The 5^th Kentucky Beef Efficiency Conference was well attended in Lexington. Participants from more than 35 counties from across the Commonwealth attended the program. The Kentucky Beef Efficiency Conference, supported by the Kentucky Agricultural Development Fund, is a key educational event bringing expertise from across the United States to the Commonwealth for the beef industry in the state.

Mr. Warren Beeler, Executive Director of the Governor’s Office of Agricultural Policy, shared how rewarding it has been to see the impact of the $542 million investment in agriculture as farm sales have increased by nearly $1.5 billion. He indicated that Kentucky producers were managing beef cattle the best they have in history as a result of the funds available through CAIP, educational programs such as Master Cattleman, Master Grazer and the IRM FARM project offered through the collaborative efforts of the KADF, Kentucky Beef Network and UK Extension. 

Next, Mr. Chip Ramsay, manager of Rex Ranch, told the audience to view him as that cousin that was going to tell them about a cattle operation in the sandhills of Nebraska. He indicated that even on their ranch they utilized managed grazing as it was important to maintain the production of the land. Mr. Ramsay indicated they believed in investing in people and the need for continued education for their employees. He also revealed that keep and culling decisions were driven by data. He admitted that at times it is difficult to cull a bull or cow that really looks like the ideal cow yet has poor performance numbers. Mr. Ramsay also indicated that he believes that a crossbred cow will be 25% more productive in her lifetime than a straightbred cow as the data would suggest.

A guest appearance by state Senator David Givens was made to introduce his brother, Dr. Daniel Givens. Dr. Givens is the associate Dean of Academic Affairs for the Veterinary Medicine School at Auburn University. Dr. Givens, with the assistance of a young audience member, clearly demonstrated how immunization, biosecurity and biocontainment were the pillars for herd health. He shared with participants his view on an effective immunization approach for bovine viral diarrhea (BVD). This included the use of modified live vaccine (MLV) products for replacement heifers. Dr. Givens shared research illustrating that following vaccination with an MLV product, killed products could be utilized for annual boosters. He also cautioned on the use of MLV products and suggested MLV products should be administered 30 days or longer from the initiation of the breeding season. Dr. Givens, however, also indicated that there was much to be learned about vaccination protocols.

Lastly, Dr. Darrh Bullock, UK Extension Beef Specialist, introduced Mr. Darrell Busby, retired Iowa State University feedlot specialist, to share how producers can participate in the Iowa Tri-County Steer Carcass Futurity program. Mr. Busby indicated how the program focuses on providing feedlot performance and carcass data to beef cattle producers. Cattle from the southeast, Midwest, and Canada are fed at participating feedlots. Mr. Busby shared with producers data from more the 77,000 head that had been through the program. He shared that the program utilizes the USDA feeder cattle value assigned at the location of origin, transportation expenses to the feedlot and the actual feedlot expenses such as medical, feed and yardage to calculate overall profit per head after the individual steer value is determined when sold on the grid. Factors that impacted profitability were feeder calf value, weight upon arrival, and health. Cattle that had to be treated for respiratory disease or other disorders were significantly less profitable than cattle that remained healthy. Several producers from Kentucky, particularly the Hardin County area, have fed cattle through this program.

A survey was provided for feedback from attendees to evaluate impact of the program. A total of 73 surveys were collected. Some of the survey results are in the tables below. Based on the completed evaluations, participants came from at least 37 counties. In summary, producers increased their basic knowledge and understanding of management concepts that can improve management of their beef operations. 

With increased knowledge, the hope is this will translate into management change and ultimately greater profitability. Several indicated they intended to modify vaccination programs, identify more suitable genetics for their operations, use data to make better culling decisions as well as several other management changes. This program appears to have provided a foundation for them to be better informed when making decisions on their operations. Participants indicated that the program was useful and material was presented at a level they could understand. Overall, the participants found the program to be very good with an average rating of 4.7 out of 5.0.

The survey was used to attempt to provide an impact of the GOAP KADF investment. Based on participant surveys, the average number of cattle managed from the 60 completed surveys was 114 head. Using this average and extrapolating across 225 participants would suggest that the program would have reached producers that managed more than 25,000 head. Participants were asked to indicate the “Economic Value these Programs Add to Your Operation” with a range of responses from $0 - $5,000. Many opted to note answer this question, but 40 individuals completed this question. The average response was $1,235. If one were to extrapolate this value for 225 participants, the potential economic value of Kentucky Beef Efficiency conference educational program would be calculated as $277,875. We cannot state this value will be realized, rather this is what participants perceived the increased knowledge could add to their beef operations. 

Table 1. Impact of the Kentucky Beef Efficiency Conference on knowledge level of beef production practices to improve production efficiency as related each presenter (scale 1-5 where 1 is limited knowledge and 5 very knowledgeable).

Table 2. Additional participant feedback on the usefulness of material and material presented ( 1 – 5 scale; Example 1 = not useful, over my head, poor and 5 = very useful, Understood >90%, Excellent)

Counties represented: Madison, Trimble, Shelby, Hardin, Bracken, Bath, Washington, Adair, Taylor, Marion, Fayette, Nelson, Logan, Henry, Barren, Jessamine, Warren, Pendelton, Spencer, Fleming, Pulaski, Daviess, Harrison, Estill, Whitley, Mercer, Butler, Jackson, Laurel, Knott, Johnson, Clark, Campbell, Boyle, Caldwell, Woodford, Scott