The County Cooperative Extension Services of Trigg, Caldwell and Crittenden counties hosted a series of Master Cattlemen meetings.  The meetings were well attended by producers, twenty seven producers from four counties were in attendance.  26 of the 27 completed all the requirements for the Master Cattleman Program and were awarded their certificates and farm signs.  

The Master Cattleman program is an intensive educational program developed by The University of Kentucky College of Agriculture in cooperation with KBN and funded by the Kentucky AG Development Board. The program consists of ten sessions covering different aspects of livestock and cattle production end product considerations and environmental stewardship to animal nutrition and genetics.  The sessions are taught by UK Extension Specialists and are all designed to help producers enhance profitability in their own operations.  It is also an excellent opportunity for producers to network with each other and exchange ideas.  Requirements for completing the class include attending 8 of the 10 sessions and also being Beef Quality Assurance- BQA- Certified.  In addition to the classroom sessions participants receive a reference manual for topics covered in the program and a custom farm gate sign.

Results from a survey taken on the last night of the meeting series indicated that most producers in attendance were planning to make some changes in their operation based on what they learned from the program.  The most popular areas for change amongst the producers were: improving hay utilization and efficiency, improving forages, Improved environmental impact, and improving soil fertility.  As a group the producers surveyed on average said they planned to implement 2-3 management changes each based on things that they learned from the Master Cattlemen program.Several months after completing the program, 4 of the 5 Trigg county participants had frost seeded red and white clovers, and were planning to stockpile in the fall for winter grazing; Two had changed their hay feeding program to help distribute manure more evenly and reduce mud and trampling; and all 5 reported planning to use some temporary electric fence to further divide permanent pastures.