Brief Summary of Minutes of Annual Meeting

Annual meeting was held on February 7^th, 2016 in San Antonio, TX; held in conjunction with the Southern Association of Agricultural Scientist Meeting.  Paul Beck, Professor (University of Arkansas), called the meeting to order.  Introduction of officers included: Paul Beck, University of Arkansas, President; Jason Banta, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension, President-elect; Ryon Walker, LSU AgCenter, Secretary; Lawton Stewart, University of Georgia, past President; Jimmy Henning, University of Kentucky, Administrative Advisor – Extension; Phil Elzer, LSU AgCenter, Administrative Advisor – Research.  Shane Gadberry, University of Arkansas, was nominated and elected as incoming Secretary.

Welcome to the meeting, overview of SERA 41 objectives, and introduction of participants was presented by Paul Beck. Paul provided brief recap of the Cow-Calf Production in the Southeastern US Symposium. There were numerous compliments on the symposium from the participants. There were approximately 90 that participated in Sunday’s symposium.  Minutes from the 2015 meeting were presented to participants. Motion to approve minutes made by Lawton Stewart (University of Georgia) and a second was made by Bisoondat Macoon (Mississippi State University). Minutes were approved.

Administrative Report was provided by Phil Elzer (LSU AgCenter) and Jimmy Henning (University of Kentucky). Much of the discussion focused on the new project and what we are to report. Administrators suggested that the SERA41 committee include the Sunday Symposium into the project proposal and reporting.  The information provided in both the Sunday Cow Calf and Kunkle Symposium fall under Extension, Research, and multi-state. It was suggested that we remove “heifer development” from the title; however, Phil Elzer said that would call for a re-write of the proposal to change the title.  Jimmy Henning suggested that we leave the proposal as is and we make sure and capture the symposiums that we coordinate at the Southern Section Animal Science Meetings every year. Also suggested we remove verb age on commodity groups under “Educational Plan” in the proposal.  Phil Elzer said that that the only thing that needs to be included in the report is what was done at the meetings and any multi-state activities over the last year.  The report can be 1 page as long as it includes everything we have done as a committee. There was brief discussion regarding travel funding for SERA 41 participants. Phil Elzer indicated that all states get money if they have representatives that are members of a multi-state project.  That money is to be used at the discretion of the university administrators.

How do we meet the objectives of the new project was brought up by Paul Beck.  Because it was discussed that conducting symposiums at the annual meeting accomplishes the objectives of the SERA41 project proposal, brief discussions were brought up on moving the Kunkle Symposium to Sunday because of the number of sessions going on Monday morning. However, because southern section meetings are separated from SAAS in 2017, it may not be an issue.  It was concluded that the symposiums be the focus of our annual meetings and that the business meeting be conducted during or immediately after the Sunday Symposium.  Ryon Walker stated the annual SERA41 report is due 60 days following the SERA41 meeting (April 7^th, 2016). Ryon requested that state reports be turned into him by March 1^st and that Ryon will send out a reminder a week after the Feb. 7^th meeting. What was asked from state representatives was to only include multi-state Extension programs and state projects. It was also suggested by the administrators that the symposiums from 2015 be included in the annual report since there was no report done in 2015 due to the re-write.  It was also suggested that the presentations be linked and any published papers from the symposiums be listed on the NIMSS website.

Other business – Matt Poore (North Carolina State University) brought up the need for Extension training among states. Asked if there was a current platform or if we needed to look into developing a training around focused topics. Could use webinar format. Shane Gadberry discussed the module that the University of Arkansas uses for beginning agent education training through Moodle.  The meeting to adjourn was moved (Lawton Stewart, Georgia) and seconded (Jeff Lehmkuhler, Kentucky).

A Conservation Innovation Grant (CIG) titled “Coping with drought in beef cattle production: Long-term innovation through optimal warm-season forage systems” was awarded to faculty at the University of Tennessee, University of Kentucky, and University of Arkansas.  The primary objective of this study is to deliver a comprehensive and transformative approach to forage production to growers across a multi-state region that will make a substantial impact on their ability to respond to droughts over the long-term. Replacement heifers are used as grazers with the objective of evaluating their age at puberty and first-service pregnancy rates.  This project is ongoing but has already yielded in-service training in all three of the participating states on the understanding of establishment and management of these forage varieties for summer grazing and replacement heifer performance.

Extension Accomplishments

Throughout the southeast region, there were several multi-state meetings conducted. 

Four States Cattle Conference – Coordinated by Louisiana State University, Oklahoma State University, Texas A&M AgriLife, and University of Arkansas and is held in December in Texarkana, AR and provides research-based information from speakers across the US to hundreds of cow/calf and stocker producers within the four states region.  This 1-day conference also attracts Extension beef specialist and county agents, veterinarians, university faculty, and industry representatives.  Producers continue to learn new or existing ideas or technologies to help reach their management goals. The 4^th Annual Four States Cattle Conference will be held in December of 2016.

The Deep South Stocker Conference – Coordinated and held in collaboration with Auburn University, University of Georgia, and Mississippi State University on August 6-7, 2015 at Auburn University.  This conference was developed to provide a regional, timely management update to cattle producers in the Southeast prior to the period of fall-purchasing stocker calves. Participants at the conference included beef producers, industry partners, and extension agents representing AL, CA, FL, GA, MS, TN, SC, and TX.  A weighted average of 5,048 acres were impacted by the information presented at this meeting. Over 90% of the respondents indicated that the information would be useful in their operation, and results from this conference illustrate that multi-state programs are an excellent way to interface with Extension, industry, commodity groups, and stakeholders to deliver educational information on a regional basis. The 2016 Deep South Stocker Conference will be hosted by the University of Georgia.

Mid-South Stocker Conference – This conference is a joint effort between the University of Tennessee, University of Kentucky, and industry partners that educate stocker operators, backgrounders and cow/calf operators on best management practices, including economic considerations, for managing calves from weaning until they enter the feeding phase. This conference was planned in 2015, but had to be cancelled due to inclement weather.  This conference is planned for 2016 and is expected to draw producers, county agents, specialist, and industry partners from all over the US with an expected attendance of close to 200.  This conference produces a conference proceedings each year and will be held in 2016.

Tri-State Beef Conference – coordinated with North Carolina Cooperative Extension, University of Tennessee Extension, and Virginia Cooperative Extension every year.  This conference provides topics to cow/calf producers to improve management and efficiency and includes farm tours.  Participants include beef producers, county agents, veterinarians, and industry partners.  This conference is scheduled for 2016.

SERA41 Sunday Symposium – held in conjunction with the Southern Section Animal Science Meetings in San Antonio, TX in February, 2016, was titled “Cow-Calf Production in the Southeastern US: Potential for Impact and Economic Sustainability”.  This symposium provided participants with information gathered from a survey conducted throughout the southeast.  During the symposium, there were 86 in attendance and included Extension specialist and county agents, University faculty from various disciplines, veterinarians, industry representatives, graduate students, and producers. This symposium gave an insight to participants on what is perceived to be problems and opportunities for the beef industry in the southeast.  There will be pdf copies of the presentations given.

The Bill E. Kunkle Interdisciplinary Beef Symposium - coordinated by SERA41 and held in conjunction with the Southern Section Animal Science Meetings in San Antonio, TX in February, 2016.  This symposium was developed to provide participants with an overview of the importance of minerals and vitamins in beef cattle diets in the southeast and how that impacts different production traits.  There were approximately 60 in attendance and included Extension specialist and county agents, University faculty, veterinarians, graduate students, and industry representatives.  This symposium summarized research conducted on mineral and vitamin status in the southeast and its impact on beef cattle production traits.  The information also provided insight on future areas of research emphasis in minerals and vitamins in the diet. Copies of the presentations will also be available as pdf attachments.

2015 SERA41 Symposium – Design, Analysis, and Execution of Quality Grazing Research

• Aiken, G.E. 2016. Invited Review: Grazing Management options in meeting objectives of grazing experiments. Prof. Anim. Sci. 32:1-9.
• Rouquette, F.M. 2016. Invited Review: The roles of forage management, forage quality, and forage allowance in grazing research. Prof. Anim. Sci. 32:10-18.
• Reuter, R.R. and C.A. Moffet. 2016. Invited Review: Designing a grazing experiment that can reliably detect meaningful differences. Prof. Anim. Sci. 32:19-30.
• Gunter, S.A. and N.A. Cole. 2016. Invited Review: Getting more information from your grazing research beyond cattle performance. Prof. Anim. Sci. 32:31-41.

 2015 SERA41 Kunkle Interdisciplinary Beef Symposium

• Scaglia, G., P. Beck, M.H. Poore, and J. Lehmkuhler. 2015. Bill E Kunkle Interdisciplinary Beef Symposium: Tall fescue toxicosis update. J. Anim. Sci. 93:5485-5486.
• Kallenbach, R.L. 2015. Bill E Kunkle Interdisciplinary Beef Symposium: Coping with tall fescue toxicosis: Solutions and realities. J. Anim. Sci. 93:5487-5495.
• Gadberry, M.S., J. Hawley, P.A. Beck, J.A. Jennings, E.B. Kegley, and K.P. Coffey. 2015. Bill E Kunkle Interdisciplinary Beef Symposium: A meta-analysis of research efforts aimed at reducing the impact of fescue toxicosis on cattle weight gain and feed intake. J. Anim. Sci. 93: 5496-5505.
• Smith, T. and J.P. Cassady. 2015. Bill E Kunkle Interdisciplinary Beef Symposium: Genetic resistance to the effects of grazing endophyte-infected tall fescue. J. Anim. Sci. 93:5506-5511.
• Klotz, J.L. 2015. Bill E Kunkle Interdisciplinary Beef Symposium: Physiologic effects of ergot alkaloids: What happens when excretion does not equal consumption? J. Anim. Sci. 93:5512-5521.
• Pratt, S.L. and J.G. Andrae. 2015. Bill E Kunkle Interdisciplinary Beef Symposium: Does tall fescue toxicosis negatively impact bull growth and breeding potential? J. Anim. Sci. 93:5522-5528.

Forte, E. M., M. K. Mullenix, R. L. Stewart Jr., and B. B. Karisch. 2016. Beef cattle programming across state lines: The 7th Annual Deep South Stocker Conference. Abstracts. 2016 American Society of Animal Science Southern Section Meeting. Feb. 6 – 9, 2016. San Antonio, TX.