University of Idaho Extension beef experts have scheduled a series of heifer development workshops to help the state’s ranchers capitalize on the nation’s smallest beef herd in more than 60 years.

Workshops are scheduled for:

Nov. 6 at the Washington County Fairgrounds in Cambridge.

Nov. 7 at the Oneida County Event Center in Malad.

Nov. 8 at the Nancy M. Cummings Research, Extension and Education Center in Salmon.

Topics

Workshops will cover how to select better heifers, effective and economical heifer development and strategies for improved reproduction. They will be held from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at each location. The $10 registration fee includes lunch.

Extension specialists involved in the workshops include:

John B. Hall, covering reproduction.

James Sprinkle, covering nutrition.

Benton Glaze, covering genetics.

Extension economists Brett Wilder and Jessica Windh, county extension educators, a University of Idaho veterinarian and assistant professor of mixed practice production medicine will also participate.

Expensive enterprise

“Developing bred heifers is one of the most expensive enterprises on the cow-calf operation and being able to do that effectively and efficiently and make the kind of heifers that are going to stay in the herd for a long time is going to be beneficial to us,” Hall said in a press release.

“This is a good point in the cattle cycle to talk about how to do things better in heifer development to capture some of the advantage in the next cycle,” he said