Dairy Beef Short Course Prepares Producers with New Research and Tools

By Andi Anderson

Dairy producers, feedlot operators, and agricultural professionals will have an opportunity to learn the latest research on beef‑on‑dairy management at the 2026 Dairy Beef Short Course.

The event will be held on Tuesday, March 17, in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, from 9 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. at the Denny Sanford Premier Center. The program is designed to provide a full day of research‑based information focused on feeding and managing beef‑on‑dairy cattle.

Gail Carpenter, assistant professor and extension dairy specialist at Iowa State University, explained the value of this year’s program by saying, “This year’s program has something for everyone in the beef-on-dairy supply chain, frodairy cattlem early calf management all the way through carcass outcomes and facilities.” Kimmi Devaney of Progressive Dairy will serve as the emcee for the event.

The course includes a series of expert‑led presentations such as Lessons in Lung Health by Dr. Joe Armstrong of Zoetis, Energetics of Changes in Liver Size and Health in Calves by Kendall Swanson of North Dakota State University, The Effect of Growth‑Enhancing Technologies on Mineral Requirements in Beef Cattle by Dathan Smerchek of Iowa State University, and What’s Going on With Carcass Size? by Warren Rusche of South Dakota State University. A panel titled Facilities: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly will also feature insights from industry members and producers. Morning speakers will join a discussion panel before lunch, which will be provided for attendees.

Registration costs $75 per adult, with an optional $15 fee for a printed copy of the presentations. College students may register for $20, and participants must register online by March 10.

The Dairy Beef Short Course is organized by I‑29 Moo University, a collaborative effort among Iowa State University, the University of Nebraska, the University of Minnesota, South Dakota State University, and various sponsoring organizations. For more information, participants can contact Gail Carpenter at 515‑294‑9085 or ajcarpen@iastate.edu, or Jim Salfer at 320‑203‑6093 or salfe001@umn.edu.

Photo Credit: iowa-state-university