ST. JAMES, Mo. – Cattle producers are invited to attend a field day at the Mingo Farm in St. James to learn how to use natural shade to improve their beef operation.

The field day begins at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday, June 13, at the Mingo cow-calf operation, 25385 County Road 1000, St. James. University of Missouri Extension, MU Center for Agroforestry and MU College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources sponsor the event.

MU Extension specialists will tell how owner Brian Tomazi uses shade to improve cow comfort and increase profits. Specialists give a tour and discuss rotational grazing, equipment and portable breeding barns. They will explain how Tomazi manages timber, forages and livestock in an integrated system.

Over the years, Tomazi thinned hardwood trees at the edge of grazing paddocks and moved fences back to take advantage of the additional grazing area. This gives cows a place to cool before going back to the pasture to graze again or calve.

MU researchers found that access to shade improves weight gains for calves. Reducing heat stress also significantly improves pregnancy rates.

Other speakers include forage physiologist Harley Neumann; state extension beef specialist Eric Bailey; Dusty Walter, director of natural resource management for the Missouri Agricultural Experiment Station; extension livestock specialist Ted Cunningham; and extension agronomy specialist Lindsey Hethcote.

Reservations are due June 11. Send a $10 check payable to MU Extension in Crawford County, P.O. Box 190, Steelville, MO 65565, or call the extension center at 573-775-2135. For more information, you may also contact Gregory Ormsby Mori at 573-882-9866 or ormsbyg@missouri.edu.