TSCRA Sets Successful Ranching
School March 24-25 In Austin

FORT WORTH — Cattle producers attending the 7th annual TSCRA School for Successful Ranching will be able to beef up their knowledge on toxic plant identification and the best methods of handling cattle to ensure quality beef.

The school will be March 24-25 at the Austin convention center, immediately preceding the Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association's 124th annual convention. Eight CEUs will be available, pending approval by the Texas Department of Agriculture. Five CEUs will be earned by attending the school, and three more by completing some "home work" on toxic plants.

Extension range and livestock specialists have teamed up with toxicologists at Texas A&M's Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory and College of Veterinary Medicine to conduct a day-long workshop. Participants will get hands-on training that emphasizes practical identification of some of Texas' most significant problem plants, how to spot critical sites or conditions in a pasture, symptoms of poisoning in livestock, and integrated management strategies to minimize losses.

Participants will also receive a copy of the new book, Toxic Plants of Texas, Integrated Management Strategies.

Six hours of the program will be devoted to the first Texas Beef Quality Producer training session, emphasizing beef safety, beef quality and the impact of beef production on the environment.

In the beef safety segment, participants will learn about ranch-level management practices that should be avoided to ensure that the beef industry continues to provide consumers a safe, wholesome product. Included are topics like preventing feed contamination, antibiotic residues, broken needles and buckshot/birdshot.

In the beef quality segment, instructors will focus on topics such as herd health, castration, dehorning, injection sites, proper handling and administration of vaccines. Environmental issues like water quality, grazing management, riparian areas and the disposal of dead livestock are also an important component of Beef Quality Assurance training.

All participants will receive a truck decal and certificate verifying completion of the first level of the Texas Beef Quality Producer Program. The multi-level program provides an opportunity for Texas cow-calf and stocker operators to become trained in Beef Quality Assurance, customize a BQA management plan for their own operations and get assistance in documenting these best management practices.

The Texas Beef Quality Producer Program is a cooperative effort among Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association, the Texas Beef Council and the Texas Agricultural Extension Service.

More information is available from Todd Tippett at (800) 242-7820, ext. 145, or ttippett@texascattleraisers.org.