You've heard of grass-raised beef. How about no-pasture beef? With rising land costs, the drylot option is one to consider, says South Dakota State University beef specialists.

SDSU Cooperative Extension is hosting a meeting on raising beef cows in drylots Nov. 30 at Mitchell and Beresford.

The workshop will take place first at the Davison County Fairgrounds in Mitchell starting with 8:30 a.m. registration and ending about 12:30 p.m. The same program will be repeated at the Southeastern Research Farm near Beresford that evening starting with 5:30 p.m. registration and ending at about 8:30 p.m.

"The meeting will discuss the option of raising/housing cows in a drylot setting year round," says Hutchinson County Extension Livestock Educator John Keimig. "With current rental prices for pasture land continuing to go up, this program will provide information to help producers make prudent decisions on this subject."

Topics to be discussed include low-cost rations and alternative feeds, early weaning and creep feeding, animal health issues associated with drylot, the animal nutritional cycle and its effects on the feeding program, animal reproduction issues, and the economics of pasture rental cost versus drylot cost.

Featured speakers include SDSU Extension Veterinarian Russ Daly, Extension Beef Specialist Cody Wright, Hutchinson County Livestock Educator John Keimig, Lincoln County Livestock Educator Jeff Lounsbery, Miner County Livestock Educator Jim Krantz, and Brule County Livestock Educator Rod Geppert.

There will be a $10 registration at the door. Pre-register by calling the Hutchinson County Extension Office at (605) 387-4205, or the Lincoln County Extension Office at (605) 764-2756.

Source: SDSU AgBio Communications