Denise Schwab, interim IBC director column

Denise Schwab in The Cattleman Magazine

October 2023

I love the month of October with the cool nights, warm sunny days, and time in the combine, although the extreme heat in August appears to be pushing us to an earlier-than-normal harvest season. Remember safety first when it comes to the long hours of harvest - eat healthy and regularly, take frequent breaks to get out of the machine and get some fresh air, and try to get adequate rest.

In keeping with my plan to help you get to know our extension beef specialists better, this month I’ll share a bit about Russ Euken. Russ is unique on our team in that he does both beef and swine work dedicating about half his time to each. Russ is located in Hancock County and covers 16 counties in north central Iowa. Russ grew up on a crop and livestock farm in southwest Iowa and was involved with livestock projects through 4-H. He received his BS degree from Iowa State in animal science and then started with ISU Extension as a county director in northwest Iowa for about ten years. He has spent the last 30 years as a livestock specialist and on November 1 will celebrate his 43rd year with ISU Extension!

Russ is one of our analytical people, who can listen to ideas and suggestions and create a spreadsheet decision tool from the chaos. I asked Russ what he enjoys most about his job and he said the wide variety of work and different types of projects he can do within extension is what he likes most. He also really enjoys helping people find answers to their problems or helping them make sound decisions.  Like so many other extension staff, building relationships with producers and industry people is something Russ finds most rewarding.

One of the projects Russ is most proud of is revising and revamping the Beef Feedlot Systems Manual. This publication was initially written about 40 years ago and has been revised and updated several times since. In 2015, Russ coordinated our beef, economics, and engineering specialists in a major revamp of the manual.  It is our most popular publication and has been downloaded over 10,000 times with many more print copies distributed.  Russ also led the beef team on a series of meetings across the state focused on the manual content and the development of a decision-support spreadsheet on facility costs with varying cattle performance and manure values. He is now leading another revision of the manual and hopes to have it available by spring of 2024.

Now that the 2023 forage season is pretty well wrapped up, don’t forget to get your forages tested before the snow gets too deep. We have a video available on proper sampling at and information on how to interpret your sample in the Forage Harvest and Storage section. If you need help planning your winter feeding program, reach out to your field specialist for help. You can find the contact information for your local specialist here.

Most of you will be busy combining this month so not many programs are planned for October and November, but we do have a BQA Certification Workshop on November 16 from 1-3 p.m. at the Western Iowa Research and Demonstration Farm near Castana. Rainy days in the next couple months are also a good time to check your BQA Certificate expiration date to ensure you are ready the next time you sell cattle.

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.