The University of Kentucky College of Agriculture and the Kentucky Cattlemen's Association will offer the inaugural Beef Bash, a unique field day for Kentucky beef cattle producers, on Sept. 23 at the UK Research and Education Center in Princeton.

Kentucky has the largest inventory of beef cattle east of the Mississippi River, and small commercial cow-calf operations can be found in almost every rural area in the state. Research and outreach efforts such as the Beef Bash are an important means of providing up-to-date information to cattle producers, said Roy Burris, extension beef specialist.

"With the Beef Bash, we hope to offer a different type of field day that features more hands-on opportunities and more live cattle exhibits than the typical field day," Burris said.

These hands-on demonstrations will give participants an up-close look at timely topics such as rotational grazing systems, estrus synchronization in cow herds, bull selection, alternative feed options, pasture weed management and choosing cost-effective fertilizers for pastures.

Burris notes that the Beef Bash will feature meaningful beef cattle research that is practical for Kentucky cow herds and will also have more than 30 commercial exhibitors featuring new beef cattle related products.

Dave Maples, executive vice president of the Kentucky Cattlemen's Association, agrees that the field day will be a great opportunity for beef producers to visit the UK beef research station and talk with the researchers and fellow cattlemen about our industry.

"It is going to be very important to be as efficient as possible with today's high input costs. This will be a great chance to pick up some new ideas," Maples said.

Registration begins at 12 noon with field exhibits with demonstrations beginning at 1 p.m. CDT. Participants may purchase a meal the day of the event. No preregistration is required.

The UK Research and Education Center is on Kentucky 91 South, 1.5 miles southeast of the Caldwell County Courthouse in Princeton.

For more information contact Roy Burris at 270-365-7541, ext 208, e-mail rburris@uky.edu or a local UK Cooperative Extension Service office. The event's Web site, http://ces.ca.uky.edu/beefirm/bash/, contains more detailed information on exhibits and demonstrations.