Beef 706 program Aug. 8-9 helps cattle producers enhance economic viability

The long-running Beef 706 educational program designed to teach cattle producers about the food side of their business is set for Aug. 8-9 on the Texas A&M University campus.

Beef 706 is designed for beef cattle producers and managers, ranchers and ranch personnel, feed yard personnel, allied livestock business personnel, veterinarians, teachers, AgriLife Extension personnel and college students, said Dan Hale, Ph.D., Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service associate director and meat specialist, Bryan-College Station.

The program was created in the Texas A&M Department of Animal Science in conjunction with the Texas Beef Council. The council pays for most of the course; therefore, registration is only $50 per person.

Attendees should register at https://tx.ag/Beef706Aug22Reg. The program will run from 7 a.m.-7:30 p.m. on Aug. 8 and 7 a.m.-2 p.m. on Aug. 9. The workshops will be held primarily at the Texas A&M Rosenthal Meat Science and Technology Center, 488 Olsen Blvd., College Station.

“This is our 30th year of Beef 706 programs,” Hale said. “It all started in 1993, a year after the release of the finding from the National Beef Quality Audit. The goal then as now is to help cattle owners and managers understand the best management practices for producing high-quality beef, for being good stewards of land, animal, water and people resources, and enhance their economic viability.”

Learning the value within the beef chain

Participants learn the importance of producing a more consistent and high-quality beef product through a series of hands-on lessons presented by various meat science faculty, staff and graduate students.

This information allows them to evaluate the value differences calculated between animals, actually seeing cattle value from market steer to fabricated boxed beef, Hale said.

Some of the topics and speakers, all from the Department of Animal Science, will be:

– Beef Carcass Grading, Hale.
– Market Cattle Evaluation, Jason Cleere, Ph.D., AgriLife Extension beef cattle specialist.
– Beef Harvest Floor Demonstration, Jade Cooper, AgriLife Extension meat specialist.
– Hands-on Beef Grading, Hale and Cooper.
– Introduction to Meat Cutting, Davey Griffin, Ph.D., AgriLife Extension meat specialist.
– Fabricating the Forequarter and Hindquarter, Griffin.
– Effective Stockmanship, Ron Gill, Ph.D., AgriLife Extension beef cattle specialist.
– Feeder Calf Beef Quality Management, Gill.
– Eating Appeal of Beef, Cooper.
– Finished Steer to Carcass on the Grid, Hale.
– Finished Steer to Boxed Beef Value, Griffin.

“For producers, it is often an eye-opening experience to see parts of the beef cattle production chain that they may not have experienced before,” Hale said. “This program takes them from the cow having the calf to beef on the consumer’s table.”