Proper care and well-being of cattle in Wisconsin is important to both farmers and consumers, as consumers are increasingly interested in where and how their food is produced. University of Wisconsin Extension will host the annual Wisconsin Dairy and Beef Well-Being Conference on March 3 at Country Aire in Stratford. Dairy and beef producers, veterinarians, farm service providers, educators, emergency managers, first responders and elected officials are encouraged to attend.

The keynote speaker will be Greg Peterson, Peterson Farm Brothers. He is an advocate for agriculture and continues to work on the family farm with his parents and siblings. Peterson and his brothers create YouTube videos about farming that together have received over 40 million views 

Topics and speakers include:
• Cattle handling, Ron Gill, professor and Extension livestock specialist, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension. Gill provides leadership in programming related to animal well-being, stockmanship and low-stress livestock handling, and helped develop the Stockmanship and Stewardship program he now delivers through collaboration with the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association and the National Beef Quality Assurance program. He also assists in providing leadership to statewide and national programming efforts for Beef Safety and Quality Assurance.

• Livestock trailer considerations for safe transportation of your livestock, Kory Stalsberg, UW Extension Grant and Lafayette counties dairy and livestock agent.

• Programming the perinatal immune system, and a second breakout session regarding beef vaccination protocols, Victor Cortese, director of technical services, cattle immunology at Zoetis Animal Health.

• Preparing to meet the expectations of FARM 3.0, Emily Yeiser Stepp, director, National Dairy FARM (Farmers Assuring Responsible Management) Animal Care Program, National Milk Producers Federation.

The conference will be held at Country Aire, F1312 County Road P, Stratford, WI, with two sessions at Equity Livestock Market, Stratford. Early-bird registration for adults, humane officers and American Registry of Professional Animal Scientists members is $45 before Feb. 20. After Feb. 20, that registration is $65. Before Feb 20, registration for the full-day veterinarian/veterinary technician program is $75; half-day is $45. After Feb. 20, full-day vet/vet tech registration is $95, and half-day is $65. Registration for youth is $20, and they must be registered by Feb. 20.

This program has been approved for continuing education credits for veterinary practitioners, veterinary technicians and humane officers. Beef/Dairy Beef Quality Assurance and the American Registry for Professional Animal Scientists (ARPAS) credits will be offered. Attendance certificates will be provided, meeting FARM requirements for dairy employees to receive documented training in animal handling.

The program agenda and registration information can be found online. This conference is made possible with generous support from numerous sponsors. Visit the website for the current sponsor listing.