SDSU Extension to Hold Educational Webinars During Dakotafest Virtual 2020

As part of Dakotafest, which is being held in a virtual format this year from August 18-20, SDSU Extension experts are hosting educational webinars on each day of the event. The webinars will focus on beef health and nutrition, food preservation, meat safety, climate updates, and farm safety and management.
Webinar schedule:
August 18, 3:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m: SDSU Extension Beef Health & Nutrition
  • Mineral Nutrition: Setting Calves up for Weaning Success – Adele Harty, SDSU Extension Cow/Calf Field Specialist. Mineral nutrition plays key roles in calf health and immune function. Evaluating your mineral program and making adjustments prior to weaning can help ensure calf health and immune function when calves are faced with this stressful event.
  • Livestock Risk Protection – Matthew Diersen, Professor and SDSU Extension Risk/Business Management Specialist. Recent changes to Livestock Risk Protection (LRP) may increase its appeal to producers with price risk. The role of LRP in a marketing plan will be discussed.
  • Preparing Calves for the Feedlot – Warren Rusche, SDSU Extension Beef Feedlot Management Associate. Weaning time is fast approaching. Taking the right steps leading up to and during weaning can make all the difference between success and failure
August 19, 3:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m: SDSU Extension Agronomy – Safety, Management and Climate Updates
  • 2020 South Dakota Growing Season Climate – Laura Edwards, SDSU Extension State Climatologist. An overview of the 2020 growing season will be discussed with an outlook for the fall and winter seasons.
  • Grain Bin Safety – John Keimig, SDSU Extension Youth Safety Field Specialist. Safety considerations in and around grain bins on the farming operation will be discussed.
  • Fan Selection for Grain Bins: Basic concepts and tools – Xufei Yang, Assistant Professor and SDSU Extension Environmental Quality Engineer. Understand the types of fans used for grain bins, their basic concepts and explore an online tool to assist with fan selection.
August 20, 2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m: SDSU Extension Food Preservation and Meat Safety
  • Food Preservation – Megan Erickson, SDSU Extension Nutrition Field Specialist and Hope Kleine, SDSU Extension Health Education and Food Safety Field Specialist. Food preservation experts will talk about safe home food preservation techniques. Water bath canning, pressure canning, freezing and drying practices will be covered.
  • Meat Safety and Preparation – Amanda Blair, Professor and SDSU Extension Meat Science Specialist. During this presentation, Blair will discuss tips for selecting cuts of meat, preparation methods and steps consumers can take to ensure food safety when handling and cooking meat. She will also share ways to stretch your budget when purchasing meat and exploring different options for buying meat in bulk.