News Update

News Update
Oct. 5, 2006

Banner Year: Angus Breed Records Nearly 350,000 Animals in FY 2006.

The American Angus Association experienced significant growth in all levels of business in fiscal year (FY) 2006, which ended Sept. 30. The Association recorded 347,572 registrations, posting a continual increase over the past two decades.

“Angus breeders have enjoyed phenomenal success in recent years and especially the past two years,” says John Crouch, Association executive vice president. “The versatility of the Angus breed and its ability to excel in maternal traits and end-product quality has made Angus the breed of choice for commercial cattlemen throughout the United States.”

Registrations rose more than 7% from the previous year. Transfers, which represent the sales of cattle to new owners, also increased with a total of 206,121, also up 7% from a year ago. Of the registrations processed, more than 10% were embryo transfer calves, and nearly 49% of all animals registered were sired via artificial insemination (AI).

The number of new regular members grew more than 4%, with 3,558 adults joining. New junior memberships remained steady at 1,342.

Reports of Angus cattle sales showed growth as well. Fourteen percent more bulls were reported selling through auction sales attended by Association regional managers, and they averaged $135 per head more than a year ago. Female sales increased, as well, and averaged $243 more per lot than FY 2005.

Angus breeders continue to use Beef Improvement Records (BIR) to keep performance records in order to focus on genetic improvement. A 6% increase in participation was posted with nearly 9,700 herds submitting more than 882,000 birth, weaning and yearling weights. Additionally, more than 150,000 ultrasound measurements were submitted, marking an 18.5% increase in that technology.

AngusSource,® which earned status as a U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Process Verified Program (PVP) during the past year, experienced growth this year, posting a 4% increase in enrollments. Producers are realizing the value of information when selling their calves as the use of marketing profiles has jumped nearly 36% compared to a year ago.

A record-high 13.1 million cattle were identified for the Certified Angus Beef LLC program, which sold more than 543 million pounds of Certified Angus Beef® (CAB®) brand product this year, the highest figure since 2003.

A more complete year-end summary will be provided in the American Angus Association Annual Report to be distributed at the Association’s Annual Convention of Delegates during the North American International Livestock Exposition in Louisville, Ky., in November. The Annual Report will also be published in the December Angus Journal, along with traditionally reported year-end statistics, such as the top 25 bulls for registrations and herds recording 100 head or more during FY 2006.

— release provided by American Angus Association

Cattle Protozoa Help Shift Antibiotic Resistance

Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists in Ames, Iowa, have made another big finding about protozoa — single-celled predatory organisms — found in the gastrointestinal tract of cattle. They’ve discovered that the protozoa can facilitate the transfer of antibiotic resistance from resistant bacteria to susceptible types.

Veterinary medical officer Steven Carlson at ARS’ National Animal Disease Center (NADC) in Ames is the first scientist to document the role rumen protozoa play in transferring this resistance within cattle. Rumen protozoa live in the first stomach, the rumen, of cattle. They engulf and destroy most bacteria.

But Carlson and colleagues have identified and described the transfer of resistance to ceftriaxone, an antibiotic used to treat pneumonia, from gastrointestinal tract bacteria known as klebsiella to rumen-dwelling salmonella that are sensitive to the antibiotic.

Last year, Carlson teamed with microbiologist Mark Rasmussen — who’s no longer with ARS — in a study that revealed, for the first time, that disease-causing bacteria can strengthen from interaction with protozoa that are naturally inside animals.

In that work, an antibiotic-resistant strain of salmonella became especially virulent when tucked within rumen protozoa. That discovery suggests that naturally occurring digestive tract protozoa may be a place where dangerous bacteria can lurk and develop.

Read more about the latest work at the Ames center and other ARS research related to food safety in the October 2006 issue of Agricultural Research magazine, available online at www.ars.usda.gov/is/AR/archive/oct06/meat1006.htm.

— release provided by ARS News Service