Nebraska Extension's 'Herd That!' conference in North Platte to focus on beef cattle reproduction

 LINCOLN, Neb.  - The Nebraska Women in Agriculture program, along with the Nebraska Beef Quality Assurance Program, will host the fourth annual Herd That! Conference on June 10-11, in North Platte. The event will be held at the West Central Research, Extension and Education Center, 402 W. State Farm Road.  

"We are thrilled to be bringing back the Herd That! Conference for women who raise livestock or work in the livestock sector," said Jessica Groskopf, director of Nebraska Women in Agriculture. "Livestock production is vital to our state. This event will focus on giving women the knowledge, tools, and skills they need to be successful in this facet of the agricultural industry. More importantly, it will provide participants the opportunity to expand their network."

This year's event will kick off on June 10 with a tour of T/D Angus. Trey and Dayna Wasserburger operate this innovative and progressive seedstock operation in North Platte, selling 500 Angus bulls a year to over 30 states. They also sell and ship semen and embryos globally.

The tour will be followed by dinner and keynote speaker Terryn Drieling, who grew up on a small feed yard in northeast Nebraska. She now lives and works on a large ranch in the Sandhills with her husband and their three children. When she's not ranching, Drieling helps fellow farmers and ranchers step out of self-told lies with grace and compassion to draw good movement in conversations, relationships and life in rural America through her Good Movement Trainings and coaching.

Sessions on June 11 will feature industry experts as well as Nebraska Extension professionals in several hands-on workshop opportunities that will focus on beef cattle reproduction. Topics will include safely handling hormones, bull selection, culling cows and more. During lunch, participants will have the opportunity to hear from Trust in Food to learn about the future of sustainability for livestock producers.

"The way we handle our animals is more important than ever to our industry. As caregivers, we need to be sure we are handling our animals in the lowest-stress environment possible," said Jesse Fulton, director of Nebraska Beef Quality Assurance. "I hope every producer tries to join us for this exceptional opportunity."

Registration for the event is open on the Nebraska Women in Agriculture website, https://wia.unl.edu. The cost for a two-day registration is $125 for participants who register on or before May 31. The two-day registration fee increases to $150 on June 1. One-day registrations are also available.

The conference will be offering continuing education credits for veterinary medicine professionals. This material is based upon work supported by USDA/NIFA under Award Number 2021-70027-34694.