Counties are Clark, Crawford, Floyd, Harrison, Lawrence, Orange, Scott and Washington.
* Area 3: 6:30 p.m. Jan. 11. Dubois County Fairgrounds, Jasper. Register with Purdue Extension Dubois County at 812-482-1782 by Jan. 3. Counties are Daviess, Dubois, Gibson, Knox, Martin, Perry, Pike, Posey, Spencer, Vanderburgh and Warrick.
*Area 5: 6:30 p.m. Jan. 18. Exhibit Hall, Clay County Fairgrounds, Brazil. Register with Jenna Smith at 812-448-9041 by Jan. 12. Counties in this area are Clay, Greene, Monroe, Owen, Parke, Putnam, Sullivan, Vermillion and Vigo.
* Area 6: 6:30 p.m. Jan. 19. Scott Hall, Johnson County Fairgrounds, Franklin. Register with Bill Doig at 317-736-3724 by Jan. 12. Counties are Boone, Hamilton, Hancock, Hendricks, Johnson, Marion, Morgan and Shelby.
* Area 7: 6:30 p.m. Jan. 26. Root Building, Rush County Fairgrounds, Rushville. Register with Purdue Extension Rush County at 765-932-5974 by Jan. 16. Counties are Blackford, Delaware, Fayette, Franklin, Henry, Jay, Madison, Randolph, Rush, Union and Wayne.
* Area 8: 6:30 p.m. Jan. 3. Cass County Fairgrounds, Logansport. Register with Purdue Extension Cass County at 574-753-7750 by Dec. 28. Counties are Carroll, Cass, Clinton, Fulton, Grant, Howard, Miami, Tipton and Wabash.
* Area 9: 6:30 p.m. Dec. 12. McGraw's Steakhouse, West Lafayette. Register with Jeff Phillips at 765-474-0793 by Dec. 5. Counties are Benton, Fountain, Jasper, Montgomery, Newton, Pulaski, Tippecanoe, Warren and White.
* Area 10: 6:30 p.m. Central. Jan. 10. Ag Hall, Elkhart County Fairgrounds, Elkhart. Register with John Camden at 574-527-2682 by Dec. 5. The counties are Elkhart, Kosciusko, Lake, LaPorte, Marshall, Porter, St. Joseph and Starke.
* Area 11: 6:30 p.m. Jan. 4. Eagles Nest, Columbia City. Register with Ed Farris at 260-358-4826 by Jan. 1. Counties are Adams, Allen, DeKalb, Huntington, LaGrange, Noble, Steuben, Wells and Whitley.
The 2011-2012 area beef meetings are sponsored in part by Hoosier Energy, A Touchstone Energy Cooperative; Indiana Farm Bureau; Merck Animal Health; Indiana Soybean Alliance; Indiana Corn Marketing Council; and Elanco Animal Health.
More information is available by contacting the IBCA at 800-515-2333 or going online to https://www.indianabeef.org
Writer: Jennifer Stewart, 765-494-6682, jsstewar@purdue.edu
Source: Ron Lemenager, 765-494-4817, rpl@purdue.edu
Ag Communications: (765) 494-2722;
Keith Robinson, robins89@purdue.edu
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