Three new heifers will star in a class modeled after the popular sheep management course in which students help birth lambs
The young Charolais acclimate quickly to their new home at UMD.
Image Credit: Jonathan Stephanoff
When the trailer door was opened on June 9, 2022, three white heifers slowly strolled out onto the field in their new home and began munching on nearby grass. It was a calm finish to an event Racheal Slattery, ANSC Beef and Dairy Coordinator, and others have been working towards for months.
The three heifers were born in October of 2021, and are a generous gift to the Department of Animal and Avian Sciences from Robert and Judy Tibbs of Harford County, Maryland.
"I am very thankful to Shadow Springs Farm for their very generous gift,” Slattery said. “I absolutely cannot wait for class to start. I know the students are going to really enjoy working with them."
As new additions to the UMD herd, the heifers will join three Wye Angus/Holstein cross-breed heifers to make up the foundation of a new Beef Management/Calf Watch class that Slattery is developing for the Fall 2023 semester. In 2023, the heifers will be brought to the campus farm at end of their pregnancies, and through the month of October, students will keep a round-the-clock watch to ensure healthy births. The class is modeled after ANSC245, Sheep Management/Lamb Watch, which is extremely popular on campus.
The new Beef Management course will give students hands-on experience with cattle and train them to help producers, particularly with spring calving. The herd will also be part of hands-on Extension workshops and training for beef producers.
The new heifers are Charolais, an all-white beef breed that originated in France and is characterized by a large, muscular physique and pink nose. Until the class begins, the three Charolais and three Angus that make up the teaching herd will be pastured on the slopes of rolling agricultural fields at the Central Maryland Research and Education Center (CMREC) in Ellicott City, utilizing land too steep to grow crops on but perfect for grazing cattle.
The Beef Management Teaching and Demonstration Site at CMREC will host an open house on Thursday, July 28th, 2022, from 5-7pm for current and interested beef producers to see the site and herd and learn more about our beef programming goals.
For more information about the Open House, please contact Racheal Slattery (rslatt@umd.edu).
