University of Illinois, Iowa, and Wisconsin Extension services are working together to offer the thirteenth annual Driftless Region Beef Conference to be held on January 23 and 24, 2025 at the Grand River Convention Center in Dubuque, IA. The aim of the conference is to provide educational sessions for beef producers. The early registration fee of $120 per person must be received prior to midnight on January 10, 2025. After that, the price increases to $145 per person. To register please visit https://www.regcytes.extension.iastate.edu/beef/ where you can also find more information on topics, speakers, and lodging.

Thursday will start out with keynote speakers Dr. Derrell Peel from Oklahoma State University and Dr. Troy Rowan from University of Tennessee. Also speaking Thursday will be Dr. Marta Kohmann from the University of Wisconsin. 

Dr. Marta Kohmann will speak on “Managing Pastures for Long-Term Production”. Grazing management is no easy task. Several decisions are needed to ensure productive pastures that keep up with animal requirements long term. Dr. Kohmann will go over main principles of sustainable pasture management. Some of the most recent grazing studies that are underway will be shared as well.

Rounding out Thursday evening after dinner will be the popular “Bull Pen” discussion featuring a panel of locker plant managers from the Driftless Area sharing their insights and answering questions about marketing beef locally.

Friday morning will start out with a breakfast session on “Challenges and Joys of Family Farm Transitions” where Bruce and Peyton River of Maquoketa, IA will share their experiences on these challenges. 

Following the breakfast session, breakout sessions will be offered on a variety of topics. One track will focus on the cow herd while the other focuses more on feedlot aspects. 

The feedlot focused sessions this year will be led by Joseph Lensing from Iowa State University, Erika Woolfolk from Iowa State University, Denise Schwab from Iowa State University, and Josh McCann from University of Illinois.

Joseph Lensing will talk about “Risk Management in a High-Priced Market” focusing on analyzing the risk protection and strategies to protect the value of feeder and fed cattle in the current market. 

Erika Woolfolk will talk about “Effects of Market Timing and Performance Technologies on Marketing Decisions for High Quality Midwest Cattle”. This talk will share results of a study conducted at Iowa State University to evaluate the tradeoff related to days on feed and market timing contingent on feeds costs, grid premiums, and discounts for high quality cattle sold on a carcass or grid market basis.

Denise Schwab will talk about the “BeefXDairy Lifetime Performance Project” which was an Iowa State University project that looked at the impacts of early life nutrition on lifetime growth, health, and performance on beef dairy cross calves. The final results of the study will be shared as well as implications for managing beef dairy cross calves for performance, health, and carcass merit.

Josh McCann will talk about “Causes and Costs of Erratic Intake in the Feedyard”. Consistent dry matter intake is the hallmark of good management. McCann will discuss why it is important to consider the causes and costs of erratic feed intake. 

Finally, to wrap up the conference, everyone will come together again and hear Derrell Peel talk on “Cattle Market Outlook: 2025 and Beyond” which encompasses the current cattle market situation and factors affecting producer profitability.