News Update

News Update
April 21, 2008

The 2008 Auxiliary-sponsored All-American CAB® Cook-Off is going Retro!

The 2008 Auxiliary-sponsored All-American Certified Angus Beef (CAB®) Cook-off is the 25th anniversary of the original contest in Des Moines at the 1983 National Junior Angus Show (NJAS). Because of this and product availability, the 2008 Cook-Off is changing back to the original concept and offering the contest with primarily fresh meat.

There will still be three categories, but instead of fresh meat, heat-and-serve and deli, the three categories for the 2008 Cook-Off will be 1) CAB steaks; 2) CAB roasts; and 3) Other CAB items (to include fresh ground beef; smoked, sliced brisket; and shredded beef in natural juices).

Each state may enter up to three teams in each of the three age divisions just as they have in the past, but the teams will compete in one of these three categories. Gather your recipes and make your entry by June 1 to be eligible for this year’s cook-off.

Advisors will be receiving a cook-off information packet soon — so watch your mail!

To enter the cook-off submit team member names with their addresses, member codes, birth dates and ages along with a typed copy of the entry recipe to:

Anne Patton Schubert
4040 Taylorsville Road
Taylorsville, KY 40071
502-477-2663 phone
502-477-2637 fax

If you prefer to enter via e-mail please send the entries to: Anne Lampe at kansasangus@wbsnet.org.

Junior Members Raise the Bar in Idaho

Members of the National Junior Angus Association (NJAA) came together for Raising the Bar, April 11-13, in Boise, Idaho. The conference involved nine attendees, plus five NJAA Board members from 10 states.

Raising the Bar is highly intensive leadership training for officers to build stronger teams within their junior associations and to develop and utilize regional relationships. Raising the Bar is open to five state officers and two state advisors from each state in that region. It is provided through financial support from the Angus Foundation.

The Idaho workshops covered topics such as the secrets of the American Angus Association,® fundraising and budgets, membership, public speaking, scholarships and awards, and parliamentary procedure. The attendees participated in a team-building activity at a ropes course, a devotional and a social event. Along with the workshops and activities, the conference included an evening mixer with ice-skating at the Idaho Ice World.

— Release provided by the American Angus Association

Resumption of U.S. beef to South Korea to occur mid-May

The United States and South Korea announced an agreement Friday that will result in the resumption of U.S. beef exports in mid-May. Exports of U.S. beef and beef products from cattle of all ages will be allowed. Exports to South Korea totaled 587 million pounds (lb.), carcass weight, in 2003 before the first U.S. bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) case. Shipments were negligible from 2004 through 2006 before going through a series of starts and stops last year, culminating in the virtual closing of the Korean market in November.

— Release provided by the Chicago Mercantile Exchange group.

Hands-Only Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation Saves Lives

While getting immediate help to a person suffering a heart attack is key to saving their life, lack of training in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) may have prevented quick action in the past, said a Texas AgriLife Extension Service specialist.

New guidelines from the American Heart Association, however, say even people who have no training in CPR may be able to help in an emergency situation by “hands-only cardiopulmonary resuscitation,” said Andrew Crocker, AgriLife Extension gerontology health program specialist.

The hands-only technique eliminates one potential hindrance to providing help — fear of mouth-to-mouth contact, Crocker said.

It is estimated more than 165,000 Americans experience cardiac arrest each year and 75% of those episodes happen in the home, he said. A person in cardiac arrest has little chance of survival unless immediate action is taken to sustain him or her until medical help arrives.

Cardiac arrest is a condition in which the heart abruptly stops pumping blood, Crocker said.

In many cases, he said, the heart suddenly goes from a regular heartbeat to twitching, called ventricular fibrillation, which does not allow blood to move through the body. When the heart stops, the absence of oxygenated blood may cause brain damage in only a few minutes. Death may occur in as little as eight to 10 minutes.

Cardiac arrest strikes immediately and without warning, Crocker said. Signs may include sudden collapse, loss of responsiveness and failure to breathe normally.

“If you see someone collapse in a public place or at home and you think it might be cardiac arrest, there are some things you should know and some actions you may take,” he said.

Conventional CPR involves a combination of chest compression and mouth-to-mouth rescue breathing to keep oxygenated blood flowing to the brain and other vital organs until professional medical help arrives, Crocker said.

Individuals can take an accredited first-aid and CPR training course through the American Heart Association, American Red Cross or a local hospital or clinic, he said.

However, with the new American Heart Association guidelines, having this training is not required to help save a life. The guidelines offer a simple, two-step measure:

Dial 911 to call for emergency medical help.
Push hard and fast on the center of the chest and continue until medical professionals arrive.

“It is not dangerous to perform chest compressions even if the heart is still beating,” Crocker said. “You cannot make a person any worse than he or she already is. You may break ribs, but the alternative is almost certainly death. Only stop compressions when either the person or the medical professionals tell you to stop or you are too tired to continue.”

Crocker warned that while CPR is very important, it alone may not restore a heartbeat. A fibrillating heart may require an electric shock to enable it to resume a normal heartbeat.

“However, until then, chest compressions are the only means to move blood to the patient’s brain, heart and other organs,” he said. “Without chest compressions, a fibrillating heart will use up its energy supply and the person may not survive.”

If an automated external defibrillator (AED) is nearby, send someone to retrieve it. Do not delay or interrupt chest compressions in the meantime. If the person has not begun moving after about two minutes, apply the AED, switch it on and follow the machine’s voice instructions.

“If you are not trained to use an AED, a 911 operator may be able to guide you in its use,” Crocker said. “Too, instructions from AEDs are so simple that almost anyone can use them without prior training.”

The American Heart Association recommends administering one shock, then resuming CPR for two more minutes before administering a second shock, he said. Continue CPR until there are signs of movement or until emergency medical personnel take over.

Crocker warned it is still best to have CPR done in the conventional way by medical professionals, and that the new recommendations apply only to adult cardiac arrest victims outside a hospital setting.

Hands-only CPR should not be used on infants or children or adults whose cardiac arrest is from respiratory causes, he said. Conventional CPR with mouth-to-mouth breathing remains the appropriate technique for persons who are in respiratory arrest, indicated by breathing difficulties.

In respiratory arrest, the primary problem is not the heart but a lack of oxygen that eventually leads to cardiac arrest. Respiratory arrest may be caused by drug overdose, alcohol intoxication, carbon monoxide poisoning, severe asthma, drowning or choking.

For more information, visit the American Heart Association’s web site http://www.americanheart.org.

— Release provided by the Texas AgriLife Extension Service