News Update

News Update
Feb. 22, 2007

Kansas Breeders Donate Heifers’ Sale Proceeds to Angus Foundation

Two Kansas Angus breeders, Laflin Ranch and Lyons Ranch, have announced they will give the Angus Foundation the proceeds from a heifer auctioned in each of their respective March 2007 sales.

Laflin Ranch, Olsburg, Kan., will donate the proceeds generated by Laflin’s Lady Barbara 6165, a March 2006 female sired by SAV 8180 Traveler 004, set to sell Friday, March 2 during the Laflin Angus Ranch Sale. Her maternal grandsire is N-Bar Emulation EXT. Visit www.laflinranch.com for more information. Profits from Laflin’s Lady Barbara 6165 will be used to enhance the Angus Foundation’s existing Robert Laflin Memorial Fund.

Lyons Ranch, Manhattan, Kan., will donate the funds generated by Lyons Pride 6007, a January 2006 daughter of SAF Focus of ER, set to sell Monday, March 5 during the Lyons Ranch Performance Bull and Heifer Sale. Ranking high in dollar value indexes ($Values) and maternal characteristics, this heifer’s maternal grandsire is Bon-View New Design 1407. Visit www.lyonsranch.com for more information. Proceeds from the sale of Lyons Pride 6007 will be used to support the newly created Kansas Angus Association Endowment Fund, which will award scholarships to Kansas Angus youth.

For more information about either heifer, check their respective sale books or contact American Angus Association Regional Manager Matt Caldwell or Angus Foundation President Milford Jenkins.

— Information provided by the Angus Foundation

Cattle-Fax Elects New Officers, Directors

Alabama cattleman Ned Ellis, owner of Circle E Farms in New Deposit, Ala., has been elected president of Cattle-Fax, a Denver, Colo.-based market information and analysis service. The election took place during the annual Cattle-Fax Board of Directors meeting, which was in conjunction with the 2007 Cattle Industry Annual Convention and NCBA Trade Show in Nashville, Tenn. Ellis is the Southeast Regional director on the Cattle-Fax Board. He succeeds John Maddux of Imperial, Neb., as president.

Jamie Willrett, the Midwest Regional director on the Cattle-Fax board, was named president-elect. Willrett operates a feedlot and grain operation in Malta, Ill. Willrett has chaired the beef industry’s Joint International Markets Committee and is now serving as co-vice chair of the NCBA Live Cattle Marketing Committee.

New directors elected to the Cattle-Fax board are Kevin Hughes of Boise, Idaho; and Kent Bamford of Haxtun, Colo. Hughes, representing Cattle-Fax’s Northwest Region, is involved with Agri Beef, which operates a large cow-calf operation as well as feedlots in Kansas and several northwestern states. Agri Beef also owns a packing operation in Pasco, Wash. Hughes is also president of Agri Beef Risk Management Co., and a managing partner of AB Trading.

Bamford, representing the Intermountain Region, is owner of Bamford Feedyard. In addition to its 15,000-head feedlot, Bamford Feedyard raises irrigated and dryland crops and operates a trucking company. It also has ownership interest in several Colorado ethanol plants. Bamford is a past president of the Colorado Livestock Association and has served on the boards of directors of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) and the Colorado Beef Council.

— Release provided by Cattle-Fax

Push for Biofuels Sparking Changes in Livestock Production

The push for expanding the biofuels industry is driving many changes in animal agriculture and there are still more to come, according to an Iowa State University (ISU) agricultural economist.

John Lawrence, director of the Iowa Beef Center, ISU, spoke on the topic, “Will there be enough corn to go around? The impact of biofuels on corn and soybean meal prices,” at the K-State Research and Extension Swine Profitability Conference Feb. 6 in Manhattan, Kan.

“Yes, there will be enough corn, but markets aren’t kind, gentle or smooth,” Lawrence said, adding that agriculture has become a fuel producer, with the ethanol industry growing faster than economists can make graphs. The growing demand for corn for ethanol production is driving the price of corn up significantly.

The corn market has had relatively flat demand with the exception of ethanol, he said. According to industry estimates, 5.5 million to 10 million bushels (bu.) of corn will be grown just for ethanol by the year 2012.

Corn prices are now more closely linked to crude oil prices, he said. If world oil prices are at $60 per barrel, ethanol plants are expected to expand until corn is around $4 per bu.

In addition to providing another market for corn, recent increases in ethanol production also mean that there is more dried distillers’ grain (DDGS) available for livestock feed, the economist said. Lawrence estimated there will be about 46.8 million tons of DDGS produced if the industry processes 5.5 billion bu. for ethanol. Although DDGS may reduce feed costs for pork producers, the price will not be low enough to offset the higher corn price.

New technologies are emerging to produce a better DDGS for hogs, Lawrence said, but for now, producers should be aware of where the DDGS is coming from.

“The DDGS will change depending on the plant it comes from and how it’s made,” Lawrence said.

The long-term implications for animal agriculture depend on many factors, including the amount of DDGS in the ration, Lawrence said. The price of DDGS relative to corn and soybean meal prices also is a factor.

In addition, “DDGS is global. You can send it anywhere around the world, but wet distillers’ grain (WDG) is a local market because it can’t be shipped far or stored long,” he said.

Also, in the long-term, producers can expect more corn basis volatility. “Storage is key,” Lawrence said, adding that livestock producers are accustomed to having relatively low-cost corn. Now producers should be aware of their physical control of the grain, now and months from now.

If they haven’t already, Lawrence said, now might be a good time for producers to consider building and managing storage for feed use year-round. Lawrence reminded program participants that a U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) report will be released in late March predicting the number of acres that will be planted in corn.

“It is an exciting destination, but the journey scares me,” Lawrence said.

Story by Sara Weller of Kansas State University (K-State) Research & Extension News, which provided this article.

— compiled by Crystal Albers, associate editor, Angus Productions Inc.