FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

School for Successful Ranching set for March 25-26

            Building on the popularity of last year’s live-cattle curriculum, planners of Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association’s annual School for Successful Ranching have packed the 2006 program with lots of choices for both novice and seasoned ranchers.
            The 12th annual school is scheduled for March 25-26, 2006, in conjunction with TSCRA’s 129th annual convention in San Antonio. A day-long cattleman’s workshop will kick off the school on Saturday, March 25, using a variety of live cattle to enhance the demonstrations.
            A half-day of classroom sessions follows on Sunday, March 26. Twelve classes will be offered, three in each of the four tracks: Marketing, Feeder Cattle Issues, Range Management and General. Participants may specialize by attending three different classes in each track, or they may choose three courses from any of the tracks.
            CEUs will be offered for the Texas Beef Quality Producer Program and the Society for Range Management.
            A $100 registration fee ($60 for TSCRA members) covers presentations on both days and a hot lunch on Saturday. As a bonus, school participants will be admitted free to TSCRA’s 250-exhibit trade show following the conclusion of the school on Sunday.
            Deadline for registration is March 15, 2006. To register online go to www.texascattleraisers.org . For more a complete brochure, contact Mark Perrier at 1 (800) 242-7820, ext. 118.
            Sponsors for the school are Pfizer Animal Health, Dow AgroSciences and Grundfos Pumps Corp.
            The cattlemen’s workshop will be held on Saturday, March 25, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the San Antonio Stock Show Barns. The full day of live-cattle demonstrations and a closing panel discussion on cattle evaluation will be led by career cowboys, successful ranchers and beef industry experts who make a living doing what they’re teaching.
            Fourth-generation rancher and career cowboy Joel Ham of Big Lake, Texas, will lead a session on “Cow Sense—Understanding Bovine Psychology,” the key to successful low-stress cattle handling.  Joel will detail the basic behavioral instincts of cattle and clearly explain why the handling results we get are directly related to our understanding of how cattle think and react.
            “The Weaning/Receiving Secret, an Uncommon Method with Unbelievable Results” will be taught by Dawn Hnatow of Bowie, Texas, who has 13 years experience working alongside master stockman Bud Williams. This proven, low-cost method, pioneered by Williams, drastically reduces illness and death loss.
            Longtime cowpuncher, first-class horseman and nationally known clinician Buster McLaury from Paducah, Texas, will demonstrate “Effective Cattle Handling . . . Aboard a Green Horse.” He’ll focus on techniques that allow you to get the job done with your cattle, no matter what you’re riding.
            Joel Ham will return in the afternoon to demonstrate non-traditional techniques for loading the chute or trailer that save time and money.
            A hard-hitting panel discussion on “Cattle Evaluation—A Critical Look at What’s on the Hoof” will top off the day. Four industry experts—a market operator, university specialist, cow-calf/stocker operator and a feedyard specialist—will discuss the strengths, weaknesses, market opportunities and challenges of numerous types of live cattle presented.
            Members of the panel will include David Neal, San Angelo, cow-calf producer and stocker operator; Dr. Ron Gill, Paradise, beef cattle specialist, Texas A&M University; Joe Don Pogue, Sulphur Springs, auction market owner-operator and world champion auctioneer; and Dave Delaney, Kingsville, general manager of King Ranch. The moderator will be Dr. Bill Mies, College Station, vice president for national accounts with eMerge Interactive Inc.
            On Sunday, March 26, the school moves to the San Antonio Convention Center for classroom presentations from 8 a.m. to 12 noon. Three different classes will be presented in each of the four subject tracks.
Track A: Marketing
            ●  Animal ID—The changes, challenges and opportunities created by the new national ID program will be discussed by Dr. Ted McCollum, Amarillo, beef cattle specialist with Texas Cooperative Extension. Topics will include source, process and age verification, traceability and liability issues.
            ●  Beef Quality Assurance—Dr. Norlyn Tipton, program quality manager with Sysco Corp., the largest food service distributor of beef products in North America, will explain how BQA helps sell your calves. Whether you have hundreds of cattle or only a few, your actions on the ranch matter. You’ll be surprised to learn how much!
            ●  Sale Barn Selling—Joe Don Pogue, auction market owner/operator and world champion auctioneer, will teach you how to get more for your cattle at your local auction barn.

Track B: Feeder Cattle Issues
            ●  Feedyard to Box Beef—Take a virtual tour of the inner workings of a feedyard and packing plant. Dr. Dan Hale, Texas Cooperative Extension meat specialist, will provide rare video footage of pre- and post-harvest strategies and state-of-the-art technology.
            ●  Feed ‘em or Sell ‘em—Dave Delaney and David Neal, two seasoned producers, will give a general overview of the benefits, risks and opportunities involved in retaining ownership and sending your cattle to a commercial feedyard.
            ●  Selling on the Grid—Learn how grid marketing can help you get paid for the quality in your herd. Dr. Ted McCollum will walk you through this marketing option, designed to keep you from leaving money on the table when you sell your cattle.

Track C: Range Management
            ● Range Management with a Camera—Learn how using a camera can help you monitor and protect range health and productivity, improve accuracy of stocking rate adjustments, census and market wildlife, and improve livestock distribution. Presenters will be Dr. Allan McGinty, San Angelo and Dr. Robert Lyons, Uvalde, both Extension range specialists.
            ●  Grazing Management Principles—Discover key pasture management concepts that ensure optimum performance of livestock and forage. Calculating stocking rates and estimating forage production will be central to the discussion led by Wayne Hamilton, director of the Center for Grazinglands and Range Management, College Station.
            ●  Toxic in Texas—Identification, control and consequences of Texas’ most toxic and invasive plants will be discussed by Dr. Charles Hart, Texas Cooperative Extension range specialist, Fort Stockton, and Dr. John Reagor, toxicologist with the Texas A&M Veterinary Diagnostic Lab.

 Track D: General
            ●  A Simplified Approach to Controlling Feed Costs—Dr. Rick Machen, Texas Cooperative Extension livestock specialist, Uvalde, will show you how to determine nutritional requirements and select the best feed products to meet them.
            ● Cow First Aid—A frank discussion of common ailments, problems and abnormalities by Dr. Arn Anderson, DVM, Cross Timbers Veterinary Clinic, Bowie, Texas. Learn which ones can be treated on the ranch and which ones need a medical professional.
            ●  Protecting Your Backside—With the right insurance strategy, you don’t have to go broke when the worst happens. Learn from a variety of industry experts who insure thousands of producers just how vulnerable you, your ranch and your bank account are when “something” happens.
            TSCRA President Dick Sherron encourages anyone who wants to learn more about caring for their cattle to take advantage of this superior program. “Producer education is one of the most important services TSCRA provides,” he says. “You don’t have to be a TSCRA member to attend!”

            Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association is a 128-year-old trade organization whose 13,200 members manage approximately 5.4 million cattle on 70.3 million acres of range and pasture land, primarily in Texas and Oklahoma.

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