Livestock Symposium offers beef producers info on marketing and feed cost

Beef producers will learn how to capture added value in marketing at the 19th annual Missouri Livestock Symposium, says Garry L. Mathes, chairman. The symposium is scheduled for Nov. 30 and Dec. 1 the William Matthew Middle School in Kirksville, Missouri.

Eric Bailey, state beef extension specialist with the University of Missouri, will moderate a panel of nationally known experts that will tell how to prepare cattle for sale to capture more value. Corbitt Wall, of DVAuction, headlines the panel stacked with years of cattle marketing and animal health expertise. “Marketing is a powerful tool to producers who use it to their advantage,” says Wall. Additional panel members include Tom Frey, Livestock Marketing Association president and owner of Creston Livestock Auction; Dave Bryan, order buyer; and Tom Kent, regional Zoetis representative.

Zac Erwin, MU Extension livestock specialist and symposium vice-chair, says, “Cattle producers faced extreme drought this year which led to short feed supplies and high feed costs.” Bailey, University of Missouri Extension nutritionist, Columbia, will present “Winter Feeding with Expensive Hay.”

The afternoon beef session features speakers on confined cattle feeding. Phillip Lancaster and Nichole L. Busedieker-Jesse, assistant professors at the Darr College of Agriculture, Missouri State University, Springfield, Missouri, will tell how MSU retrofitted an existing building into an under-roof cattle-feeding facility.

A second panel discussion will follow on confined cattle feeding with speakers from the University of Missouri, Missouri State University, Missouri Soil and Water Conservation District and NRCS. The focus of the talks will be on facility design and cost-share sources on barn construction.

The symposium’s hours are 4 to 10 p.m. on Nov. 30, and 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Dec. 1. It also features a sold-out agricultural trade show open during the two days.

In addition to sessions on beef, there are also sessions on horses, sheep, market goats, forages, stock dogs and farm succession planning. Multiple tracks go at the same time. Find details on our webpage at missourilivestock.com, or by calling the MU Extension Center in Kirksville at 660-665-9866.

The program is free, with no advance registration. The symposium offers a free beef dinner at 6 p.m. Friday and free lunch on Saturday. Meals are coordinated by the Missouri Department of Agriculture and sponsored by Missouri commodity groups. A volunteer symposium committee organizes the event.

The symposium draws visitors from across Missouri and nearby states.