The popular and award-winning Ranch Management University, scheduled March 27-31 at Texas A&M University in Bryan-College Station, is open for registration with limited seating to the first 50 enrolled.
The workshop is a collaboration of the Texas A&M College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Department of Soil and Crop Sciences, Department of Animal Science and Department of Agricultural Economics and the Natural Resources Institute, NRI, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service. It will cover everything from soil fertility to home gardening and forage and weed management to livestock and wildlife management.
The Ranch Management University is an intensive five-day event that targets new or inexperienced ranchers and landowners, said Larry Redmon, Ph.D., soil and crop sciences associate department head and Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service program leader, Bryan-College Station.
Registration is $625, and the deadline to register is March 17. To register online and for more information, go to https://tx.ag/RanchManagementSpring23.
Workshop attendees will meet at the G. Rollie White Visitor Center, 7707 Raymond Stotzer Parkway on the Texas A&M campus. The program will begin at 12:30 p.m. on March 27 and run from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily until its conclusion at noon on March 31.
Meals and break refreshments will be provided. A resource flash drive containing over 100 publications covering ranch resource management will also be provided.
Topics and speakers for each day will be:
AgriLife Extension experts from across the state will lead the instruction. Three general Texas Department of Agriculture continuing education units will be offered to attendees.
Day 1: Some Basics
- Basic Soils, Soil Fertility, Soil Sampling in the Field – Jake Mowrer, Ph.D., AgriLife Extension state fertility specialist, College Station.
- Tips for Easier, More Productive Warm-Season Gardening – Skip Richter, AgriLife Extension horticulture agent, Brazos County.
Day 2: Cattle Raisin’
- Ag Laws Texas Landowners Need to Know – Tiffany Lashmet, J.D., AgriLife Extension agricultural law specialist, Amarillo.
- Structure of the U.S. Beef Industry, Nutrient Requirements and Supplementation of Beef Cattle/Body Condition Scores in Beef, Genetic Strategies for Profitable Production, Animal Handling Demonstration, Niche Marketing: Nontraditional Production Strategies – Jason Cleere, Ph.D., AgriLife Extension beef cattle specialist, Bryan-College Station.
- Planning for Profit – David Anderson, Ph.D., AgriLife Extension livestock economist, Bryan-College Station.
Day 3: More Basics
- Horse Production 101 – Jennifer Zoller, Ph.D., AgriLife Extension horse specialist, Bryan-College Station.
- Texas Well Owners Network, TWON: Well Informed – Joel Pigg, AgriLife Extension program specialist, Bryan-College Station.
- Hay Sampling and Sprayer Calibration, Hay Considerations, Reading the Pasture – Importance of Stocking Rate, Options for Wintering Cattle – Redmon.
- Marketing Livestock – Cow-Calf? Stockers? Feedlot? – Anderson.
- Financial Assistance Programs from NRCS – Jason Hohlt, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service range specialist, Bryan.
Day 4: Wildlife on Your Property
- Using Wildlife as Agriculture for Property Tax Proposes, Rio Grande Turkey Management and Managing for Dove – Jim Cathey, Ph.D., professor and Texas A&M Natural Resources Institute associate director, Bryan-College Station.
- Weed and Brush Management and Forage Establishment – Redmon.
- Beekeeping – Molly Keck, AgriLife Extension entomologist, Bexar County.
- Feral Hog Issues/Trap Demonstration, Jay Long, NRI project coordinator.
Day 5: Additional Topics
- What is a Watershed? – Leanne Wiley, AgriLife Extension program specialist and Lone Star Healthy Streams program manager, Bryan-College Station.
- White-tailed Deer Management and Northern Bobwhite Issues and Management – Cathey.
For additional information or to see if space remains, contact Linda Francis at [email protected].
