AFS’s Beef x Dairy Symposium Centers on Problem Solving
By: Norman Martin
More than 300 beef and dairy professionals took part in Texas Tech Universitys Department of Animal & Food Sciences 2nd Annual Invitational ‘Beef x Dairy Symposium on May 14-16 at the National Ranching Heritage Center in Lubbock.
Participants from across the region attended back-to-back sessions from academic speakers sharing their research, as well as industry leaders detailing their experience in raising, feeding, and marketing cattle.
In addition, the symposium offered an opportunity for technical experts to present in the areas of calfhood management, genomics/genetics, gut and liver health, feedlot performance, and product composition and quality.
“We sincerely believe that this meeting was a much-needed opportunity to address timely and important topics,” said Dale Woerner, Professor and Cargill Endowed Professor in Sustainable Meat Science within Texas Techs Department of Animal & Food Sciences.
Home to about 4.1 million beef cattle, Texas remains a prominent player in this iconic economic sector. The cattle business in the state is worth an estimated $15.5 billion, making it by far the most profitable agricultural commodity in the state, according to the states Department of Agriculture. There are millions of cattle across the panhandle specifically.
“Beef is the number one agricultural contributor for the state, and that production is by far concentrated in West Texas, and is followed in economic impact by dairy,” said Darren Hudson, Associate Dean for Strategic Initiatives & Assessment within Texas Tech's Davis College of Agricultural Sciences & Natural Resources. “Those two sectors are critical to our regional and state economic engines and improving profitability and sustainability are critical to long-term economic success.”
The Beef x Dairy Symposium program launched with regional tours on Tuesday (May 14), which included presentations at Caviness Beef Packers in Hereford, Animal Health International in Herford, and Texas Techs School of Veterinary Medicine in Amarillo. The technical program concluded with a Tri-State Fairgrounds necropsy training and liver, lung, and rumen pathology demonstration in Amarillo.
Wednesdays (May 15) program was highlighted by calf health, welfare, and nutrition speakers and panels, in addition to a dairymans perspective panel discussion. Other topics centered on the future of calf value with the industrys leaders in risk management and auction markets; genetics and genomics research and panel discussions; and reproductive technologies.
During the final day of the symposium on Thursday (May 16), presentations turned to sustainable beef production; a cost of fat demonstration; seedstock for feed efficiency; a deep dive into liver abscesses; a feedlot nutrition and health panel; a feedlot performance panel; and a genetic provider panel.
CONTACT: Chance Brooks, Chair and Professor, Department of Animal & Food Sciences, Texas Tech University at (806) 742-2808 or chance.brooks@ttu.edu
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