Farm/Ranch
Beef Sustainability Field Day set for Oct. 16 in Decatur
By Kay Ledbetter, Texas A&M
Sep 8, 2026

AgriLife Extension event will include moving outdoors to a working ranch

The Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service will host the Beef Sustainability Field Day on Oct. 16 at the Josey Pavilion at the Dixon Water Foundation, 5190 County Road 398, Decatur.

Early bird registration is $75 through Sept. 18 and $100 after. Registration is available online at tx.ag/BeefSustainabilityFieldDay. Sign-in and breakfast at the event will begin at 7:30 a.m. and the program will run from 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m.

This year’s program will move from the conference room to a working ranch, offering a one-day, boots-on-the-ground format that brings industry leaders, ranchers and researchers together for a hands-on look at sustainable beef production.

For more information, contact Jacquelyn Prestegaard, Ph.D., AgriLife Extension livestock sustainability specialist and assistant professor, Texas A&M Department of Animal Science, Bryan-College Station, at j.prestegaard@ag.tamu.edu.

The Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service will host the Beef Sustainability Field Day on Oct. 16 at the Josey Pavilion at the Dixon Water Foundation in Decatur. (Michael Miller/Texas A&M AgriLife)

On the agenda

The field day is designed for ranchers of all experience levels, Prestegaard said. Whether attendees run a cow-calf outfit, a stocker operation or are just starting, the program offers a chance to connect with experts and other producers, exchange wisdom about current practices and think together about the future of sustainable beef.

The morning topics and speakers will be:

• Welcome and introduction to Dixon Water Foundation Leo Ranch – Prestegaard and the Dixon Water Foundation team.
• What is regenerative agriculture and holistic management? – Wayne Knight, Holistic Management International executive director, Albuquerque, New Mexico.
• What have the last 20 years of adaptive multi-paddock, AMP, grazing research taught us? – Richard Teague, Ph.D. Texas A&M AgriLife Research professor emeritus, Vernon.
• How low-stress handling and sustainability go hand in hand – Ron Gill, Ph.D., AgriLife Extension livestock specialist and professor, Department of Animal Science, Chico.
• Drought resilience in adaptive systems – Hugh Aljoe, Noble Research Institute director of ranches, outreach and partnerships, Ardmore, Oklahoma.

The afternoon will begin with a panel discussion on “Why the Movement in Retail for Regeneratively Raised Food?” facilitated by Where Food Comes From Inc.

The event will then move into the field for the following demonstrations:

• Station A: Bale grazing and land restoration – Knight.
• Station B: What happens to land without ruminants? – Casey Wade, Dixon Water Foundation president and CEO, Decatur.
• Station C: Dixon Water Foundation’s technology in the field – Jake McNamara, Dixon Water Foundation general manager of ranches, Decatur.

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