With nearly 2.5 million cattle in four Midwest states, university Extension Services in Illinois, Iowa, and Wisconsin are teaming together to offer the Driftless Region Beef Conference. The 10th annual event will be held Jan. 27-28, 2022 at the Grand River Convention Center in Dubuque, Iowa.
The driftless region in these states contain rolling hills, streams and karst soil topography. Since soil and water conservation is best accomplished when much of this land is seeded for forage and livestock consumes those forages, the conference will focus on efficient and economic forage and beef production.
The conference will begin at 1 p.m. Jan. 27 with a program concentrating on the future of the beef industry. The keynote speaker is Ron Gill, professor and Extension livestock specialist for Texas A&M AgriLife Extension. Terry Houser, ISU Meat Science specialist, will demonstrate various value added cuts in a meat fabrication demonstration.
The final two afternoon topics include alternative meats and consumer trends. An evening discussion on value added opportunities will feature a producer panel. Friday morning will feature Matt Ludlow from Rush Creek Ranch in Wisconsin, who recently won the National Stocker Award, and eight breakout sessions for feedlot operations and cow-calf producers followed by a market outlook.
Key speakers include Dan Loy and Denise Schwab, Iowa State University; Bill Halfman and Mark Rens, University of Wisconsin; Bailey Harsh, University of Illinois, and Mary Drewnoski and Elliott Dennis, University of Nebraska Lincoln.
The early registration fee is $85 per person and must be received prior to midnight, Jan. 14. The price increases to $115 after that date. More information on topics, speakers and lodging is available at www.aep.iastate.edu/beef/. Online and mail registration forms are available on the conference website.
The Driftless Region Beef Conference is sponsored by ISU Extension and Outreach, University of Illinois Extension, and University of Wisconsin Extension. For more information or to receive a brochure, contact Denise Schwab, beef specialist with ISU Extension and Outreach, at 319-472-4739.