Program sessions will examine results of the recent legislative session, the upcoming Farm Bill, cattle fever ticks, wind energy and habitat conservation around Fort Hood.

Registration is scheduled from 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Thursday, May 31 and from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Friday, June 1. All meetings and registration will be held in the Hangar Hotel.

"You don't have to be a TSCRA member to attend," emphasizes TSCRA President Jon Means. "This is a perfect opportunity for non-members to combine learning about TSCRA with a family get-away. Committee meetings and the general session are open to all registrants."

A casual tone will be set with a welcome reception at the Torre di Pietra Winery from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. on Thursday.

On Friday morning, breakfast for registrants will be served from 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. in the Hangar Hotel Conference Center. Then it’s down to business.

From 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m., the Natural Resources and Environment Committee will learn about the Department of Defense and private landowner partnership on habitat conservation around Fort Hood. Speakers will be Steve Manning of Gatesville, Texas, and Dr. Neal Wilkins, who is with the Texas A&M Institute of Renewable Natural Resources.

The Labor Committee will meet from 9:15 a.m. to 10:15 a.m., followed by a joint meeting of the Agricultural Research and Animal Health Committees from 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. A discussion on Texas Fever and cattle fever ticks will be led Dr. John E. George, laboratory director for USDA’s Agricultural Research Service Knipling-Bushland U.S. Livestock Insects Research Laboratory.

Lunch for registrants will be served from 11:45 a.m. to 12:45. Friday afternoon will include business sessions for the Marketing Committee from 1 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. and the Association Promotion Committee from 1:45 p.m. to 2:45 p.m.

The Legislative and Tax Committee meeting from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. will feature an update on the 80th Texas Legislative Session from Trey Blocker of Jackson Walker LLP.

From 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m., participants will enjoy cocktails, dinner and entertainment at the Nimitz Museum, which contains exhibits on the Pacific war.

Former Congressman Charles W. Stenholm will address the general session, which will be held from 9 a.m. to noon on Saturday. Stenholm, now senior policy advisor for Olson, Frank and Weeda, Attorneys at Law, in Washington, D.C., will update participants on the Farm Bill and other issues of interest to cattle producers.

Also on the schedule is a report on wind energy in Texas by Philip Moore of Renewable Energy Systems in Austin.

Sponsors for TSCRA's summer meeting are Bayer Health Care-Animal Health, CFC, Gordon Richardson Estate Planning and Immel Motors in Fredericksburg.

Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association is a 130-year-old trade organization whose 14,800 members manage approximately 5.4 million cattle on 70.3 million acres of range and pasture land, primarily in Texas and Oklahoma.

 TSCRA-13-2007