Projects & Results
Extension Animal Science and Natural Resources is involved in several projects, including research, sales, and much more.
Tucumcari Bull Test
The Tucumcari Bull Test is jointly sponsored by the New Mexico Beef Cattle Performance Association (NMBCPA), the Cooperative Extension Service, and the Agricultural Experiment Station of New Mexico State University. Objectives of the test are:
to compare gainability and feed conversion of bulls, and their sires;
to encourage herd improvement through the use of performance tested bulls; and
to demonstrate relationships among the production traits measured, in order to develop better methods of selection.
Bulls are delivered to the facility located at the Agricultural Science Center at Tucumcari in October, are placed on a 22-day warmup ration, then fed on official test for 112 days. Qualifying bulls are then offered at auction on the third Friday of March. To review the complete Operations Manual for the test click on the Tucumcari Bull Test and Heifer Development Website link below.
Heifer Development Program Available pens at the test facility are available to producers for a Heifer Development Program. The objective of the program is to feed heifers to the target weights that are deemed to be appropriate for heifers to be bred as yearlings to calve first at two years of age. For further information, click on the Tucumcari Bull Test and Heifer Development Website link below.
NMSU Purebred Cattle Program & Sale
The department of Animal and Range Sciences maintains three purebred cattle herds for the purpose of teaching, research, and demonstration.
The Angus herd was initiated in 1979. The majority of this herd is maintained at the Corona Range and Livestock Research Center (CRLRC) in central New Mexico with the remainder of the herd being maintained at the Chihuahuan Desert Rangeland Research Center (CDRRC) near Las Cruces.
The Brangus herd which was initiated in 1966 and the Brahman herd which was initiated in 1999 are maintained at the CDRRC. All mature cows in these herds are managed as range cattle with limited supplementation and assistance at calving.
Breeding season for the mature cows in the Angus herd at the CRLRC begins in June and involves estrus synchronization and artificial insemination followed by a 45-day clean-up period. Breeding season or the mature cows at the CDRRC involves natural service mating from May 1 — August 1.
All heifers from these herds are developed, estrus synchronized, and artificially inseminated on the NMSU campus each spring before being placed with clean-up bulls at the research centers. The heifers that become pregnant from this management system return to the NMSU campus to have their first calf under the assistance and observation of the students within the Department of Animal and Range Sciences. All open yearling heifers in the Angus and Brangus herds are culled.
Heifers and bulls from the program are made available through a spring auction held each year (Saturday, April 23, 2005). For additional information call Milt Thomas (505-646-3427) or Neil Burcham (505-646-2309).
Extension Dairy Program
The dairy industry is the largest agricultural industry in New Mexico. In 2001 cash receipts for dairy products were $807 million, which represented 48% of livestock products and 37% of all cash receipts generated from agricultural commodities. Since 1990, milk production in New Mexico has increased more than 375%. There are more than 315,000 dairy cows in the state on 178 dairy farms. The average cow in New Mexico produces 21,124 lbs of milk per year (that’s more than 2,450 gallons). Dairies in New Mexico produced more than 6,316,000,000 lbs of milk in 2002. The estimated impact of dairies on the New Mexico economy is more than $2.1 billion a year.
The New Mexico State University Dairy Extension Program is dedicated to providing technical assistance to the states dairy farmers, research into the problems unique to dairying in the Southwest, and educational opportunities for students interested in dairy science.
Selected Files and Reports
New Mexico Ranch to Rail Program
The New Mexico Ranch to Rail program is a system that allows cattle producers to learn more about their calf crop and the factors that influence value beyond the weaned calf phase of beef production.
The program is not a contest to compare breeds or breeders, but provides a format for information exchange between the cow-calf, feeder and packer segments of the industry. Steer calves from the current production year are delivered to a commercial feedlot, processed, and placed on feed. Each steer is assigned a value on arrival at the feedlot. Calves are harvested when they reach the weight and condition regarded as acceptable for the industry and market conditions. Cattle are sold on a carcass basis with premiums and discounts for various quality grades, yield grades and carcass weights. Carcass information, as well as gain and health information is gathered and reported to the cooperator. Cattle in the New Mexico Ranch to Rail program are fed at Double A Feeders in Clayton, New Mexico.
For complete rules and details of the program, click on the link below. Persons interested in consigning cattle to the program should contact:
Dr. Manny Encinias, Ranch to Rail Coordinator
Clayton Livestock Research Center
Mailing Address: 15 NMSU Lane, Clayton, NM 88415
Phone: 505-374-2566
E-mail: mencinia@nmsu.edu
HorseQuest
Visit eXtension's first national web site - HorseQuest.
Jason Turner, Assistant Professor, Extension Horse Specialist, has been involved with HorseQuest since January 2005 and Jeff Bader Jeff, Bernalillo County Program Director, has been on board since September 2005. Turner is a committee chair for content development and Bader serves is on the committee. They are actively involved in the national eXtension Horse Community of Practice working on the HorseQuest Project.