The Iowa Beef Center will once again be hosting the popular Feedlot Short Course on July 29 – 31, 2025 in Ames, Iowa at the Hansen Agriculture Student Learning Center on the Iowa State University campus. This 3-day course was created with today’s feed producer in mind with the goal of optimizing participant learning through exposure to new technology, research and best management practices.

In the 6 years that the course has been offered with limited number of spots available annually, this course has reached 170 participants from 12 states and 3 countries representing 12 million head of cattle. As a result of attending the Feedlot Short Course, past participants have noted a median return per head of $7.50, resulting in an estimated $90.225 million benefit to the feedlot industry in Iowa and across the country.

To best provide technical and practical information in real-world settings, the course utilizes a mix of hands-on and classroom discussions in a small group setting. Content-specific portions of the short course will be held at the Iowa State Beef Nutrition Farm near Ames and Provision Cattle Company near Nevada.

Topics include:

• Bunk management and the basics of starting cattle on feed.
• Feed mixing demonstration and evaluation.
• Managing and identifying lameness issues.
• Chute side management tips.
• Optimizing cattle health in the feedyard.

Presenters include:

• Garland Dahlke, associate scientist, Iowa Beef Center, Iowa State University.
• Terry Engelken, associate professor, Veterinary Diagnostic and Production Animal Medicine, Iowa State University.
• Dan Loy, former director of the Iowa Beef Center and extension beef feedlot specialist, Iowa State University
• Erika Lundy-Woolfolk, beef specialist with ISU Extension and Outreach.
• Robbi Pritchard, feedlot consultant, Aurora, South Dakota.
• AJ Tarpoff, associate professor and beef extension veterinarian, Kansas State University.

The program runs from 12:30 p.m. on Tuesday, July 29 through noon on Thursday, July 31. The registration deadline is midnight, Friday, July 18, or when the course limit of 30 is reached. All registrations must be made online.