News Update
December 7, 2015
A Living Barn
Angus Glen Farms, a registered-Angus operation in upstate New York, uses no barns, lean-tos, windbreaks or any other man-made structure to protect cattle during harsh New York winter weather. Instead, the 100-head farm uses growing and appreciating tree stands.
Affectionately referred to as “living barns,” Brett Chedzoy, owner of Angus Glen, says when he calculated the cost of building a shelter structure vs. investing in the natural resources (trees) around him, it was clear that dense conifer tree stands were the more cost-effective option.
Because they employ a naturally growing and often already-existing resource, living barns are a cost-effective way of providing shelter for livestock, says Chedzoy. A living barn or wooded shelter area can be created from natural wooded areas already on the farm or ranch or from plantation trees. Yet tree age and size will be a factor in designating appropriate living-barn areas.
Read the full Angus Beef Bulletin EXTRA article online.
Kansas Family Honored for Historic Angus Herd
Herbert and Billy Harrison, Howard, Kan., began raising cattle as a result of their seven children’s 4-H projects. What began as a learning experience for the children grew into an operation that has lasted 50 years.
To recognize their dedication to the Angus breed, the American Angus Association is proud to name 7HAR Harrison Angus Ranch as a Historic Angus Herd. The award is presented to Angus breeders or immediate families who have been in continuous production of registered-Angus cattle for 50 years or more.
Herbert Harrison chose the Angus breed, not only for its rich heritage, but also because his friend, Fred Adair, also raised Angus cattle. In 1965, Herbert bought his first registered-Angus female from Adair and joined the American Angus Association. The Harrison’s foundation cattle were purchased from the McCurry Brothers and the Laflins in the 1960s. Herbert and his wife, Lula Mae, have seven children who have helped with the Angus herd through the years.
For more information, please view the full Angus news release online.
Cattlemen Should Be ‘Steeling’ for the Future
Cow-calf producers have made some money and now need to be “steeling” for what is to come, a Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service specialist said.
Ted McCollum, AgriLife Extension beef specialist in Amarillo, spoke at the Amarillo Farm and Ranch Show recently. He said the definition of steeling as a verb is “to prepare oneself for something difficult or unpleasant.”
“We are just out of the drought of the decades and rangeland recovery is underway,” McCollum said. “But the strong El Niño is over next spring, and we could revert back to dry conditions very quickly.”
The question is whether conditions will return to the long-term normal or “Do we run the risk of dry weather?” he said.
Couple that with the end of a long bull cattle market that is settling back into a lower trading range, a strong dollar that is hampering exports and incentivizing imports, and large meat supplies after both the poultry and pork industries overcompensated to recover from bouts with disease issues.
Read the full AgriLife news release online.
American Angus Association
President Steve Olson’s Perspective
What interested you in running for the Board?
“Our kids had done extremely well in the junior program, and the American Angus Association had
offered so many opportunities for leadership and such a strong junior program, I thought I needed to give back by serving as a Board member.
To me it is the best youth program available today for young people, especially ag people. Really, it’s second-to-none with the opportunities our juniors have to compete, to work with other kids, for leadership programs, social, everything about it — and still be with the family as they grow up and go through this. You just don’t find that. With all of your athletic events, your family is on the sidelines. Here they are involved. I think that’s key to our young people today — that they have family involved with them in their activities.
I was also extremely interested in the CAB® (Certified Angus Beef®) brand because of the marketing of our cattle and what it does for the commercial industry, as well as the registered breeder.”
For more information, please view the full Angus Journal article online.
A Big Fall Problem: Anaplasmosis
This year, confirmed cases of anaplasmosis throughout Kansas and beyond are at some of the highest numbers veterinarians have ever seen. With the high incidence of cases, it is important for cattle producers to be aware of what causes the disease and how it can rapidly spread through herds.
“I’ve been in the diagnostic lab for five years in the K-State (Kansas State University) College of Veterinary Medicine, and the number of positive reported herds in Kansas this summer with anaplasmosis is something we’ve never seen before,” said Gregg Hanzlicek, veterinarian and director of production animal field investigations for the K-State Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory.
Anaplasmosis is a vector-borne disease that causes the destruction of red blood cells in cattle and other ruminants. The most common cause is a parasite called Anaplasma marginale. The organism enters the bloodstream and gets inside of red blood cells. The spleen then recognizes these red blood cells as a threat and attempts to purge them, which leads to the animal becoming anemic.
Read the full Angus Beef Bulletin EXTRA article online.
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