The premier national event in beef cattle reproduction management is coming to New Mexico.
The Applied Reproduction Strategies in Beef Cattle Symposium will be Aug. 29 to 30 at the Ruidoso Convention Center.
New Mexico State University’s Cooperative Extension Service will host the event in collaboration with the New Mexico Cattle Growers’ Association, New Mexico Beef Council and the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service.
The program is a joint effort of the host organizations and the Beef Reproduction Task Force, which includes reproductive physiologists from land-grant universities who work together on reproductive management education.
“The extensive production systems in the Southwest pose many challenges, especially in dry years like we are currently facing,” said Craig Gifford, NMSU Extension beef cattle specialist. “We are fortunate to have this meeting come to our region and bring together leading experts in beef cattle reproduction to provide practical information about maximizing profitability through both resource and reproductive management.”
Many reproductive technologies like artificial insemination, embryo transfer and pregnancy detection have made significant progress in the past 10 years, but remain underused in the beef industry. The overall focus of the meeting is to describe these technologies and how to manage reproduction in beef cattle in the southwestern United States and northern Mexico.
“We are working to promote and foster relationships with producers in northern Mexico,” Gifford said. “Since we have made these connections, we are encouraging them to attend the conference. Every talk will have real-time Spanish translation for those who are monolingual Spanish.”
The program is divided into categories of foundation principles; application; cow age, nutritional and environmental considerations; heifer development; bull health; and benefits of improving genetics.
The meeting is open to anyone with an interest in beef cattle reproduction, including producers, technicians, veterinarians and professionals in related industries.
“There will be continuing education credits for veterinarians in accordance to their licensing requirements,” Gifford said.
Online registration is available at www.appliedreprostrategies.com/2018/registration.html. The cost is $175 if registration is done before July 29, or $200 if after July 29. Registration includes proceedings, breaks, lunch and dinner on Aug. 29 and breakout sessions on Aug. 30.
A laboratory session on the afternoon of Aug. 30 is optional for an additional $50 and includes lunch. Limited numbers of seats are available for the lab, first-come, first-served. Translation services will not be provided for the lab session.
Topics of discussion will be herd vaccination program recommendations; semen quality and handling; reproductive tract score; pregnancy detection; vet-simulator models: palpation and dystocia; and Estrus Synch Planner and Management Minder.
This meeting is organized by the Beef Reproduction Task Force, a multi-state Extension group made up of specialists from Kansas State University, the University of Missouri, Iowa State University, South Dakota State University, the University of California-Davis, the University of Idaho, Texas A&M University and NMSU.
