Brief Summary of Minutes of Annual Meeting

On June 10, 2003, the NCR-87 Committee and guests convened on the Kansas State University campus. Jack Riley, Head of the Department of Animal Science and Industry at Kansas State, welcomed the attendees and gave an overview of the Department. Individual station reports were given for each NCR-87 objective. A period of questions and interaction was associated with each station report.

Greg Lardy informed attendees that the NCR-185 (feedlot) committee was interested in working with the NCR-87 committee in preparation of Extension publications pertaining to early weaning. Dan Faulkner and Rick Rasby agreed to coordinate the preparation of Extensions publications pertaining to early weaning as it impacts cow/calf management.
David Lalman questioned the committee regarding the appropriate procedure for publishing papers jointly prepared by committee members in multiple institutions, and he asked if the committee should draft a standard process for joint publications. Don Boggs recommended 1) co-authors work with their individual media departments to jointly publish Extension papers, 2) co-authors share expenses, 3) papers be peer-reviewed, and 4) joint publications be listed as NCR-87 projects. No motions were made.

Greg Lardy and Trey Patterson were asked to comment on the NCR-87 sponsored symposium at 2003 Midwest Animal Science meetings entitled Application of the 1996 NRC to Range Cattle Nutrition. The symposium included 5 speakers from Nebraska, South Dakota, Illinois, Oklahoma, and North Dakota. Four speakers were NCR-87 members with one outside speaker invited (Nebraska). The audience included Extension specialists, scientists, industry professionals, and Extension educators. Attendance at the symposium was estimated at around 100 people and feedback was positive. Two review publications stemming from the symposium were submitted to the Journal of Animal Science (under review at time of meeting). One Extension Fact Sheet was prepared and handed out at the symposium. The Fact Sheet will be formally published as a joint publication.

David Lalman asked if the committee should address the issue of NIRS fecal monitoring as a method to predict grazed diet quality of cattle and subsequent animal performance. In the past, the committee has discussed the possibility of devoting a portion of the annual meeting to this topic or hosting an NIRS fecal monitoring symposium. Trey Patterson said that symposium on fecal monitoring would not be appropriate given the amount of published data available. Rick Rasby also questioned the appropriateness of a symposium on the topic. Dan Faulkner suggested that we did not want it to appear that the NCR-87 committee was endorsing fecal monitoring. Jack Whittier questioned the degree of NRCS adoption of the technology to date. Committee responses were that Virginia, Illinois, Oklahoma, and Kansas did not have a high degree of adoption. Don Boggs suggested that the committee stay focused on Objective 1a and work on validation of the Beef Cattle NRC rather than focus on NIRS fecal monitoring. David Lalman suggested that committee members continue to design experiments to validate the Beef Cattle NRC. No plans were made to visit the issue of NIRS fecal monitoring in a meeting or symposium.

David Lalman asked if the committee wanted to sponsor a symposium in 2004 at Midwest Animal Science meetings. The committee consensus was that previous symposia were successful and they should be continued. Trey Patterson recommended alternating each year between a reproductive management and nutrition focus for the symposium. Dan Faulkner suggested that the committee could sponsor both a reproductive management and nutrition symposium. Jack Whittier suggested the Western Section Meetings would be an appropriate avenue for NCR-87 sponsored symposia as well. John Hall moved that NCR-87 sponsor a symposium at the 2004 Midwest Animal Science Meetings (in conjunction with Midwest ASAS Extension Committee) entitled Management of the Young Cow. Cliff Lamb seconded the motion. The motion carried. Greg Lardy, John Hall, Twig Marston, and Dave Lalman agreed to serve on the planning committee.

Dave Patterson moved to hold the 2004 NCR-87 Annual Meeting at Grand Rapids, MN. Rick Rasby seconded. The motion carried. Cliff Lamb and the University of Minnesota will host the 2004 meeting. The dates of June 7, 8, and 9th were set for the meeting.
John Hall nominated Steve Paisley as the 2004-2005 secretary. Trey Patterson seconded. Twig Marston moved for nominations to cease, and Cliff Lamb seconded the motion. A unanimous ballot was cast for Steve Paisley.

Jack Whittier gave an update on emerging animal identification technology.
The committee expressed thanks to Twig Marston and Kansas State University for hosting the meeting. The committee adjourned until 2004.

Being an NCR Committee, one of the primary purposes of the committee is provide amethod of communication among the committee members and their respective Experiment Stations regarding research and extension activities in the area of cow-calf production and management. This is a highly interactive committee that typically has a high rate a attendance by the members and num,erous guests each year. The committee member collaborate on an annual symposium held in conjunction with the Midwest ASAS meeting and they have numerous informal collaborations and consultations regarding on-going and needed research. The 2003 symposium was targeted at helping industry professionals better understand and utilize the NRC Nutrient Requirements of Beef Cattle and to identify parts of the program that still require further research and investigation. The presentations were extremely well recieved and generated excellent discussions. The presentors collaborated on two JAS review articles, one of which has been accepted with the other in review.

Lardy, G.P., D.C. Adams, T.J. Klopfenstein, and H.H. Patterson. 2004. Cow Nutrition Programs and the 1996 NRC model: Building beef cow nutritional programs with the 1996 NRC beef cattle requirements model. J. Anim. Sci. 82: Accepted.