South Texas Beef and Forage Field Day set for May 8 in Beeville

By Rob Williams

The Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service will host the South Texas Beef and Forage Field Day on May 8 in Beeville.

The field day will be held from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. at the Twisted Ranch Events and Design, 3360 U.S. Highway 59, and at the Texas A&M AgriLife Research Station at Beeville, 3507 Highway 59 East.

Registration cost is $40, and an RSVP is requested. RSVP at  https://tx.ag/STXBeefForageDay or call the AgriLife Extension office in Bee County at 361-621-1552.

Two Texas Department of Agriculture continuing education units — one general and one integrated pest management — will be available to pesticide applicators and a lunch will be provided.

The event will feature presentations by AgriLife Research and AgriLife Extension experts on topics ranging from beef cattle and hay economic outlooks to wildlife habitat considerations and weed management.

On the agenda

The featured topics and speakers include:

• Weed control options in pastures and hay production — Josh McGinty, Ph.D., AgriLife Extension agronomist and associate professor in the Department of Soil and Crop Sciences, Corpus Christi.
• Beef and hay economic outlook — Yuri Calil, Ph.D., AgriLife Extension economist and assistant professor in the Department of Agricultural Economics, Corpus Christi.
• Understanding wildlife habitat — Jacob Dykes, Ph.D., AgriLife Extension wildlife specialist and assistant professor in the Department of Rangeland, Wildlife and Fisheries Management, Corpus Christi.
• Panel Discussion: Adaptability, what does it mean to South Texas production? — Austin Brown, owner, Brown Land and Cattle, Beeville; Rodney Butler, business owner, Beeville Livestock Commission and Nixon Livestock Commission; Levi Canales, vice president of procurement, South Texas Beef, Corpus Christi; and Edward Bordovsky, general manager, La Paloma Ranch, Rivera.
• Linking carbon and water to forage production — Jamie Foster, Ph.D., AgriLife Research forage agronomist and professor in the Department of Soil and Crop Sciences, Beeville.
• Supplementation strategies for livestock — Karl Harborth, Ph.D., AgriLife Extension livestock specialist and assistant professor in the Department of Animal Science, Corpus Christi.
• Cow adaptability and grazing — Hamad Saad, Ph.D.,  AgriLife Research scientist, Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center at Corpus Christi, and David Riley, Ph.D., professor of animal breeding and genetics in the Department of Animal Science, Bryan-College Station.