A national award-winning livestock extension program is again being offered for 2012-2013, beginning in June and concluding in January 2013.
        The High Plains Ranch Practicum School is an in-depth ranch management school hosted jointly by the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension and the University of Wyoming Extension.
        Enrollment is limited to 35. Participants must submit an application form by May 4.
        For additional information or to obtain an application, contact UNL Extension Educator Aaron Berger at (308) 235-3122 or aberger2@unl.edu, UW Extension Educator Dallas Mount at (307) 322-3667 or dmount@uwyo.edu, or visit the Web site at http://HPRanchPracticum.com.
        The High Plains Ranch Practicum is an eight-day, five-session hands-on educational program designed to give participants the skills and application of management tools needed to be successful in today’s complex ranching industry, said  Mount, , an instructor in the program.  
        Sessions are at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Panhandle Research and Extension Center at Scottsbluff, Neb., and at the University of Wyoming’s 3,400-acre Sustainable Agriculture Research and Extension Center (SAREC) near Lingle, Wyo.  
        The course will focus on providing ranchers tools to understand and integrate four areas of ranch management: range and forage resources, integrating nutrition and reproduction, cost of production analysis and family working relationships.
        “Ranchers able to integrate these four areas into decision-making will find they can use a systems approach to improve the sustainability of the ranch operation,” said  Berger, also one of the instructors.
        Participants will benefit from instruction and current research in range livestock production, financial management and marketing systems from nationally recognized experts.
        Mount said attendees enjoy the camaraderie with other participants, instructors and facilitators throughout the three seasons of the practicum.
        “Friendships and exchanges of ideas among participants will be some of the most-valued aspects of the program,” he said. “High-quality educational materials are used in the program and include software, notebooks with laminated field guides and an outstanding collection of university publications.”
        There is a $600 fee for individuals or $900 for a couple that covers materials, instructor costs and meal expenses.  However, due to support through a USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program Grant, producer participants who complete the course requirements will receive a 50% tuition scholarship.