Director column

IBC director's monthly column featured in Cattleman Magazine. Archives
Denise Schwab, interim IBC director	January 2025 Happy New Year! How can it be 2025 already? It seems like no matter how much I try to prepare for the new year, I’m never ready for it. Nor am I good at new year’s resolutions. I prefer a long "To-Do" list that just keeps getting updated, but I thought I’d try to draft a few here. I’m sure some of these are one’s we can all benefit from. Be more appreciative of the gifts and people God has given us. I try to frequently vocalize thanks to the people I work with but am not so good at thanking my family. I couldn’t be an Extension specialist without a supportive husband and family to feed my critters, pick up kids and care for the home when I’m working nights, and my husband needs me to do the bookwork, pay bills and make sure there is food in the frig. But sometimes we get so busy with our jobs that we forget what the rest of the family does. We all need to remember to recognize our dependence on and support for each other and show our appreciation. Get healthier. I’m happy to clean barns, garden, do yard work or do anything outside, but I HATE to exercise! But I think we can all find one activity we enjoy, whether it be golfing, gardening, walking or in my case riding my horse, and just do more of it to increase our physical fitness. Also, I spend a lot of time fine-tuning rations for your cattle, but then skip meals or eat junk food especially when I’m driving. I think we can all find one little thing to help improve our own diet, in my case skipping dessert, eating more vegetables, or drinking less pop. One little improvement adds up over time. My New Year’s Eve and New Year's Day ritual is closing out one year’s records and getting set up for the new year, not very exciting but it works for me. But one step I need to add to my routine is to spend more time evaluating the past year for changes in costs and income, how did the breakeven prices change over the year and projections for the next year. I think we can all benefit from more reflection time before charging into the next year. Never stop learning! Look for opportunities to improve my skills either in my profession or my avocation. Learning keeps us young and keeps our minds growing. Find something you’d like to know more about or learn to do better and allocate some time to it. While none of these are earthshattering, I hope it helps you think about a few resolutions for yourself or your business. And I hope our Iowa Beef Center team can contribute to the last resolution to keep learning! We have lots of programs in the next couple months that we are either coordinating or cooperating on. Here are a few of them. January 13 – Calving Clinics, Arlington and Vinton January 14 - Feedlot Forum, Sioux Center January 15 – 3-State Beef Conference, Greenfield January 22 - All Things Beef, Marshalltown January 23-24 – Driftless Region Beef Conference, Dubuque January 23 – All Things Beef, Afton January 24-25 – Cornbelt Cow Calf Conference, Ottumwa For a more complete list check out the calendar of events in our Growing Beef newsletter, and watch for upcoming BQA programs at www.iabeef.org/cattlemens-corner/iowa-bqa. If you aren’t already receiving Growing Beef, sign up at https://go.iastate.edu/UIQJTM or by clicking the QR code. The IBC at Iowa State University serves as the university’s extension program to cattle producers. Our center comprises a team of faculty and staff from the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, the College of Veterinary Medicine and Iowa State University Extension and Outreach. We work together to develop and deliver the latest in research-based information to improve the profitability and vitality of Iowa’s beef industry. If you’d like to be notified of updates on progress of research projects or programs that might be coming to your area, please subscribe to our “Growing Beef” newsletter by following the link on our website, www.iowabeefcenter.org. If you have a question, use our “Ask our Experts” link. Also, feel free to call us at 515-294-BEEF or email us at beefcenter@iastate.edu. You can follow @iowabeefcenter on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Instagram.

IBC director's monthly column featured in Cattleman Magazine. Archives

Denise Schwab, interim IBC director

January 2025

Happy New Year! How can it be 2025 already? It seems like no matter how much I try to prepare for the new year, I’m never ready for it. Nor am I good at new year’s resolutions. I prefer a long "To-Do" list that just keeps getting updated, but I thought I’d try to draft a few here. I’m sure some of these are one’s we can all benefit from.

Be more appreciative of the gifts and people God has given us. I try to frequently vocalize thanks to the people I work with but am not so good at thanking my family. I couldn’t be an Extension specialist without a supportive husband and family to feed my critters, pick up kids and care for the home when I’m working nights, and my husband needs me to do the bookwork, pay bills and make sure there is food in the frig. But sometimes we get so busy with our jobs that we forget what the rest of the family does. We all need to remember to recognize our dependence on and support for each other and show our appreciation.
Get healthier. I’m happy to clean barns, garden, do yard work or do anything outside, but I HATE to exercise! But I think we can all find one activity we enjoy, whether it be golfing, gardening, walking or in my case riding my horse, and just do more of it to increase our physical fitness. Also, I spend a lot of time fine-tuning rations for your cattle, but then skip meals or eat junk food especially when I’m driving. I think we can all find one little thing to help improve our own diet, in my case skipping dessert, eating more vegetables, or drinking less pop. One little improvement adds up over time.
My New Year’s Eve and New Year's Day ritual is closing out one year’s records and getting set up for the new year, not very exciting but it works for me. But one step I need to add to my routine is to spend more time evaluating the past year for changes in costs and income, how did the breakeven prices change over the year and projections for the next year. I think we can all benefit from more reflection time before charging into the next year.
Never stop learning! Look for opportunities to improve my skills either in my profession or my avocation. Learning keeps us young and keeps our minds growing. Find something you’d like to know more about or learn to do better and allocate some time to it.

While none of these are earthshattering, I hope it helps you think about a few resolutions for yourself or your business. And I hope our Iowa Beef Center team can contribute to the last resolution to keep learning! We have lots of programs in the next couple months that we are either coordinating or cooperating on. Here are a few of them.

January 13 – Calving Clinics, Arlington and Vinton
January 14 - Feedlot Forum, Sioux Center
January 15 – 3-State Beef Conference, Greenfield
January 22 - All Things Beef, Marshalltown
January 23-24 – Driftless Region Beef Conference, Dubuque
January 23 – All Things Beef, Afton
January 24-25 – Cornbelt Cow Calf Conference, Ottumwa Growing Beef newsletter sign up.

For a more complete list check out the calendar of events in our Growing Beef newsletter, and watch for upcoming BQA programs at www.iabeef.org/cattlemens-corner/iowa-bqa.

If you aren’t already receiving Growing Beef, sign up at https://go.iastate.edu/UIQJTM or by clicking the QR code.

The IBC at Iowa State University serves as the university’s extension program to cattle producers. Our center comprises a team of faculty and staff from the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, the College of Veterinary Medicine and Iowa State University Extension and Outreach. We work together to develop and deliver the latest in research-based information to improve the profitability and vitality of Iowa’s beef industry. If you’d like to be notified of updates on progress of research projects or programs that might be coming to your area, please subscribe to our “Growing Beef” newsletter by following the link on our website, www.iowabeefcenter.org. If you have a question, use our “Ask our Experts” link. Also, feel free to call us at 515-294-BEEF or email us at beefcenter@iastate.edu. You can follow @iowabeefcenter on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Instagram.