06/24/2025
A great opportunity for beef producers.
Important message from Dr. John Currin 🚨
I would like to personally invite everyone to attend Beef Cattle University (BCU) this July 21-23 in Blacksburg. This will be our second year having this meeting. Last year we got very positive reviews from attendees and vendors alike. This meeting is a joint venture between Virginia Cooperative Extension (VCE), Virginia Cattlemen’s Association (VCA), and Virginia Tech. The goal is to provide a meeting that will benefit every cattle owner in the state of Virginia from the smallest owner of cattle to professional cattlemen and cattlewomen. The format is a keynote speaker each day followed by a large selection of breakout sections that allow producers to choose those topics they want to learn about. These topics include nutrition, forages, cow-calf production, stocker production, business management, and a host of others. In addition to the talks - a variety of tours and workshops are also available to choose from.
Speakers consist of nationally known individuals such as Dr. Brad White, Amanda Radke, Josh Maples, as well specialist in their fields from all over the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic to ensure the information you are being provided is accurate and relevant to your operation.
There is a lot more to a good meeting than just educational talks and labs. There will be 30+ vendors covering a wide variety of farm products for you to visit. There will also be plenty of good food for everyone to enjoy. The prime rib supper cooked by VCA’s own president Mike Carpenter is sure to be a big hit. The meals, happy hour, and other free time will give everyone plenty of time to network with the speakers and other producers. Everyone knows that some of the best knowledge gained at a meeting is from talking to other farmers a good meal.
You may be asking, how much does all of this cost? Thanks to a significant grant from the Virginia Cattle Industry Board and our generous sponsors, we are able to keep registration costs down to $175 per person. This includes all the meals, talks, and workshops. For lodging the Virginia Tech Inn has a special rate of $155. I realize this is still a significant amount of money to spend. Lisa McCormick, the person who does all the work behind the scenes, has worked with NCBA to get this meeting qualified for their Ranchers Resilience Grant. This grant will cover all costs associated with attending (including registration, lodging, and travel) for anyone who wishes to attend BCU. Lisa and I are really proud of the fact that we can offer the opportunity for anyone to attend and finances will not be an obstacle for attendees. It does require a little bit of paperwork to fill out, but Lisa is available for anyone who needs help with this.
If you want to learn more about Virginia Beef Cattle University, you can visit the website at www.vabeefcattleu.com, or contact myself or Lisa through our emails [email protected] , [email protected].
Thank you,
Dr. John Currin
Extension Veterinarian, VA-MD College of Veterinary Medicine
