Driftless Region Beef Conference

With nearly 2.5 million cattle in three Midwest states, university extension services in Illinois, Iowa, and Wisconsin are teaming together to offer the Driftless Region Beef Conference. The eleventh annual event will be held Jan. 26-27, 2023 at the Grand River Convention Center in Dubuque.

The cattle business has been challenging in the last year with drought in some areas, excess rain in others, increasing hay prices, and skyrocketing grain prices. Cow sales are up and heifers retained for the breeding herd are down. Fed cattle prices are at or near all-time highs, but so are input costs. The volatility of the cattle industry is a concern for all producers. The 2023 conference will focus on practices to survive the market volatility into the future.

Breakout speakers are Loy and Denise Schwab, Iowa State University; Bill Halfman and Dorte Dopfer, University of Wisconsin; Travis Meteer, Dan Shike, and Josh McCann, University of Illinois; Zach Smith, South Dakota State University, and Colby Redifer and Jordan Thomas, University of Missouri.

The early registration fee of $85 per person must be received prior to midnight, Jan. 13. After that date, it increases to $115. More information on topics, speakers, and lodging are available on the conference website.