Extension Programs

Beef 101; College Station, Texas
December 3-5, 2024
Beef 101 is a three-day intensive hands-on program is offered three times a year at Texas A&M University. It is designed for anyone who has an interest in expanding their knowledge of the total beef industry. This is the leading education program for basic information about the beef industry provided anywhere in the U.S.

Learn more and register for Beef 101 here.
Contact: Davey Griffin, Ph.D.

The goal of Beef 706 is to teach cattle producers about the food side of their cattle business and how to utilize best management practices to improve beef quality and enhance profitability. Created in 1993, the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Beef 706 program invites ranchers, educators, and allied business people to register for the educational program. More information on the next workshop will be available soon.

Learn more about Beef 706 here.
Contact: Jason Cleere, Ph.D.

Ranch Raised Beef Conference; College Station, TX
This conference will explore the production and marketing of beef from the ranch. Grass finished and grain finished beef will be discussed during the two-day event.

Registration and details about the 2025 event will be available soon.
Contact: Jason Cleere, Ph.D.

Roswell, New Mexico
The Southwest Beef Symposium has been a long-standing educational program hosted in collaboration with NMSU Cooperative Extension and Texas A&M AgriLife. This two-day program allows producers to get caught up on the latest issues and innovations that can help them better navigate the ever-changing beef industry while keeping them up to date on information that can help them manage their operations. 2025 event information will be available soon.

Contact: Bruce Carpenter, Ph.D.

2025 Texas A&M Beef Cattle Short Course; College Station, TX
August 4-6, 2025
The Texas A&M Beef Cattle Short Course is a highly respected nationally and internationally recognized program. It is the largest attended beef cattle educational program of its kind in the United States, and is the focal point for beef cattle educational information.

Learn more at beefcattleshortcourse.com.
Contact: Jason Cleere, Ph.D.

Texas Beef Quality Assurance Training; Amarillo, Texas
December 3, 2024
The Texas Beef Quality Assurance Training Program is a collaborative effort of the Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association, Texas Beef Council, and Texas A&M AgriLife Extension. Beef Quality Assurance is a national effort to promote the use of sound management practices in increasing consumer confidence in beef as a safe, wholesome product. 

Learn more and register for upcoming Texas Beef Quality Producer programs.
Contact: Jason Smith, Ph.D.

Texas Beef Sustainability Summit; College Station, Texas
November 11-12, 2024
The Texas A&M Beef Cattle Sustainability Summit is a primer in sustainability topics related to the beef industry. This 2-day event will feature expert speakers from across the country and tours/demonstrations to showcase sustainability initiatives that impact global beef markets. We will introduce the drivers of climate-centric initiatives in the industry, what the relevant terms/metrics are and what they mean (i.e., what are SBTi’s, carbon markets, scope 1-3 emissions), current research and action being conducted to reduce beef’s climate footprint, and future projects that will facilitate the future of beef. Industry professionals, students, extension personnel, and cattle producers are welcome.

Learn more and register here.
Contact: Jacquelyn Prestegaard-Wilson, PhD

44 Farms-Texas A&M International Beef Cattle Academy is a Certification Program offered through AgriLife Extension, which consists of seven asynchronous online courses of approximately 30 hours each. The completion of six courses is required for certification. With a limited class size and online coursework taught by internationally renowned Texas A&M faculty and guest lecturers, the IBCA offers an exclusive and customized learning experience tailored to each participant’s educational and professional needs. 

Learn more about 44 Farms-Texas A&M International Beef Cattle Academy.
Contact: Ky Pohler, Ph.D.

Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Specialists and County Extension Agents offer comprehensive training programs for dairy farm personnel in both English and Spanish. These programs cover various crucial areas, including calving and newborn calf management, Beef Quality Assurance, down cow management, euthanasia, as well as dairy cow handling, and the safe movement of cattle.  

Contact: Juan Pineiro, Ph.D. or Jennifer Spencer, Ph.D.

The Dairy Outreach Program Area (DOPA) offers a specialized training for dairy farmers. Texas A&M AgriLife Extension is responsible for delivering these training courses in which participants receive Continuing Education Units, enabling them to fulfill the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality requirements.  

For more information and to register, contact:  Jennifer Spencer, Ph.D.

The objective of this producer-oriented conference is to bring together dairy farmers, allied industry professionals, and academics to discuss cutting-edge knowledge to support dairy farmers in the High Plains region of the U.S. Organized by a committee comprising Extension Specialists from Texas A&M AgriLife Extension, New Mexico State University, allied industry professionals, and dairy farmers, the High Plains Dairy Conference takes place in Amarillo, Texas, on even years.  Information for the 2025 event will be available at a later date.

Learn more here.
Contact: Juan Pineiro, Ph.D. or Jennifer Spencer, Ph.D.

Bovina, TX
Southwest Dairy Days (SWDD) is a prominent Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service program that gathers the dairy community on an educational field day. Its primary objectives are to give participants the opportunity to network and learn about new technologies and equipment dairy farmers could adopt on their farms. As the largest dairy educational field day in Texas, SWDD attracts approximately 500 participants annually, facilitating the adoption of cutting-edge knowledge in the industry.  Information for the 2024 event will be available soon.

Learn more about this free event here.
Contact: Juan Pineiro, Ph.D. or Jennifer Spencer, Ph.D.

U.S. Dairy Education and Training Consortium: Clovis, NM

The U.S. Dairy Education & Training Consortium (USDETC) formerly known as the Southern Great Plains Dairy Consortium is a multi-university organization established in 2008 to meet the educational and training needs of the rapidly expanding dairy industry in the U.S. The program is a unique partnership in collaboration and a pillar of U.S. dairy sustainability between academia, allied industries and dairy producers. Information about the 2025 event will be available soon.

Learn more about USDETC program here.
Contact: Michael Tomaszewski, Ph.D.

Prepare for those foals to be born with the Mare and Foal Online Workshop! Horse owners and managers learn about important topics for managing broodmares and foals. Content is developed and presented by industry experts with live demonstrations. 

Learn more and purchase access to the Mare and Foal Online Workshop here.
Contact: Chelsie Huseman, Ph.D.

The Beef Cattle Short Course offers a ranch horse program at the Hildebrand Equine Complex. Registration is included with the full Beef Cattle Short Course registration, or you can register for the Ranch Horse Program separately. More details about the 2025 program will be available soon.

Contact: Jennifer Zoller, Ph.D.

For over 40 years, the Texas AgriLife Extension, as part of the Texas A&M University System, has trained instructors to teach basic horsemanship skills to youth in various counties across Texas. The program has played a vital role in the improvement of riding abilities and general knowledge of the participants, advancing the leadership and communication skills of the instructors, and developing a network of positive relationships throughout the 254 counties in the state.

Learn more about the Summer Horsemanship School Program
Contact: Chelsie Huseman, Ph.D.

A comprehensive online course specifically designed for professionals, horse owners, and breeders seeking to enhance their expertise in training stallions to collect semen using an artificial vagina and phantom mount. This self-paced online course now includes an immersive virtual reality experience! Step into the roles of both the stallion handler and the AV technician, and gain firsthand insight into the collection process from multiple perspectives.

Participants will dive into the intricacies of training stallions from diverse backgrounds, benefiting from industry professionals’ practical knowledge and hands-on experience. By the end of the course, attendees will be proficient in introducing stallions to semen collection on a phantom, adjusting for stallion preferences, implementing proper biosecurity measures, and providing optimal nutrition for growing stallions.

Learn more and purchase training course here.
Contact: Chelsie Huseman, Ph.D.

This course is designed for youth and collegiate horse judging team members, their coaches, and anyone interested in learning more about horse judging. Learning objectives include understanding the rules for each class, applying the judging guidelines to each class, and learning to articulate placings during oral reasons. 

Learn more and purchase Online Horse Judging here.
Contact: Chelsie Huseman, Ph.D.

Texas A&M Equine Reproductive Management Short Course: January 15-17, 2025; College Station, TX
The Texas A&M Equine Reproductive Management Short Course is designed for owners and breeding managers who want to learn the most efficient methods for ensuring the success of their breeding programs. The three-day, in-person course takes place on the Texas A&M College Station campus and includes classroom sessions on anatomy and physiology of the mare and stallion, control of the estrous cycle, gestation and foaling, feeding the broodmare and young horse, and estrous cycle manipulation of mares. Hands-on laboratory activities are scheduled each day and include semen collection and evaluation, estrous detection, artificial insemination, body condition scoring, perineal conformation evaluation of the mare and foaling management. 

Learn more about the Texas A&M Equine Reproductive Management Short Course here.
Contact: Chelsie Huseman, Ph.D.

This online short course is for owners and breeding managers who want to learn the most efficient methods for ensuring the success of their breeding programs from the comfort of their own home, at their convenience. Live demonstrations and expert-led lectures extensively cover mare and stallion reproductive management.

Learn more and purchase the Texas A&M Equine Reproductive Management Short Course here.
Contact: Chelsie Huseman, Ph.D. or Jennifer Zoller, Ph.D.

The meat science section and the International HACCP Alliance offer several HACCP training courses throughout the year. Both introductory and advanced courses are available.

Check back for registration and information about upcoming HACCP courses.
Contact: Kerri Gehring, Ph.D. or Tiffany Walsingham

Produce safety growers training will provide food safety training for growers of fresh fruits and vegetables, and assist growers in complying with food safety requirements of the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act. Any Texas-located grower of fresh fruits and vegetables for human consumption wishing to learn more about how they can protect food safety in their crops should register for this two half-day virtual training. Training will be held virtually on Zoom.

Contact: Matthew Taylor, Ph.D.

Beef 101; College Station, Texas
December 3-5, 2024
Beef 101 is a three-day intensive hands-on program is offered three times a year at Texas A&M University. It is designed for anyone who has an interest in expanding their knowledge of the total beef industry. This is the leading education program for basic information about the beef industry provided anywhere in the U.S.

Learn more and register for Beef 101 here.
Contact: Davey Griffin, Ph.D.

The goal of Beef 706 is to teach cattle producers about the food side of their cattle business and how to utilize best management practices to improve beef quality and enhance profitability. Created in 1993, the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Beef 706 program invites ranchers, educators, and allied business people to register for the educational program.

Learn more about Beef 706 here.
Contact: Jason Cleere, Ph.D.

Creative Sausage Making was developed by the processed meats experts at Texas A&M AgriLife after numerous requests for a basic sausage course that would allow a “first timer” to be successful or a “seasoned” veteran to pick up some new tips. The hands-on workshop will engage participants in important aspects of sausage making, from meat selection, ingredients, casings, stuffing, equipment, processing, and final finished product. Participants will manufacture their own sausages (smoked and fresh sausage) and have an opportunity to take some home for further evaluation. Information on the 2025 event will be available soon.

Contact: Davey Griffin, Ph.D.

The meat science section and the International HACCP Alliance offer several HACCP training courses throughout the year. Both introductory and advanced courses are available.

Check back for registration and information about upcoming HACCP courses.
Contact: Kerri Gehring, Ph.D. or Tiffany Walsingham

Pork 101 is a three-day, hands-on experience designed to update participants on quality and consistency issues in the pork industry. The course includes insight on value differences in swine, pork carcasses, pork primals and processed pork products due to quality variation. Participants will have the chance to evaluate eight live hogs, which will be processed during the class with participants learning about grading, food safety and product processing. The class will make and sample processed product from the hogs including pumped loins, bacon, hams and sausage.

Information and registration details for upcoming Pork 101 events coming soon.
Contact: Davey Griffin, Ph.D.

This program is a collaborative effort with Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Texas Sheep and Goat Predator Management Board.  The program offers educational outreach to increase and enhance the use of livestock guardian dogs to prevent predation of sheep and goats.  This program offers social media outreach, field days, monthly blogs, and demonstration research. 

Learn more about the program on the San Angelo Extension Center Website.
Contact: Bill Costanzo

This unique sheep and goat event provides producers and other interested persons the opportunity to attend educational presentations.  The speakers are experts in the industry. This program meets the needs of a very diverse sheep and goat industry.

The event draws producers from across Texas, out of state, and as far away as Australia. It is the largest event of its type in Texas and one of the largest sheep and goat industry educational programs in the world. More information about the 2025 event will be available soon.

Contact: Robert Pritz, Regional Program Leader

This event is free to attend and registration is onsite only the day of the event. It is a great opportunity to see the latest research related to sheep and goats being conducted by AgriLife Research. More information about the 2025 event will be available soon.

Contact: Robert Pritz, Regional Program Leader

Sheep and Goat Pregnancy Ultrasound School: December 16-17, 2024; San Angelo, TX
Held annually, this workshop will cover why and how to use ultrasound to detect pregnancy in small ruminants or beef cattle . We will demonstrate equipment and teach students to determine age of pregnancy and litter size.

Learn more and apply for the Sheep and Goat Pregnancy Ultrasound School here. Applications accepted until October 1, 2024.
Contact: Jake Thorne, Ph.D.

This online course provides an educational foundation for farmers and ranchers to get started in the sheep and goat industry.  The course is composed of 12 short-instructional videos that individuals can watch at their discretion.

Purchase the Sheep and Goat Ranching 101 Online Course through AgriLife Learn.
Contact: Jake Thorne, Ph.D.

Sheep Shearing School: February 18-21, 2025; San Angelo, TX
Annually, the team hosts multi-day schools that educate individuals about how to shear sheep. These are hands-on schools that train individuals to become proficient in these services. 

Learn more about  Sheep Shearing School here.
Contact: Jake Thorne, Ph.D.

Pork 101 is a three-day, hands-on experience designed to update participants on quality and consistency issues in the pork industry. The course includes insight on value differences in swine, pork carcasses, pork primals and processed pork products due to quality variation. Participants will have the chance to evaluate eight live hogs, which will be processed during the class with participants learning about grading, food safety and product processing. The class will make and sample processed product from the hogs including pumped loins, bacon, hams and sausage..
 
Contact: Davey Griffin, Ph.D.

Pork Quality Assurance (PQA) is the swine industry’s commitment to producing safe, nutritious, and quality pork. Swine producers who certify in PQA are dedicated to continuously improving their production practices across multiple areas of production, including food safety, animal well-being, environmental stewardship, worker safety, and public health and community. Individuals may become certified through an education program. Farms can also receive PQA site status through an on-farm site assessment. 
 
Contact: Jeff Wiegert, Ph.D.

SowBridge is a virtual learning program dedicated to the swine breeding herd. Individuals who work in breeding and gestation units, gilt development, or farrowing barns can expect to improve their knowledge of important topics and improve productivity of their herds. SowBridge is coordinated through the Iowa Pork Industry Center and is provided through a cooperative effort of 15 colleges of universities from the major swine producing states, including Texas A&M University. 
 
Learn more about the SowBridge program.
Contact: Jeff Wiegert, Ph.D.

August 3-4, 2024: College Station, TX

The Texas A&M Beef Cattle Short Course is offering a veterinarian program that can earn participants up to 32 hours of continuing education credits. The program is included with the full Texas A&M Beef Cattle Short Course registration. Additional registration options are also available. 

Learn about the veterinarian program at Beef Cattle Short Course here.
Contact: Thomas Hairgrove, Ph.D.

The Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service Veterinary Science Certificate Program, VSCP, hosts events for a range of audiences with an interest in veterinary science including students, AgriLife Extension county agents, ag science teachers/FFA advisors and more.

Learn about the VSCP program and upcoming events here.
Contact: Nikki Boutwell or David Sessum