March 9, 2020
April 21 Batesville station field day puts the focus on heifers
By Mary Hightower
U of A System Division of Agriculture
Fast facts
- Annual livestock field day set for April 21
- Developing the right heifers critical for revenue
- No cost to attend, RSVP by April 17.
- Register by phone, call (870) 793-7432.
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(Newsrooms – with file art from 2019 field day here: https://flic.kr/s/aHsmxsEtgW )
BATESVILLE, Ark. — The April 21 field day at the Livestock and Forestry Research Station near Batesville is putting the focus on heifers.
“More and more producers are keeping heifers for replacements to be sold,” said Don Hubbell, station director. “Some seedstock producers have realized extra income by developing their heifers, keeping what they need or want and selling the rest as bred heifers for an increased dollar amount over selling at weaning or selling as open females.”
That makes “management, health, selection and breeding decisions important players in having a successful heifer development program, which is our focus for this year’s field day,” he said.
There’s plenty at stake. Cattle and calves in Arkansas were a $415 million business in 2018, according to the Arkansas Agriculture Profile. (See: https://uada.edu/docs/2019-AR-Ag-profile.pdf)
There is no cost to attend, but participants are asked to RSVP by Friday, April 17, to ensure the correct head count for lunch. The station, part of the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station, is located at 70 Experiment Station Drive, Batesville. To register, call (870) 793-7432.
This year’s program begins with registration at 9 a.m. The agenda will be:
- 9:15 a.m. — Welcome
- 9:30 a.m. — Health considerations for replacement heifers, Jeremy Powell, DVM and professor-animal science, University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture
- 10 a.m. — Nutritional management for replacement heifers, Shane Gadberry, professor-ruminant nutrition, Division of Agriculture
- 10:30 a.m. — Break
- 10:45 a.m. — Mineral supplementation for replacement heifers, Beth Kegley, professor-animal science, Division of Agriculture
- 11:15 a.m. — Epigenetics: How do they affect replacement heifer temperament? Brittni Littlejohn, post-doctoral associate, Mississippi State University
- 11: 45 a.m. — Lunch
- 12:30 p.m. — Relocate to the main working barn
- 12:45 p.m. — Physical Reproductive markers in replacement heifers, Charles Looney, professor-cattle improvement, Division of Agriculture
- 1:30 p.m. — Phenotype associated with productive replacement heifer selection, Bryan Kutz, instructor and extension youth/livestock specialist, and Brittni Littlejohn.
The April 21 field day is just one of the Division of Agriculture field days being offered throughout the spring and summer. The full field day schedule can be found here: https://aaes.uark.edu/events/.
The Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station comprises one third of the traditional land grant mission in Arkansas, conducting publicly funded research. The Cooperative Extension Service conducts outreach and comprises another third. Both the experiment station and the extension service are part of the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture. The Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences is the other third part of the land grant mission.
To learn more about land grant research in Arkansas, visit aaes.uark.edu. Follow the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station on Twitter and Instagram at @ArkAgResearch.
About the Division of Agriculture
The University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture’s mission is to strengthen agriculture, communities, and families by connecting trusted research to the adoption of best practices. Through the Agricultural Experiment Station and the Cooperative Extension Service, the Division of Agriculture conducts research and extension work within the nation’s historic land grant education system.
The Division of Agriculture is one of 20 entities within the University of Arkansas System. It has offices in all 75 counties in Arkansas and faculty on five system campuses.
The University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture offers all its Extension and Research programs to all eligible persons without regard to race, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, religion, age, disability, marital or veteran status, genetic information, or any other legally protected status, and is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer.
Media Contact: Mary Hightower
Chief Communications Officer
University of Arkansas System Divisiion of Agriculture
mhightower@uark.edu
(501) 261-2006
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