“Many ranches today are purchased with wildlife in mind,” said Dr. Larry Redmon, AgriLife Extension state forage specialist. “Because of this interest, wildlife management topics such as white-tailed deer and turkey management, fisheries management in ranch ponds, and what to do with the feral hog will be addressed by wildlife and fisheries specialists.”

 The program also includes a session on ecotourism for those interested in marketing their ranch resources, Redmon said.

The ranch management program will be held in the G. Rollie White Visitor’s Center on the Texas A&M University campus in College Station.

Registration is $500 and attendance is limited to the first 50 people who enroll. To register online and for additional information, go to agriliferegister.tamu.edu and enter “ranch management” into the search window.

Other topics being offered will be: soils and soil fertility, forage-species selection, hay production, weed and brush management, winter-pasture establishment and utilization, beef cattle breed selection, nutrient requirements and feeding strategies for livestock, grazing-management strategies, chuteside talk on live animal handling and demonstrations of vaccinating, dehorning and castration of cattle.

Horse, sheep and goat production also will be covered, as well as the economics of an operation, including profit plans, marketing plans and alternative enterprises, Redmon said.

Field demonstrations will include learning how to assess body condition scores for cattle, how to obtain proper soil and hay samples and how to assess the fish populations in the pond, he said. There will also be a discussion regarding pond weeds and a demonstration on hog trap design.

Meals and break refreshments are covered by the registration cost, as well as a resource CD containing more than 100 publications covering ranch resource management.

For additional information, contact Redmon at (979) 845-4826 or l-redmon@tamu.edu. 

—From Agrilife Today news release