20 Nebraska Cattleman September 2023 mon mistakes when designing facilities and evaluating animal condition prior to marketing. Additionally, attendees learned from Tim Parks, DVM, beef cattle technical service veterinarian at Merck Animal Health, about the new regulations producers will face related to cattle implanting practices and producers’ ability to purchase medically important antibiotics that are used in animal medicine. Dusty Abney, Ph.D., cattle nutritionist at Cargill Animal Nutrition, presented common nutrition myths producers must navigate to avoid misunderstandings that may be negatively affecting their ability to be economically sustainable. Something that separated the Nebraska Stockmanship & Stewardship events from other regional events this year was the partnership with Certified Angus Beef and Cargill Fresh Meats. For lunch, attendees enjoyed a Certified Angus Beef strip steak lunch as they heard from Kirsten Nickles, Ph.D., sustainability and animal care scientist at Certified Angus Beef about their latest “Cut the Bull” initiative and their commitment to the beef industry. Following Nickles’ presentation, she was joined by a panel of industry representatives as they discussed the importance of quality assurance programs such as BQA. Presenters outlined how the industry can utilize the BQA program to tell the story of cattle producers and their commitment to ensuring proper animal care practices and ensuring the production of safe, wholesome, quality beef and beef products for everyday consumers. "At Certified Angus Beef, we take pride in cattle producers’ commitment to cattle care. We are appreciative of the opportunity to be a part of the Nebraska Stockmanship & Stewardship events and work alongside Nebraska cattle producers,” Nickles says. “The brand is using BQA to get farmers and ranchers the credit they deserve for prioritizing cattle care, while simultaneously using BQA as a way to increase consumer trust in what producers do to bring high-quality beef to the table. We were excited to be a part of these events and look forward to continuing our BQA efforts with Nebraska in the future.” As with all the National Stockmanship & Stewardship regional events, stockmanship experts Curt Pate, Ron Gill and Dean Fish performed live cattle handling demonstrations on a variety of topics from basic cattle handling to horsemanship and more! The stockmen discussed the basic principles of cattle handling such as point of balance, flight zone and utilizing handler pressure to move animals, and demonstrated these principles on foot and horseback. “A highlight at the events is always the emphasis on live cattle handling with our experts and clinicians Dr. Ron Gill, Curt Pate and Dr. Dean Fish,” Clowser says. “All three have decades of experience and a wealth of knowledge they share at each event. What makes the Stockmanship & Stewardship events so unique is that they are tailored to that specific region of the country.” Another feature that made the Nebraska events unique was that most of the sessions were offered with Spanish translation. This bilingual opportunity opened the door for operations with Hispanic employees to participate in additional in-depth education related to cattle care and handling. I assure you this isn’t the last of these spectacular events here in Nebraska. Being the “Beef State,” we play a pivotal role in the beef industry. This status requires our cattle producers to be proactive and progressive. It is the role of beef educators in the state to ensure that cattle producers here have every resource and educational opportunity available to them. Producers should keep an eye on our calendar of events to stay in the know on what other opportunities we have coming up across Nebraska. We work hard to make sure you have the latest research and information available to you. Producers can find out more about future events and additional resources at https://bqa.unl.edu/ or https://beef. unl.edu/. NC NEBRASKA HOSTS NATIONAL STOCKMANSHIP & STEWARDSHIP EVENTS • CONTINUED FROM PAGE 18 Curt Pate performs a live cattle handling demonstration. Along with Ron Gill and Dean Fish, the three covered a variety of topics from basic cattle handling to horsemanship and more. Jesse Fulton shares about BQA, including why herd health practices matter, how to design cattle handling facilities, common mistakes when designing facilities and evaluating animal condition prior to marketing.
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