Dairy Beef Short Course

The I-29 Moo University 2023 Dairy Webinar Series continues Tuesday, Oct. 31 from 12 noon to 1 p.m. CDT. The webinar will feature “KeepOrBeef,” a new app from Dairy Records Management Systems (DRMS). 

Greg Palas, manager of DRMS support services at Iowa State University, will lead a discussion and demonstration of how the program can be accessed and used by dairy producers. 

“Greg has been with the DHI [Dairy Herd Improvement] processing center for over 40 years and works with dairy producers and consultants all over the country,” said Fred Hall, dairy specialist with Iowa State University Extension and Outreach. “DRMS is the largest DHI processing center in the country and provides service to over 11,000 herds and over 2 million cows.” 

According to Palas, the “KeepOrBeef” Decision Aid is designed to help producers determine if a cow should be retained, bred or replaced. It uses individual cow genetic information and performance data, coupled with milk price, replacement cost, value of a dairy replacement versus a dairy male or the value of a dairy beef cross, to predict each cow’s future performance and economic values for replacement and mating decision. 

“KeepOrBeef” assigns an economic value to the cow and a value to each of the three potential mating sire choices; sexed dairy semen, conventional dairy semen, or beef semen.  

“You won’t want to miss this opportunity to learn from Greg Palas,” Hall said.

There is no fee to participate in the webinar; however, registration is required at least one hour before the webinar. Register online at https://go.iastate.edu/6WBAHK.

For more information, contact: in Iowa, Fred M. Hall, 712-737-4230; in Minnesota, Jim Salfer, 320-203-6093; or in South Dakota, Patricia Villamediana, 605-688-4116.