Record-breaking attendance at Mizzou beef school
More than 65 cattle producers from Missouri, Iowa and Illinois attended the University of Missouri Extension Feedlot School in Kirksville in late August. That’s more than double the number of attendees from previous schools, according to MU Extension state beef nutrition specialist Eric Bailey, one of the coordinators of the school. More than 40 of the attendees were young producers.
Participants toured two local feedlots, one of which is a new monoslope operation owned by a former Feedlot School attendee. A monoslope barn has a single-pitch roof that slopes in one direction. The Feedlot Schools are funded through the Missouri Department of Agriculture’s Missouri Agricultural and Small Business Development Authority as part of the Show-Me Entrepreneurial Grants for Agriculture program.
Bailey also credits industry partners NEMO Feed, Corn Belt Livestock Services, U.S. Premium Beef, Livestock Veterinary Services, Midwest Beef and MU Extension specialists for making the school a big success. With the soon-to-open American Food Group processing plant near Warrenton, the state’s capacity to process cattle will notably increase, Bailey said.
PHOTO: Attendees at the MU Extension Feedlot School in late August toured Kirksville-area feedlot operations. (Photo by Eric Bailey)
