UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Farmers who raise beef cattle can receive valuable information designed to help improve their operations by attending an educational event to be offered by Penn State Extension this summer.
The Pennsylvania Beef Producers Summit will be held from noon to 6 p.m. on Aug. 6 at Masonic Village Farm, 74 Amosite Road near Elizabethtown. Organizers said the event will include a wide range of educational topics, including the following sessions:
-- Beef Quality Assurance training, which will consist of new certification, chute-side training and Beef Quality Assurance recertification.-- A feedlot session comprised of radio-frequency identification for cattle, bunk management and cow/calf training.
Although there are separate sessions, producers are welcome to pick and choose among them throughout the day. Also, a conservation tour of the farm will be conducted, along with a pasture walk that will include an exchange of ideas.
The following presenters are among those scheduled to speak during the summit:
-- Robbie Pritchard, feedlot specialist with South Dakota State University.-- Dave Hartman, Penn State Extension animal science and agronomy educator.-- Nichole Hockenberry, Pennsylvania Beef Council specialist.-- Dave Wolfgang, Penn State Extension veterinarian.-- Bridget Bingham, Pennsylvania Beef Council executive director.-- Dave McElhaney, past president, Center for Beef Excellence.-- John Comerford, Penn State Extension beef specialist.-- Brad Michael, Natural Resources Conservation Service representative based in Fulton County.
The registration fee is $12 per person, which includes all materials and dinner. The registration deadline is July 26.
"The summit will provide Pennsylvania beef producers with information they need to stay competitive in their business," said Comerford, who is coordinating the event. "I recommend they put this workshop on their calendar because it will be time well spent for them."
The Masonic Village Farm, which features a newly renovated feedlot, supports a purebred shorthorn and commercial cow herd consisting of 200 cows.
Partners with Penn State Extension in the event are Agri-Basics Inc., Pennsylvania Center for Beef Excellence, Pennsylvania Beef Council and Pennsylvania Cattlemen's Association.
For more information or to register, contact Comerford at 814-863-3661 or by email at jxc16@psu.edu.