Loose Ends...

The Texas Section Society for Range Management annual meeting is set for October 8-10 at the Holiday Inn in Midland. The theme of the meeting is "Texas Rangelands: In the Public’s Eye."

The Friday morning session will focus on how nontraditional stakeholders view Texas rangelands. Technical sessions on all aspects of rangeland management and ecology will be featured on Saturday. Additionally, a pre-convention oilfield reclamation tour is scheduled for Wednesday, October 7th.

Registration is available through Darren Richardson at (915) 523-4760. Pre-registration ends September 21.

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Fifty members of the Texas Dietetic Association will work with the Texas Beef Council this fall to generate increased awareness by consumers of beef’s nutritional value. The dietitians will spearhead a media campaign across Texas to discuss beef’s benefits in the diet with emphasis on women.

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Andy Laughlin was appointed Extension sheep and goat assistant at the Texas A&M Research and Extension Center in San Angelo.

Laughlin has been with Extension as an assistant county agent in Val Verde County since April 1997. He was responsible for managing 4-H programs involving 234 members and 147 adult volunteers. Prior to joining Extension, Laughlin worked at Wool Growers Central Storage in Ozona.

The new Extension assistant holds a B.S. in animal science from Texas A&M University at College Station. While attending Texas A&M, he worked in the Texas Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Lab, was a research assistant, a veterinarian assistant, and worked in the school’s sheep center.

Lauglin fills the position vacated by Ross Stultz, who is now in charge of Kothmann Commission Company’s lamb feeding operation near Menard.

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A series of Quail Appreciation Days will be conducted on four different sites throughout West Texas. The dates, locations and county Extension agent contacts are: October 1, James Currie Ranch, Glasscock County, contact Steve Sturtz, (915)354-2381; October 6, Sherman Hammond Ranch, Pecos County, contact Zan Matthies, (915)336-2541; October 14, Newell Ranch, Shackelford County, contact Rocky Vinson (915)762-2233; and Oct. 20, Angelo State University Ranch, Tom Green County, contact Jeff Ripley (915)659-6524.

The quail series will offer research updates, troubleshooting habitat problems and other hands-on activities like quail necropsies, dummy nest transects and plant identification.

Registration for any of the four program sites is $10 per person if registration is made seven days prior to the event. Registration thereafter and at the door is $20. The fee covers lunch, refreshments and handout materials.

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