Speakers
Marta Kohmann
University of Wisconsin-Madision, Assistant Professor
Marta Kohmann grew up near her family farm, where cattle grazing (both dairy and beef) were important parts of the production system. This early life exposure to agriculture inspired her to work on her graduate degree in forage management. Marta is passionate about grazing, and has worked investigating management practices to maximize animal performance, forage production and nutritive value, and nutrient cycling.
Joseph Lensing
Iowa State University Extension and Outreach, NE Iowa Farm Management Specialist
I grew up in NE Iowa on a hobby beef and row crop operation. I attended Upper Iowa University and studied agriculture business and marketing which led me into the agronomy and finance fields prior to ISU Extension. I now have the pleasure of tying my personal and professional experiences into one with my role as a farm management specialist.
Erika Lundy-Woolfolk
Iowa State University Extension and Outreach, Beef Specialist
Erika Lundy-Woolfolk serves as the Extension Beef Specialist at Iowa State University covering Southwest Iowa. In her role, Erika’s integrated research and outreach programs are focused on helping Iowa cattlemen enhance forage management, improve efficiency in the feedlot, and progress cow-calf production. Alongside her family, Erika, her husband, Matt, and their two children manage their commercial and seedstock cow-calf operation.
Josh McCann
University of Illinois, Associate Professor
Josh McCann grew up in the southeast on a small family farm. He obtained a B.S. in animal and food science at Texas Tech University, followed by a M.S. in animal science at Texas A&M University, and a Ph.D. at the University of Illinois. Dr. McCann’s research centers on the influence of nutrition on metabolism and subsequent efficiency and performance of feedlot cattle. We are striving to understand the interplay between nutrition, the rumen microbiome, and gastrointestinal epithelium, to connect this fundamental information to applied advances in the feedlot. His research goal is to leverage new nutritional insights to improve the efficiency, sustainability, and profitability of feedlot cattle operations.
Derrell Peel
Oklahoma State University, Professor
Derrell S. Peel is the Extension Livestock Marketing Specialist at Oklahoma State University. He holds the Charles Breedlove Professorship of Agribusiness in the Department of Agricultural Economics. He specializes in livestock production/marketing, market situation and outlook and marketing/risk management education.
Mark Renz
University of Wisconsin-Madison, Professor and Extension Specialist
Mark Renz (PhD) is a professor and extension weed specialist with the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Dr. Renz researches and extends information about the biology and management of weeds in perennial cropping systems and natural areas. . Mark has over 20 years of experience conducting weed management research throughout the United States, and has enjoyed the last ten years working in Wisconsin. Current efforts have focused on weed management in alfalfa and in pasture-based systems.
Troy Rowan
University of Tennessee, Assistant Professor and State Extension Specialist
Troy Rowan is an Assistant Professor and State Extension Specialist at the University of Tennessee’s Department of Animal Science. Troy grew up in Bedford, Iowa on a small seedstock Charolais operation. He joined the faculty at UT in January of 2021, where his research uses genomics to understand and predict economically important traits in beef cattle. He is particularly interested in studying cow efficiency, local adaptation, heterosis, and beef cattle sustainability. Troy’s extension work supports the Tennessee Master Beef Producer Program and other national organizations, including the Beef Improvement Federation, NCBA, and the US Roundtable for Sustainable Beef.
Denise Schwab
Iowa State University Extension and Outreach, Beef Specialist
Denise is the beef specialist for northeast Iowa. She received her bachelors and masters degrees from ISU, and has worked for ISU Extension for 41 years.
Dan Shike
University of Illinois, Professor
Dan Shike is a Professor in Beef Cow/Calf Nutrition and Management at the University of Illinois. Dan’s research focuses on identifying nutritional strategies and management practices that improve efficiency, reproduction and profitability in beef cow/calf production. His research areas include grazing management, utilization of crop residue and cover crops, alternative cow housing, creep feeding and weaning strategies, heifer development, and developmental programming.