Gathered in a sea of jeans and wide-brimmed hats, farmers and ranchers attended the Beef Cattle Short Course on Monday.
In its 60th year, the BCSC has helped farmers and ranchers from Texas and other states learn about new technology in ranching and land management along with seminars discussing cattle production, forage and nutrition management, cattle breeding and issues that affect landowners.
The courses were developed by the Department of Animal Science and the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service, said Dr. Jason Cleere, coordinator of the BCSC in an introduction of the seminar “Lessons from the past with an eye on the future.”
Throughout the three-day program, faculty from across the Texas A&M system will attend as guest speakers. Former Aggie football head coach R.C. Slocum spoke Monday about the similarities between ranching and football.
“You shouldn’t get into either one of coaching or agriculture, if you plan on making a whole lot of money.” Slocum said. “You do it because it’s something you really enjoy doing and you can’t put a price tag on that.”
Tony Colwell, an attendee of five years, said he and his wife wanted to improve their land management skills and learn how to better restock the cow-calf production at their ranch.
“This is an incredible event,” Colwell said. “This is my third year coming to this event. There’s a lot of great information for farmers and ranchers.”