The University of Nebraska Extension and Nebraska Cattlemen Seedstock Council are joining to sponsor four Sire Selection and Cow Herd Management Clinics located throughout the State of Nebraska. Blue Hill will be the site of one of the clinics on Monday, December 1.

Early registration is due to the location you plan to attend by November 17, 2008. There is a nominal fee to cover lunch, proceedings and materials. At door registration will also be available but at a higher rate. Registration for the Blue Hill clinic can be done by contacting Dewey Lienemann at the Webster County UNL Extension office in Red Cloud at 402-746-3417 at his cell phone at 402-469-0357 or by emailing to: dlienemann2@unl.edu.

The day of the clinic will start with registration and coffee at the Blue Hill Community Center beginning at 10:00 am. The Sire Selection part of the clinic will start at10:30 am. The first speaker will be Dr. Matt Spangler, Beef Genetics Specialist with UNL Extension in Lincoln. His topic will be: "Additions to the Genetic Toolbox: EPDs, Indexes, & Card DNA Markers. The next session will be presented by Dr. Rick Rasby, UNL Extension Beef Specialist from Lincoln who will talk on "Management Tips to Increase Profit Potential". A noon lunch will follow that will include a question and answer period. The afternoon session will continue at Blue Hill Livestock (Sale Barn) that will include Dr. Spangler with a presentation on "Putting It All Together: Visual Appraisal & EPD’s" followed by a hands on application on "Body Condition Scoring" and "Examples of By-product Feeds" with Dr. Rick Rasby.

There will be actual cows for BCS Scoring and bulls for visual evaluation and EPD appraisal present at the clinic. There will also be some interesting sidelights that will show why packers are concerned with the body conditions of cattle selling at area sale barns featuring representatives of the beef slaughter industry.

Other locations of the clinics include: O'Neill, Nebraska - December 2, 2008 (Shamrock Livestock Market); Burwell, Nebraska - December 3, 2008 (Burwell Livestock Market); and Bridgeport, Nebraska - December 4, 2008 (Prairie Winds Community Center). Please pre-register at the site you plan to attend.