Cattle farmers are going back to school to learn how to improve their herds and possibly their income through the new Louisiana Master Cattle Producer program.

This effort was kicked off in July with 75 students in the first class in Lafayette Parish. Now, programs in Shreveport, Thibodaux, Hammond, Natchitoches and Port Allen have begun, according to the program’s administrator Jason Rowntree of the LSU AgCenter’s Department of Animal Sciences.

“By next spring, we’ll have our program across the state,” he said, explaining even more classes – in places like Winnfield – are slated to begin around the first of the year.

Louisiana Cattlemen’s Association President Charles Litteral said that group started working on the movement two years ago as a way to keep producers abreast of the best methods. The cattle producer group sought the help of the LSU AgCenter and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service to develop the program.

“Things are changing so fast in the livestock industry,” Litteral said. “We want to teach the most practical and safest methods. It’s our charge and responsibility to keep our cattle producers informed.”

Consumers also will benefit from the program, he said.

“We just want a consistent product and a safer product,” Litteral said.
Written by Bruce Schultz

(This article appeared in the "What's New?" section in the fall 2004 issue of Louisiana Agriculture.)