Pasture management guide. Calving Management online manual. Low Stress Cattle Handling publication.

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Mission: The Iowa Beef Center mission is to enhance the vitality, profitability and growth of the Iowa beef industry through timely and relevant producer education, applied research and improved access to information.
News from Iowa Beef Center
Black steer standing behind wire fence. High-priced feeder cattle, inflation, volatile markets, and weather have pressured the bottom line for cattle feeders. Beth Doran, beef specialist for Iowa State University Extension and Outreach, said these pressures and methods of coping are the focus of this year’s Feedlot Forum 2025.
Darrell Peel and Troy Rowan.

With the national beef cow herd at record low numbers and fed cattle numbers still decreasing, marketing and the future of the cow herd expansion is the timely focus of the 13th annual Driftless Region Beef Conference. It will be held Jan. 23-24, 2025, at the Grand River Convention Center in Dubuque.

Data collection tools and equipment with steer in chute in the background. With the fall run in full swing, cattle producers want to make sure their spring-born calves have a good start in the feedyard. A new program offered by Iowa Beef Center will help cattle feeders and stakeholders prioritize herd health and ease stress on individual animals. Cattle Feeders Day is set for December 10 at the ISU Armstrong Research Farm/Wallace Learning Center, 53020 Hitchcock Ave., Lewis.
Group of black heifers. Building on the success of the first Genetic Symposium that was centered on the bull, Iowa Beef Center has refocused the 2024 event on the female and improving reproduction. Iowa State University extension cow-calf specialist Randie Culbertson said reproduction is the most economically significant trait of a cow-calf operation.
Cattle handling demonstration.

Iowa State University Extension and Outreach will host four year-end BQA certification trainings in northwest Iowa. These trainings feature significant changes in the beef industry and best management practices to provide  sustainable, high-quality beef to consumers, and ISU extension beef specialist Beth Doran said new developments such as EID traceability, biosecurity, and animal health will be featured.

Semitrailer and chute For transporting cattle. Frost is one of the primary environmental factors that can lead to increased prussic acid content in sorghum species, forage sorghum, sorghum x sudangrass, and sudangrass. If livestock consume forage with elevated levels of prussic acid, it can result in acute toxicity, leading to symptoms such as muscle twitching, staggering, and even death within minutes.
Semitrailer and chute For transporting cattle. Iowa State University Extension and Outreach, in cooperation with the Iowa Beef Industry Council, will host several Beef Quality Assurance training programs across southeast Iowa through this fall. The program will cover numerous best management practices and will qualify producers for BQA certification.
Dealing with stress: Serious financial and other stresses continue to impact and affect those in our agricultural community. There are some resources to help deal with a variety of stress concerns and grief. The Iowa Concern Hotline is always available at 800-447-1985, iowaconcern@iastate.edu and at https://www.extension.iastate.edu/iowaconcern/.
Beef Quality Assurance program graphic. Looking for a BQA workshop? Check this listing on this page of the Iowa Beef Industry Council website for a location near you. This page also has links to our IBC personnel, online BQA training, information on BQA transportation trainings and more.
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