The Kansas Livestock Association (KLA) and Kansas State University will celebrate their 50th ranch management field day in the ongoing series August 15 at Bar F Farms near Larned. The field days started in 1997 at the Bluff Creek Ranch near Ashland and have continued for nearly 20 years, with ranchers all across the state opening their gates for tours and educational sessions on various industry topics.
Another constant through the years has been sponsors. Bayer Healthcare - Animal Health Division will be recognized at this year’s events for being co-sponsors of all 52 field days. Farm Credit Associations of Kansas also will be honored for being long-time sponsors. The August 15 field day site is just a few miles from the land that served as collateral for the nation’s first Federal Land Bank loan, made in 1917.
Bar F Farms is owned by the Froetschner family and located at what used to be Alfalfa Lawn Farms, the registered Polled Hereford showplace owned by Joe and Walter Lewis. Today, the multi-generation Froetschner family operation is a diversified farming and cattle business.
A presentation on the purpose and status of the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef (USRSB) will highlight the field day at Bar F. KLA Feedlot Division Executive Director and Co-Chair of USRSB Clayton Huseman and White City rancher and USRSB member Debbie Lyons-Blythe will explain the goals and objectives of the group, which include the establishment of sustainability indicators, developing methods to verify sustainable beef and generating field projects that prove sustainability concepts.
Keith Crow, a certified appraiser with CoBank, will be on hand to discuss recent trends in agriculture land values, which have increased significantly over the last 10 years. While the increase has boosted the net worth for landowners, it has made it more difficult for producers to expand. Crow will provide a look back at changes in land values in central Kansas and explain what factors may cause fluctuations in the next 10 years.
Field day attendees also will see a live cattle handling demonstration using low-stress techniques. K-State Extension Beef Specialist Justin Waggoner will focus on the principle of applying the appropriate pressure and adjusting as needed according to animal response. Options, such as a “Bud Box,” for handling facilities also will be discussed.
The Aug. 15, field day will begin with registration at 4 p.m. and conclude with a free beef dinner at 6:45 p.m. All livestock producers and others involved in the business are invited to attend.
Bar F Farms is located just west of Larned in Pawnee County. From Larned, go 1.7 miles southwest on Highway 56 from the Broadway Street and Highway 56 intersection on the south edge of town. At L Road, go 2.5 miles west to the field day site. If coming from the west on Highway 156, go south 2 miles on 160th Avenue from Highway 156 on the west side of Larned to L Road. Go 8/10 of a mile east on L Road to the field day site. Directional signs will be posted.
Bertrand Cattle Co. near Wallace will host the second KLA/K-State ranch field day Aug. 16. Moyer Ranch of Junction City will be the site of the final field day Aug. 18. Bayer HealthCare - Animal Health Division and the Farm Credit Associations of Kansas are sponsoring all three field days. For more information, go to www.kla.org or call the KLA office at (785) 273-5115.
KLA is a trade organization representing the business interests of independent beef producers at the state and national levels. Members of the association are involved in all segments of the livestock industry, including cow-calf production, backgrounding, cattle feeding, swine, dairy and sheep.