News Update
March 3, 2014
I Am Angus Season Finale Airs March 6
From the ranch to the restaurant, and everywhere in between, the upcoming I Am Angus episode introduces individuals and families dedicated to raising cattle, selling beef and caring for the land. The I Am Angus season finale airs at 10 p.m. Eastern (9 p.m. Central) Thurs., March 6, on RFD-TV.
“A number of moving parts make up the modern-day beef production cycle,” says Eric Grant, American Angus Association director of communications and public relations. “In this episode we visit with ranch families, feeders, retailers and scientists who explain what this process means to them. We also share why life on the farm means much more than simply providing a product.”
I Am Angus focuses on the heart of the Angus cattle business — its people, their heritage and why they are involved in agriculture. In its fourth season, the hour-long documentary series explores each corner of the beef industry. The program is produced entirely by the Association, and is sponsored by Merck Animal Health and the science of healthier animals.
I Am Angus broadcasts on RFD-TV. The channel is distributed by more than 625 cable operators, and can be found on DirecTV channel 345 and Dish Network channel 231. Check local listings for more information.
For more information, please view the full release here.
Texas Angus Auxiliary Establishes Endowment Fund
At the Texas Angus Auxiliary’s Annual Meeting in Forth Worth, President Pearl Silvey presented a $25,000 check to the Angus Foundation. This check creates a permanent scholarship endowment within the Angus Foundation, helping fund scholarships for Texas Angus youth for years to come.
Eligible youth are offered a $1,000 scholarship. One girl and one boy will be chosen as recipients each year, and are also eligible for the American Angus Auxiliary scholarship. Recipients must be graduating seniors who are continuing their education at the collegiate level. Application deadline for this year’s scholarship is May 1.
“Through the Angus Foundation’s strategic investment portfolio, we will be able to grow the Texas Angus Auxiliary’s scholarship fund far beyond what we could do on our own,” Silvey says. “With the potential growth of the fund, the Texas Angus Auxiliary will be able to provide more scholarships to help ensure our youth carry on the Angus breed.”
Barbara Ettredge, Texas Angus Auxiliary 2nd vice president, says while determining the best investment for their funds was a daunting task, the Angus Foundation was the ideal choice and the vote was unanimous among its members.
“We appreciate the Angus Foundation allowing us to continue to choose our scholarship recipients,” Ettredge says.
Endowment funds through the Angus Foundation allow Angus breeders and other supporters a way to support the Angus Foundation, while also creating a permanent funding mechanism to provide for the scholarships in future years.
“We are humbled by the Texas Angus Auxiliary’s confidence in our organization’s ability to serve as the permanent charitable beneficiary,” says Milford Jenkins, Angus Foundation president. “These funds are an example of the hard work from past and current members of the Texas Angus Auxiliary, and their passion for helping Angus youth to attend college.”
For more information, please view the full release here.
Missouri Regains No. 2 in Cow Numbers as
National Herd Size Continues Decline
Missouri returned as the No. 2 beef cow state in the nation, with a 63,000-cow increase in 2013. The USDA cow count shows Missouri rose from No. 3 back to the position it held from 1983 to 2008.
The state has 1.82 million cows, down from more than 2 million in 2008. The annual USDA inventory shows Missouri to be one of only three states to grow its herd size by more than 50,000 cows.
In 2013, Kansas went up 86,000 cows. Oklahoma grew by 51,000. Arkansas rose 31,000, making it fourth-fastest-growing cow state in the nation.
Texas remains No. 1, with 3.91 million head. In a long-term drought, Texas cow numbers dropped 1.1 million head from the 2011 USDA report.
Nebraska, which had been No. 2 for two years, dropped to No. 4, with Oklahoma No. 3 in beef cow numbers.
In contrast, 37 states declined or held steady at 2013 levels, says Daniel Madison, research economist at the University of Missouri (MU) Division of Applied Social Sciences.
Nationally, the cow herd continued declining, losing 255,000 head in 2013. The U.S. herd now has 29 million cows, the lowest level since 1962.
Observers anticipate an upturn in cow numbers. Declining beef supply brought sharp increases in cattle prices. Meanwhile, sharp drops in feed prices give economic signals for higher profits. That should lead to rebuilding the cow herd.
However, droughts and doubts about grass and hay supplies cause caution for herd owners nationally. Dry weather continues in parts of the United States.
“The economics seem to be in place for future growth in the beef cow numbers,” says Scott Brown, MU beef economist.
For more information, please view the full release here.
Breakthroughs in Genomic Selection Precision Phenotyping
To accelerate the continual development of new and improved wheat varieties, novel approaches are needed to extend conventional selection methods, according to Jesse Poland, assistant professor of agronomy at Kansas State University (K-State) and director of the Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Applied Wheat Genomics.
Poland will provide insights into “Genomic Selection and Precision Phenotyping” at the upcoming Borlaug Summit on Wheat for Food Security, Ciudad Obregón, Mexico, on March 25-28. The Borlaug Summit is organized by the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), the Borlaug Global Rust Initiative (BGRI) and the Patronato for Research and Agricultural Experimentation of the State of Sonora (PIEAES).
“Revolutions in genomics-assisted breeding, complemented by advancements in precision, high-throughput phenotyping, will enable 21st century plant breeding on the scale needed to increase crop production and global food security despite less favorable climates and land degradation,” Poland wrote in his presentation abstract.
“With advancements in DNA sequencing technology, it has become less expensive to determine the genotype of new breeding lines than to evaluate those same lines in yield trials,” Poland continued. In this context, whole-genome prediction models (i.e. genomic selection) can be applied to more efficiently utilize resources while shortening the breeding cycle. At the same time, Poland explains that genomic selection cannot completely replace phenotypic assessment of new breeding lines. “To match the phenomenal advancements in genomics, novel approaches for precision, high-throughput phenotyping are needed.”
During his presentation at the Borlaug Summit, Poland will explain how working at the intersection of genetics, breeding, engineering, physiology, and computer science will lead to development of novel phenotyping platforms and how the implementation of these platforms in plant breeding programs will match and expand the transformative effect of genomics-assisted breeding.
For more information, please view the full release here.
Editor’s Note: The articles used within this site represent a mixture of copyrights. If you would like to reprint or repost an article, you must first request permission of Angus Productions Inc. (API) by contacting the editor at 816-383-5200; 3201 Frederick Ave., Saint Joseph, MO 64506. API claims copyright to this web site as presented. We welcome educational venues and cattlemen to link to this site as a service to their audience.