Event Details

Date

June 8 - June 12, 2020

Time

1:00 PM - 7:00 PM EDT each day

Location

Online Webinar

Cost

This event is free.

Host

Beef Improvement Federation
Dr. Jane Parish
662-566-8000

extension.msstate.edu/north-ms-research-and


52nd Annual Beef Improvement Federation (BIF) Research Symposium Online

June 8 - June 12, 2020

52nd Annual Beef Improvement Federation (BIF) Research Symposium Online

The 52nd Annual Beef Improvement Federation (BIF) Research Symposium is scheduled for June 8th - 12th, with each days' event running from 12:00 PM - 6:00 PM CDT (1:00 PM - 7:00 PM EDT). This free event has something for everyone with topics including genetics forecasts, consumer market research, end-user perspectives, sustainability, herd management, and end product improvement. The conference will be held online over the Zoom platform. 


You can register online at: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_yFXnMzM_RtilHqhFceCsoQ

SCHEDULE
52nd Annual BIF Research Symposium Online

The virtual event will be hosted online the week of June 8 starting at noon CDT each day. The conference will be hosted on the Zoom webinar platform. By mid-May, participants will be able to regiter for the event, find a detailed schedule and Zoom tutorials.

Below is a tentative schedule (all times are CDT).

Monday, June 8

Noon Welcome

12:15 p.m. YOUNG PRODUCERS SYMPOSIUM

What Will the Purebred Cattle Industry Look Like in 20 years - Bill Rishel, Rishel Angus

Financial Planning for a New Generation of Producers - Adam Trott, Financial Analyst Manager, Rabo AgriFinance

1:45 p.m. BIF Board/Officer election results

Scholarship award presentations ? Roy Wallace, Baker/Cundiff

BIF Ambassador Award presentation



Tuesday, June 9

Noon Tuesday Welcome

12:15 p.m. GENERAL SESSION 1

Consumer Market Research ? What They Say They Need, and They Want - Shawn Darcy, Director of Market Research, National Cattlemen's Beef Association (NCBA) Market Research

1 p.m. BIF Awards Program: Commercial Producer of the Year and Pioneer Awards

1:45 p.m. Perspectives from End-User ? What We Need and What We Want - Henry Zerby, VP of Protein Procurement and Innovation, Wendy's Quality Supply Chain Co-Op (QSCC) Inc.



Wednesday, June 10

Noon Wednesday Welcome

12:15 p.m. GENERAL SESSION 2

Global Perspectives on Beef Sustainability - Don Close, Rabo AgriFinance

1 p.m. BIF Awards Program: Seedstock Producer of the Year and BIF Continuing Service Awards

1:45 p.m. Systems Approach to Beef Cattle Sustainability - Dr. Clay Mathis, King Ranch Institute for Ranch Management, Texas A & M University?Kingsville



Thursday, June 11

Noon Technical Breakout - Advancement in End-Product Improvement
Dr. Tommy Perkins, Associate Professor - Dean Hawkins Chair for Cow-calf Management, West Texas A & M

Sources of Variation in Measurements of Beef Carcass Traits Made Using Ultrasound - Dr. Mike MacNeil, Delta G

Genetic Improvement - What does the Grid Data Show Us? - Brian Bertelsen, Vice President of Field Operations, US Premium Beef

Are alternative meats an end-product improvement? - Dr. Alison Van Eenennaam, University of California - Davis

2 p.m. Technical Breakout - Advancement in Emerging Technology
Dr. Megan Rolf, Associate Professor, Kansas State University

Low-pass sequence data in genetic evaluation - Dr. Warren Snelling, US MARC (Meat Animal Research Center) and Dr. Larry Kuehn, US MARC

Application of novel reproduction traits to genetic evaluation in tropical and temperate beef breeds - Dr. Matt Wolcott, AGBU (Animal Genetics and Breeding Unit), University of New England

ImmuneDEX: Measuring and Selecting for Immune Competence in Angus - Christian Duff, Strategic Projects Manager, Angus Australia and Dr. Brad Hine, Research Scientist, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, Australia

4 p.m. Technical Breakout - Advancement in Selection Decisions
Dr. Bob Weaber, Professor, Kansas State University

iGenDec: A tool for web-based sire selection - Dr. Matt Spangler, Professor, University of Nebraska-Lincoln

An index to select Angus sires for use on Dairy cows- Dr. Stephen Miller, Genetic Research Director, Angus Genetics Inc. and Dr. Jason Archer, AbacusBio.

BreedObject: Breeding for future profitability - Dr Brad Walmsley, Animal Genetics and Breeding Unit (AGBU), University of New England, Armidale, NSW, Australia

DeSireBull - a bull selection decision support tool powered by BREEDPLAN - Laura Penrose - New South Wales Department of Primary Industries (NSW DPI)


Friday, June 12

Noon Technical Breakout - Advancement in Efficiency and Adaptability
Dr. Mark Enns, Professor, Colorado State University

Cow Milk Production vs Calf Size - Dr. Travis Mulliniks, Univ. of Nebraska

Genetic relationships between high elevation pulmonary arterial pressure; and feedlot growth, intake and carcass traits - Emma Briggs, Colorado State University

Three critical things you need to know about calculating growth curves using partial body weights - Mark Nelson, GrowSafe

2 p.m. Technical Breakout - Advancement in Producer Applications
Dr. Darrh Bullock, Professor, University of Kentucky

New Selection Tools for Indicus-Influenced Cattle - John Genho, Neogen

BIF Guidelines for Uniform Beef Improvement Programs: New, Improved and Wiki - Dr. Bruce Golden, Theta Solutions LLC and BIF Guidelines Technical Coordinator

4 p.m. Technical Breakout - Genomic and Genetic Prediction
Dr. Mark Thallman, Research Geneticist, US Meat Animal Research Center, USDA-ARS

What is Low-Pass Sequencing Going to Do for Genetic Evaluation? - Dr. Matt Spangler, Univ. of Nebraska and Dr. Mark Thallman, U.S. Meat Animal Research Center

Increasing Accuracy of Genomic Predictions: From SNP Chips to Sequence Data. - Dr. Daniela Lourenco, University of Georgia.

---

The Beef Improvement Federation (BIF) is an organization dedicated to coordinating all segments of the beef industry ? from researchers and producers to retailers ? in an effort to improve the efficiency, profitability and sustainability of beef production. The organization was initiated almost 70 years ago to encourage the use of objective measurements to evaluate beef cattle. Continuing the tradition, BIF is now the clearinghouse for developing standardized programs and methodologies for recording of performance data for all traits, from birth weights to carcass traits. Its three-leaf-clover logo symbolizes the link between industry, extension and research.






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Upcoming Events

The first ever Bale Grazing Winter Pasture Walk

January 11, 2025
Watkins Glen, NY

Have you heard about or seen bale grazing and wondered if it would work for you?

Do you want to learn the nuances and logistical context for implementing this regenerative practice?

Are you interested in seeing the impacts of bale grazing on land and animals from a practicing farmer?

Do you need some fresh air, a bowl of chili and to network with other beef farmers in the snow (or possibly mud)?

 

If you answered Yes to any question, The Northeast Region National Grazing Lands Coalition, the Cornell Cooperative Extension SCNY Dairy & Field Crops Team, and Angus Glen Farm are teaming up to showcase The first ever Bale Grazing Winter Pasture Walk!

Cultivating Success with Better Bookkeeping

January 16, 2025
January 30, 2025
February 13, 2025
February 27, 2025
March 13, 2025
March 27, 2025
: Cultivating Success with Better Bookkeeping

Save the Date! Join us for a six-session virtual series designed to boost your knowledge about what bookkeeping services are available to help you excel in farm recordkeeping. 

Winter Crop Meeting 2025 - Dryden

Event Offers DEC Credits

January 23, 2025
Dryden, NY

Save the Date - Winter Crop Meeting - 2025

Cost Including Lunch:  $35—Pre-registration $40—At door

More Information Coming Soon

Announcements

Farm Participants Needed for Bale Grazing Grant!

Information on the Project:  
  • Approximately 10 acres total needed to bale graze two different bale densities
  • "Core" farms will graze two winters, "Demo" farms will graze one winter.
  • Payments for both "Core" farms and "Demo" farms
  • Baseline soil sampling by bale grazing team
  • Forage measurements in early season by bale grazing team
  • Late season clipping if residual not trampled down by farm
Interested farms can enroll for this winter or next.

Looking for 2-3 dairy farms to enroll! If interested, please reach out to Betsy Hicks, 607.391.2673 or bjh246@cornell.edu 


Cornell Cow Convos - New Podcast

On-going podcast, New episodes released on the last Thursday of the month.
Guest speakers, CCE Dairy Specialists.

Housed on Soundcloud Channel is CCE Dairy Educators


Topics:
  • Preventative healthcare for cows
  • The trend of beef on dairy
  • What to look forward to in the new year for dairy
  • Socially grouping or pair-housing calves



Dairy Acceleration Program Funds Available

Funds available for the
  • organization of financial records/benchmarking up to $1,000
  • continued business planning (for farms awarded in a previous year) up to $2,500
  • business planning up to $5,000
Guidelines remain the same DAP covers 80% of the cost up to the value of the award and the farm is responsible for 20%.  Visit https://prodairy.cals.cornell.edu/dairy-acceleration/

2018 Drug Residue Prevention Manual

For more than 30 years, the U.S. dairy industry has focused educational efforts on the judicious use of antibiotics through the annual publication of a Best Practices Manual. The 2018 edition of the National Dairy FARM Program: Farmers Assuring Responsible Management? Milk and Dairy Beef Drug Residue Prevention Manual is the primary educational tool for dairy farm managers throughout the country on the judicious and responsible use of antibiotics, including avoidance of drug residues in milk and meat.

The manual is a quick resource to review those antibiotics approved for dairy animals and can also be used as an educational tool and resource for farm managers as they develop on-farm best management practices necessary to avoid milk and meat residues. Visit the Manual and Form Library to download copies of this important tool!



Follow us on Facebook

The team updates our facebook page frequently - follow us to be updated on our events, see some fun videos and get local area updates!

facebook.com/SCNYDairyandFieldCropsTeam


ProDairy Forage Management

Are you prepared to change your routine this spring?

By: Joe Lawrence, Cornell CALS PRO-DAIRY and Ron Kuck, Cornell Cooperative Extension North Country Regional Ag Team


While spring tasks vary by farm, there are many "rites of spring," and they are often completed in a fairly rigid sequence. Depending on the farm, these often include fixing fence, spreading manure, planting new seedings, planting corn and harvesting first cutting, and are often performed in this order.

We are optimistic that the upcoming turn in weather will allow these task to be accomplished in a timely manner, but at this point it is time to ask yourself: Are you willing to change your spring routine?

In addition to adverse weather it is no secret that everyone is facing extremely tight economic times, and dealing with forage inventories of poor digestibility forages from 2017. This combination of factors makes it more critical than ever to be ready to tackle the task that will have the most impact on your business at the proper time.

Recent reference articles on dealing with tough times:
• Key Opportunities to Optimize 2018 Crop Production Efficiency
• Resources for Dealing with Spring Weather Delays
First Cutting
The number one focus should be on timely harvest of first cutting.
• Park the corn planter when a field of first cutting is ready for harvest.
o Monitoring 1st cut harvest timing
• Approach harvest by the acre, not by the field. Be ready to skip over a field that has passed its optimum harvest stage.
o Dynamic Harvest Schedules
• Strategically plan feed storage to best utilize forage inventories for the right group of animals.
o Strategic Forage Storage Planning
o When More is Better
Corn Planting
The window for planting for silage is generally wider than for grain, which is why first cutting can and should take priority over corn planting. However, in the event of extreme delays in planting corn, performance will diminish with late plantings. If corn planting progresses into late May or early June, begin to consider alternative options for those acres. Previous research from Cornell and Penn State suggest a 0.5 to 1 ton/acre per week decline in silage yield for planting after mid to late May.

Multi-Tasking
First and foremost during a time of year that can be very busy and stressful, taking every precaution to keep your team safe is critical.

The idea of fitting all of this work into a condensed time period, and still getting key tasks completed before critical deadlines can seem impossible, but year after year many find unique ways to get it all done. Consider working with neighbors, custom operators or renting equipment to accomplish these key tasks on time.

If you currently utilize custom operators, now is a good time to set up a time to meet with them and make sure you are on the same page to get tasks accomplished in the time-frame needed. Make sure that your expectations and goals are clearly defined. They will also be under stress to fit their work into a condensed period and meet their customers' expectations, so defining expectations and pre-planning how to most efficiently get the work accomplished when the custom operator arrives can go a long way to increase the chances for success.



NYSERDA Agriculture Energy Audit Program

NYSERDA offers energy audits to help eligible farms and on-farm producers identify ways to save energy and money on utility bills. Reports include recommendations for energy efficiency measures.

Eligibility
Eligible farms include but are not limited to dairies, orchards, greenhouses, vegetables, vineyards, grain dryers, and poultry/egg. The farms must also be customers of New York State investor-owned utilities and contribute to the System Benefits Charge (SBC). Please check your farm’s current utility bills to see if your farm pays the SBC.

Energy Audit Options
You can request the level of energy audit that best fits your farm’s needs. NYSERDA will assign a Flexible Technical Assistance Program Consultant to visit your farm and perform an energy audit at no cost to you.

For more information and the NYSERDA Agriculture Energy Audit Program Application click here


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