Extension services from the University of Illinois, Iowa State University, and University of Wisconsin services are working together to offer the thirteenth annual Driftless Region Beef Conference Jan. 23-24, at the Grand River Convention Center in Dubuque. The aim of the conference is to provide educational sessions for beef producers.

The 2025 Iowa Forage and Grassland Council annual conference is set for Feb. 3 in Ames. The event will be held at Reiman Gardens, 1407 University Blvd., just to the southwest of Jack Trice Stadium. After a number of years of drought conditions across the state, this year’s conference is focused on improving forage productivity and exploring alternative options that best meet your production goals. 

Heads up! The registration deadline for Feedlot Forum 2025 is quickly approaching! The Forum will be Jan. 14 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Terrace View Event Center in Sioux Center, and the registration deadline is Jan. 6.

If you'll need to update your Beef Quality Assurance certification in January, Iowa Beef Center and Iowa State University Extension and Outreach have you covered. ISU extension beef specialist Denise Schwab said these six BQA dates and locations are scheduled in various areas of the state and are for both initial certification and recertification.

To help Iowa cattlemen and women prepare for a successful calving season and subsequent breeding period, Iowa Beef Center has scheduled two Advanced Calving Clinics for January 13, 2025. Session topics cover essentials from conception to calving, including nutrition basics during gestation and early lactation, assisting at calving, colostrum management, baby calf health and care, and decisions based on calving data.

The 2025 Driftless Region Beef Conference continues its longstanding tradition of providing educational sessions for beef producers in that region. Offered cooperatively by the university extension services in Illinois, Iowa, and Wisconsin, the 13th annual event will be held Jan. 23-24 at the Grand River Convention Center in Dubuque.

Iowa crop and livestock farmers and agricultural landowners are asked to complete an online survey on CRP and marginal lands. The survey is being conducted by the World Wildlife Fund with support from the Iowa Cattlemen’s Association Cow-Calf Council. Responses will be used to develop recommendations for USDA to enhance programmatic support for the development of grasslands and pasture with livestock integration. All responses are anonymous. Deadline to respond is Friday, Jan. 10, 2025. Complete the Optimizing the Productivity and Health of Marginal Lands Survey.

What will ag markets and profitability look like the next 18 months? That is the question Chad Hart, nationally recognized market economist with Iowa State University, will address at Feedlot Forum 2025 on Jan. 14.

There is a lot of financial risk in feeding cattle – high-priced feeder cattle, variable interest rates, and volatility in market animal price. Iowa State University extension beef specialist Beth Doran said Feedlot Forum 2025 speaker Zach Tindall will share information on two USDA risk management tools: Livestock Risk Protection and Livestock Gross Margin.

The Three-State Beef Conference, set for Jan. 14-16, 2025, provides beef cattle producers and others in the beef industry with a regular update on current cow-calf and stocker topics. Iowa State University extension beef specialists Erika Lundy-Woolfolk and Chris Clark are Iowa organizers of the annual event, and say the content is based on prior attendee feedback and current industry economic conditions.

The Cornbelt Cow-Calf Conference (CCCC), Iowa’s premier educational event for Iowa’s cow-calf sector is gearing up for its 53rd year, and the program set for Jan. 25, 2025, will certainly continue that tradition. The Bridge View Center in Ottumwa will host the event, and admission will continue to be free thanks to trade show vendors that will fill the exhibit hall.

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