OSU to host national beef reproduction conference

Tuesday, June 3, 2014

Cow-calf producers and large-animal veterinarians should plan now to attend the 2014 Applied Reproductive Strategies in Beef Cattle Conference hosted by Oklahoma State University’s Division of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources Oct. 8-9.

“Think of the conference as one-stop shopping, in that participants of every experience level will be able to gain insights about subjects as diverse as basic cattle reproduction and artificial insemination to the latest advances related to embryo transfer and fertility technology,” said Megan Rolf, OSU Cooperative Extension beef cattle specialist.

A schedule of events is available online at http://www.beefextension.com/genetics. The two-day conference will take place in the OSU Student Union, located on the university’s Stillwater campus.

The conference is an annual Beef Reproduction Task Force event that alternates from state to state. The task force is a multi-state extension activity in cooperation with the North Central Agricultural and Natural Resources Program Leaders Committee and the Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service.

“Educating cow-calf producers and those who serve them is a primary goal of the task force,” said Dan Stein, OSU Cooperative Extension livestock production specialist. “Reproductive efficiency is a major driver of profitability and sustainability, both for a producer’s individual operation and the industry as a whole.”

Key goals of the Beef Reproduction Task Force include promoting widespread adoption of reproductive technologies among cow-calf producers, educating producers in management considerations that will increase the likelihood of successful breeding of animals through artificial insemination and educating producers about marketing options to capture benefits that result from use of improved reproductive techniques.

“Cow-calf producers and large-animal veterinarians should go ahead and put the conference on their schedules,” Stein said. “It will be the place to be in October. For most producers, profit margins are tight, so it is imperative they are aware of and make the best use of available technologies and animal management practices.”

Anyone seeking additional information about the Oct. 8-9 conference should contact Rolf by email at mrolf@okstate.edu or Stein by email at daniel.stein@okstate.edu.