Fall Beef School Begins On Oct. 6

 

The OSU Extension Beef Team members have made plans for the 2015 Fall Beef School. The dates for the school are Tuesday, October 6, 13, and 20th. Each night the program will start at 5:30 p.m. Classes will be held at the OSU Eastern Agricultural Research Station in Belle Valley. Supper will be provided with registration each night. The school has been designed to address practical issues facing beef producers.

 

The first night we will cover Forage weed control options with OSU Extension Educators Mark Landefeld and Clif Little; reasons for open cows with Dr. Justin Kieffer OSU Veterinarian; and we will cover in a video segment our procedures for working cows and calves.

 

The second night we will provide an update from FSA and NRCS on the government programs; beef breeds carcass characteristics and trends with OSU Educator Breanna Pye; and spring development with SWCD technician Jason Tyrell.

 

On the last night we will visit a rotational grazing farm and go over a basic low cost beef cattle working facility.

 

Video: Swine Industry Advances: Biodigesters Lower Emissions and Increase Profits

Analysis of greenhouse gas (GHG emissions) in the Canadian swine sector found that CH4 emissions from manure were the largest contributor to the overall emissions, followed by emissions from energy use and crop production.

This innovative project, "Improving Swine Manure-Digestate Management Practices Towards Carbon Neutrality With Net Zero Emission Concepts," from Dr. Rajinikanth Rajagopal, under Swine Cluster 4, seeks to develop strategies to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions.

While the management of manure can be very demanding and expensive for swine operations, it can also be viewed as an opportunity for GHG mitigation, as manure storage is an emission source built and managed by swine producers. Moreover, the majority of CH4 emissions from manure occur during a short period of time in the summer, which can potentially be mitigated with targeted intervention.

In tandem with understanding baseline emissions, Dr. Rajagopal's work focuses on evaluating emission mitigation options. Manure additives have the potential of reducing manure methane emissions. Additives can be deployed relatively quickly, enabling near-term emission reductions while biodigesters are being built. Furthermore, additives can be a long-term solution at farms where biogas is not feasible (e.g., when it’s too far from a central digester). Similarly, after biodigestion, additives can also be used to further reduce emissions from storage to minimize the carbon intensity of the bioenergy.