Note: This site is for reviewing legacy plan of work data from 2007-2011. If you are looking for the current plan of work interface, visit pow.nmsu.edu.

Applied Reproductive Management for Cattle

Plan Goal

Provide outreach opportunities to extension personnel and Southwest beef producers to improve practical skills and knowledge of methods to improve reproductive performance and efficiency in beef cattle.

Situation Statement

Target Audience and Actions

The target audience will consist of more than 8000 beef cattle producers from throughout New Mexico, the Panhandle Region of Oklahoma and Texas, Southern Colorado, and Western Arizona, as well as county and tribal agricultural agents from New Mexico State University, Texas A&M University, Colorado State University, and the University of Arizona. A coordinated effort at the local-level, initiated by county and tribal extension personnel, will ensure objectives of the Applied Reproductive Management for Beef Cattle Program are achieved, and of educational benefit to Southwest beef producers. Level of educational instruction (i.e. introductory, intermediate, or advanced) in this program will be defined by local (county/tribal) extension personnel. In cooperation with local extension personnel, the specialist responsible for this program will develop an appropriate time-line to achieve the objectives at the local level. When appropriate, outreach efforts will be conducted as a regional or state-wide effort. Local extension personnel will assist in the development of curriculum, coordinate facilities and/or livestock, and participate in the delivery of the program. Practical procedures and techniques in the area of reproductive management will be presented in a hands-on learning environment by specialists’ and extension personnel during each outreach effort. Replicated-research and/or demonstration projects will be used to initiate further interest from beef cattle producers and extension personnel in the program. Results and observations from research and demonstration projects will be summarized and appropriately produced into useable and easily accessible outreach materials for Southwest beef producers and extension personnel. Furthermore, this information will be presented at future local, regional, or statewide beef programs coordinated by extension personnel, including, but not limited to, the Southwest Beef Symposium, Cattlemen’s College, Cattle Growers’ Short Course, San Juan Basin Beef Seminar, and the NM Ag Expo. Extension personnel and beef producers engaged in the Reproductive Performance of Beef Cattle Program will: 1) comprehend the economic significance of maximizing reproductive efficiency in Southwest beef production systems, 2) obtain practical skills (i.e. artificial insemination, pregnancy diagnosis, and data collection and management) necessary to carry out applied reproductive procedures in beef cattle, and 3) be engaged in a topic-specific circle of continued learning through future workshops and topic-specific updates (i.e. technique or product development, research updates, and upcoming outreach efforts, etc.) pertaining to applied reproductive management in beef cattle.

Short-Term Objectives

Increase the applied, practical skills and continued learning in 25% of the county and tribal agriculture/4-H agents by conducting hands-on instructional workshops in which agents obtain a level of understanding to comfortably communicate tools that can be used to improve reproductive performance and efficiency of beef cattle to local and regional beef cattle producers.

Increase the number of educational materials and resources produced to address specific topics in applied reproductive management that are pertinent to Southwest beef cattle operations, as well as enhance the promotion and accessibility of topic-specific information via web-based learning routes.

Medium-Term Objectives

Improve the applied, practical skills and continued learning of 3% of statewide beef producers in applied reproductive management through hands-on instructional workshops to a level of comfort that learned skills can be implemented on Southwest beef cattle operations.

Improve in-herd data collection and management skills of beef producers participating in program area to assist in critical management decisions and measure cost-effectiveness of techniques and procedures implemented as a result of outreach efforts in the program area.

Long-Term Objectives

Ensure all county and tribal extensional personnel in the specialists’ serving area have the necessary practical skills, tools, and understanding of applied reproductive management systems for beef cattle to effectively communicate the subject matter to Southwest beef producers within their service area.

Evaluation Plan

Throughout the course of the planned program, specialists’ will construct formal evaluations at the conclusion of each workshop/seminar to measure the usefulness of the information presented. Specialists’ will use the results of the evaluations to make adjustments to future workshops/seminars in the program area.