Aimee Wertz-Lutz, IBC director column
Aimee Wertz-Lutz, IBC director, writes this monthly column featured in Iowa Cattleman Magazine.
July 2026
Join the Iowa Beef Center this fall for Cyclone Cattle Feeder Days
Shifting cattle markets and inventories, geopolitical events, and the emergence of foreign animal disease continuously result in challenges to cattle feeding operations. Whether the challenge an operation faces is the high cost of placements or difficulty finding them, the impact of a closed border or the market concern if the border were to re-open, or geo-political impacts on fertilizer costs and the impact it has on the value of manure, seeking solutions in this ever-changing world of challenges can lead to long-term operational growth.
Routine evaluation of the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats to an operation can lead to outcomes that can be used strategically for operational growth or resilience to emerging threats. Understanding the strengths and weaknesses of an operation is valuable to quickly capitalize on opportunities when they present themselves. Depending on the outcomes of a strategic planning session, growth may not simply mean expansion.
It might instead mean the use of an emerging growth-promoting technology, capitalizing on the value of manure or labor savings that comes with an autonomous feeding system or bunk-monitoring equipment, or using electronic data capture and predictive equations to make management decisions.
While there are endless areas to explore in the rapidly expanding world of technology, beginning to understand what is available and how it can be leveraged to capitalize on a strength, overcome a weakness, engage an opportunity, or resist a threat is the first step to success.
The Iowa Beef Center feedlot team recognizes the value of exploring emerging technology within a strategic mindset. This fall (August 24-27, 2026) IBC will be hosting CYCLONE CATTLE FEEDER DAYS, a meeting series around the state of Iowa that will delve into these topics. These meetings will be held in Carroll, Jones, Mitchell, and Sioux Counties.
The morning session will begin with attendees reflecting on strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats to their own operation, and through that lens evaluate protecting margins with risk management and optimizing manure value as fertilizer with Dr. Dan Andersen.
Following lunch, there will be an opportunity to engage with meeting sponsors regarding their technology.
The afternoon session will explore technology opportunities and applications for feedyards, as well as a research update provided by Drs. Stephanie Hansen and Dathan Smerchek that will discuss diet and management practices to improve cattle resilience to stress. The afternoon will conclude with David Trowbridge discussing how Gregory Feedyard has integrated data tracking and is utilizing the resulting data to advance cattle feeding.
We would like to thank Balance4Ward, C-Lock, Elanco Animal Health, Performance Livestock Analytics, and Iowa Beef Checkoff for their support and participation in this meeting, as well as various county Cattleman’s Associations for grilling lunch. We are excited to bring this program to the State of Iowa and hope that you will join us at one of the locations. More details about locations, program, and registration can be found at the link below. https://www.iowabeefcenter.org/events/CycloneCattleFeeders2026.html.
The IBC at Iowa State University serves as the university’s extension program to cattle producers. Our center comprises a team of faculty and staff from the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, the College of Veterinary Medicine and Iowa State University Extension and Outreach. We work together to develop and deliver the latest in research-based information to improve the profitability and vitality of Iowa’s beef industry. If you’d like to be notified of updates on progress of research projects or programs that might be coming to your area, please subscribe to our “Growing Beef” newsletter by following the link on our website, www.iowabeefcenter.org. If you have a question, use our “Ask our Experts” link. Also, feel free to call us at 515-294-BEEF or email us at beefcenter@iastate.edu. You can follow @iowabeefcenter on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram.
