AMES, Iowa – Beef cow-calf producers recognize the importance of staying informed on all aspects of their operation, and a new four-part webinar series from Iowa Beef Center will help them do just that. Iowa State University extension program specialist Beth Reynolds says the series is intended to provide timely topics for beef cow management and the opportunity to access the information when it’s convenient for them, even if that means they cannot attend a meeting in person. The first session of this series is set for Wednesday, December 11 at 6 PM, and focuses on winter feeding management.

Producers have two options to view the webinar- online at home, or at a local extension office viewing location. In Southwest Iowa, the Cass County Extension Office in Atlantic will be hosting a viewing location. Immediately following the webinar, area beef specialists will be at host sites to discuss local feed quality issues and ration needs specific to individual producers. Erika Lundy, ISU Extension Beef Field Specialist for Southwest Iowa, will be hosting the viewing location in Cass County and leading the follow up discussion.

“The weather pattern of 2019 has created several challenges for putting up hay, corn silage and other forage resources in ideal condition,” Reynolds said. “Producer data from our recent Iowa Beef Center Cow Systems Project demonstrated that approximately 40 percent of total production costs were devoted to stored feed costs, and since we can’t control the markets, focusing on controlling feed costs is really important to the profitability of the beef cow enterprise.” Producers can access the Cow Systems Project manual on the Iowa State Extension store at https://store.extension.iastate.edu/product/15561 for more information.

Speakers will share information on assessing feed quality and determining nutritional management strategies of beef cows as they enter the third trimester of gestation. Garland Dahlke, IBC associate scientist, will present “Winter Feed: Considering the Feed Quality Forecast” and Katy Lippolis, assistant professor of animal science at Iowa State, will talk on “Winter Nutritional Management for Beef Cows.”

There is no cost to attend an in-person location or to view the webinar at home, but you are encouraged to preregister for both options by either calling your preferred host location or completing the online registration form for viewing access information. If you plan to view the webinar online, please visit http://www.iowabeefcenter.org/news/WinterCowWebinars.html prior to the meeting and click the “online registration” link. You can enter your email address and a link to join the meeting will be emailed to you. Walk-ins for the in-person meeting are welcome. If you’re not able to attend either, but are still interested in the information, the plans are to record each webinar and provide links to those recordings when they’re available.

The full list of webinar dates and topics is as follows; all sessions will be held from 6 to 8 p.m.:

Dec. 11, 2019 Winter feeding management

Jan. 22, 2020, Preparing for calving season

Feb. 18, 2020, Market trends, tracking and improving profitability

March 10, 2020, Pasture renovation, forage management

For more information or to pre-register for the in-person viewing session in Cass County, call the Cass County Extension office at 712-243-1132 or email Lori Anderson at lander@iastate.edu. You can visit the webinar series program page at http://www.iowabeefcenter.org/WinterCowWebinarSeries.html for additional information and links to archived recordings after the meetings.