Beef producers are encountering plenty of challenges—soaring feed and fuel costs, too much rain in some areas, and not enough in others. Each challenge is making managing costs of production that much more important.

The upcoming K-State Beef Conference, this year titled "Managing Annual Cow Costs," will address many of the management topics critical to producers, said Larry Hollis, veterinarian with Kansas State University Research and Extension and conference coordinator.

The conference will be in Frick Auditorium at K-State´s College of Veterinary Medicine. It will begin August 7 with registration at 9 a.m. and end August 8 at noon.

The keynote speaker for the event will be Barry Dunn of the King Ranch Institute for Ranch Management, Texas A&M University, Kingsville, Texas.

Presentation topics at the conference will include cow economics in the ethanol era, land and pasture costs, summer and winter grazing systems, alternative forages, by-product feeding options, supplementation strategies, pasture evaluation, and cow herd management strategies.

More information about the conference is available by accessing the K-State Department of Animal Sciences and Industry Web site at www.asi.ksu.edu or by getting in touch with Larry Hollis at lhollis@ksu.edu or 787-537-0915 or by contacting Linda Siebold at lsiebold@ksu.edu or 785-532-1281.