September 8, 2023

Texas A&M AgriLife elevates global beef cattle expertise through international ventures

Texas A&M AgriLife's has expanded the reach of its beef cattle expertise with two international initiatives spearheaded by Professor Reinaldo Cooke, from the Department of Animal Science within the Texas A&M College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, AgriLife Today reported.

Under Cooke's leadership, the 44 Farms-Texas A&M International Beef Cattle Academy, an institution synonymous with beef cattle research, has ventured beyond its online courses to offer live training events in several participating host countries. Notably, this initiative is making strides in disseminating invaluable beef cattle knowledge on a global scale.

Cooke has assumed a pivotal role in orchestrating a prominent international beef cattle conference in Brazil. The conference, titled "New Focuses on Cattle Production and Reproduction" in Portuguese, is a magnet for more than 2,000 participants annually, drawing leading cattle producers, scientific minds, and technology frontrunners from across the world.

The inaugural international live course of the academy, which is now celebrating its sixth year, was a resounding success. It manifested as a one-day training event held in Campeche, Mexico, in June, drawing the participation of over 500 attendees.

The forthcoming event is slated for October in Guatemala, promising to further the dissemination of vital beef cattle insights.

These single-day international courses are meticulously crafted from the extensive content of the three-day Texas A&M Beef Cattle Short Course, which hosted over 1,900 participants in College Station this year. The courses feature lectures by esteemed Texas A&M University faculty experts in beef cattle production, all guided by the visionary leadership of Professor Cooke.

The curriculum of these courses covers a spectrum of new and fundamental beef cattle production concepts. Topics span across forage and grazing, nutrition, health, reproduction, genetics, beef quality, and recent advances in each domain. The Brahman Journal praised the Mexico event, deeming it exemplary, well-organised, and executed with utmost professionalism.

Professor Cooke underscored the significance of taking these courses international, emphasizing that it aligns with the university's mission as a US land-grant institution to extend agricultural expertise far and wide.

-      AgriLife Today