MANNING -- The Dickinson Research Extension Center will host a field day here from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 26.
It is the first field day for the topic "Forage-Based Beef Production Strategies" and stems from a four-state region study on information relating to the effects of early weaning and alternative beef production.
Scientists and extension educators from North Dakota State University, the DREC and South Dakota State University's West River Agriculture Center in Rapid City will discuss and present information "on annual forage crop succession for extended season grazing and an economic comparison of engineered feedlots versus extensive grazing," stated literature on the event.
Speakers include DREC Director Kris Ringwall, DREC Beef Research Specialist Doug Landblom, NDSU Extension Agriculture Economist Tim Petry, NDSU Waste Management Specialist Teresa Dvorak and NDSU Extension Rangeland Specialist Kevin Sedivec.
Additional presenters include SDSU Range Scientist Roger Gates, SDSU Extension Beef Specialist Ken Olson and SDSU Agriculture Economist Marty Beutler.
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The field day is part of an educational outreach component recently supported by a grant from the Natural Resource Conservation Service given to the DREC and entities involved in the study.
The outreach component supported by the grant includes several educational initiatives by the DREC for the rest of this year and into 2008.
People attending the programs have an opportunity to see the cattle which are part of the study during various phases of production starting Wednesday. There also will be presentations on the NDSU Cattle Market Outlook and United States Department of Agriculture Livestock Risk Protection Insurance Program. A tour of native range pastures and corn grazing fields will complete the field day activities.
"The major goal is to reduce grazing pressure on native range," Landblom said in a previous Press article on the study. "The second goal is to improve profitability for producers. As a group we are studying alternative methods for cattle management in a drought environment."
