News Update

News Update
March 20, 2007

31st Annual NCBTA Bull Sale Approaches

Mark Enns, assistant professor of animal sciences at Colorado State University (CSU) will be speaking on “Genetic Selections for Profitability” at the 31st annual North Colorado Bull Test Association (NCBTA) bull sale March 31 starting at 11 a.m.

Sale books are available for the Saturday sale, scheduled to take place at the test facility located halfway between Atwood and Akron, just east of Highway 63. Sale book information will include all gain information as well as adjusted yearling weights, frame scores, pelvic areas and scrotal circumferences for all bulls entered in the sale. Ultrasound data will be available the day of the sale, and pedigree information and expected progeny differences (EPDs) will be included where available.

For more information or to receive a sale book, contact David Colburn, NCBTA Test Coordinator, Logan County Cooperative Extension at 970-522-3200, ext. 283. You can also visit the NCBTA web page at www.northeastcoloradobulltest.org/ to view the final report.

Performance reports available online

• The 112-day Edisto Forage Bull Test Report is online at www.clemson.edu/edisto/efbt/efbt.htm. This South Carolina test is a 452-day test that will conclude May 1.

• Bulls were recently weighed off test at 120 days at the Midland Bull Test. The final report is available online at www.midlandbulltest.com. The Angus bulls are scheduled to sell April 6 at the test facility at Columbus, Mont.

• Bulls were weighed off test at the North Dakota Angus Association 19th Annual Bull Test at Dickinson. The bulls are scheduled to sell April 23 at Stockmen’s Livestock Exchange, Dickinson, N.D. Contact L.J. or Janet Dohrmann at 701-974-2187 for more information.

• The Pennsylvania Performance Bull Testing Program concluded its 112-day test at Pennsylvania Furnace Feb. 20. Eighty-four Angus bulls completed the test. Qualifying bulls will sell March 30. For more information, visit the test web site at www.agriculture.state.pa.us/lec.

• The Northeast Colorado Bull Test at Akron, Colo., concluded a 120-day test Feb. 27. Forty-two Angus bulls completed the test. Qualifying bulls will sell March 31. For more information visit www.ncbta.net.

• Test No. 63 concluded Feb. 9 at Oklahoma Bull Inc. (OBI). The test featured 270 Angus bulls. For a complete report, visit www.ansi.okstate.edu/exten/obi.

• Junior and senior bulls have been weighed off test at the Southwest Virginia Beef Cattle Improvement Association Bull Test at Blacksburg. Junior bulls completed a 133-day test, while senior bulls finished a 112-day test. The bulls will sell March 31. Visit http://bcia.apsc.vt.edu for information.

• Bulls were weighed off test March 3 at the St. Croix Valley Bull Test in Menomonie, Wis. The test featured 39 Angus bulls. Qualifying bulls will sell April 21 at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls. For more information call Don Prochnow at 715-235-5882.

• Entries are due April 9 for the Indiana Beef Evaluation Program (IBEP) 2007 Summer Performance Test. For more information, contact Kern Hendrix at 765-494-4832 or Richard Huntrods at 812-279-8554.

— compiled by Shauna Rose Hermel, editor, Angus Productions Inc.

Ag Day Tomorrow

National Agriculture Day will be observed tomorrow, also the first day of spring. Ag Day honors agriculture for providing safe, abundant and affordable products, a strong economy, a source of renewable energy, and a world of job opportunities.

The celebration officially kicked off last week during the Annual National Ag Day Luncheon at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. For more information about National Ag Day, visit www.agday.org.

‘Cattlemen to Cattlemen’ Airs Tonight

This week’s episode of “Cattlemen to Cattlemen” will feature an in-depth look at the Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration (GIPSA) “Livestock and Meat Marketing Study,” a report done by RTI International on the use and impacts of marketing arrangements in the livestock and meat industries.

The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association’s (NCBA’s) “Cattlemen to Cattlemen” on RFD-TV provides weekly news and features for cattle producers across the country. The show airs Tuesdays at 8:30 p.m. and is rebroadcast Wednesdays at 4:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m., and Saturdays at 10 a.m. All times are Eastern. Visit www.cattlementocattlemen.org for more information.