Tri-State Beef Conference

The end of this week was very busy, as always. On Thursday Steve and I attended the Tri-State Beef Conference in Abingdon at the Washington County Fairgrounds. This event was held by the University of Tennessee Extension, Virginia Cooperative Extension, and NC State University Cooperative Extension. This event was very educational for me and everyone else who attended.

This event addressed topics to interest both cow-calf and stocker producers. Topics discussed included beef cattle outlook, extending the grazing season while improving soil health and managing weeds, hoof conformation and selecting breeding stock, receiving programs for stocker producers, and the importance of a lender relationship.

One of my favorite parts of the conference was the virtual farm tours. Videos were shown giving a tour of three cattle operations, one in each state. They discussed everything from the size of the operation, what they do, how they got started, marketing, and anything else in between. The producers were present themselves after the videos were shown to answer questions. I liked the idea of virtual tours. When it is not possible for a real tour, technology allows us to be able to take a look into someone else's operation without the 5+ hour drive.

A trade show was also open during the conference with many animal health, feed, and marketing organizations involved in the region's beef industry present. There was lots of great information provided about their available products and services.

Each day in Extension is educational in its own way. The Extension service is set up to provide land-grant university knowledge to the public through agents, programming, and other services. As an intern I have learned from these agents all summer. I have also come to notice how each event can be educational for the agent as well as the client. Learning truly never stops. Agents learn from trainings, each other, specialists, and even producers. Events like the Tri-State Beef Conference provide more education as well as networking opportunities, which are always welcome and encouraged in Extension.