I thought that today would be a good time to talk about all of the things we have coming up in January.
Before I talk about the workshops, I want to let you know that the 4-H council and 4-H members will be out and about next Monday January 5, collecting donations for the luck of the draw raffle fundraiser they hold every year during bull bash. This is the 4-H Councils main fundraiser. The proceeds are used for trophies, awards, scholarships, trainings, in other words the council uses the money to support the Cherry County 4-H program.
Now, about the workshops: The final two installments of this winter’s Satellite Beef Short Course, will be January 12 and 19. Dr. Matt Spangler will discuss recessive genes in beef cattle production, on the January 12 broadcast. On the 19, Dr. Rick Rasby will give some production tips to increase profit potential in the cow/calf enterprise. We will downlink both presentations at the Extension office starting at 7 pm Central Time. Please call the office and let us know if you plan to attend.
Ranching for Profitability workshop will be January 14, from 4:30 to 9 pm, at the Cedar Canyon Steakhouse in Valentine. The First National Bank of Valentine is sponsoring the meeting with us again this year. Make sure to call our office to preregister. You wouldn’t want to miss out on a fabulous roast beef dinner.
The years topics are management of the cow and calf at calving time; the economics of cow/calf vrs. cow/yearling production systems; mineral supplementation of the cowherd, ag decision support spreadsheets, and meadow management. I’m almost embarrassed to tell you that this will be the first time since I’ve been here that we will be talking about managing hay meadows. Cherry County has the most acres in hay production of any county in the nation, so I guess we’re probably overdue to address it in a program. Dr. Volesky will be talking about fertilization, interseeding legumes, he’ll probably touch a little on weed control and meadow renovation as well.
I’m pleased with this years line up. I think you will be too. Mark January 14 on your calendar, and don’t forget to pre register.
As long as you are marking your calendars, you might want to put down that Private Pesticide Applicator trainings will be January 26 in Valentine, and 28th in Merriman. Both start at 1:30 pm local time.
Contact the extension office at 376-1850 for more information on any of the things I’ve covered.
