News Update
July 14, 2008

Christmas in July

The National Junior Angus Show (NJAS) will be broadcast live this week from Des Moines, Iowa, on Liveauctions.tv. Viewing requires a user name and password to log in.

The broadcast will run Wednesday through Saturday, and the shows begin at 8 a.m. daily. If you miss viewing the show live and still want to view the results, visit www.njas.info.

The site feature a complete schedule as well as coverage of show results, contest placings, award winner highlights, candid photos and more.

— Information provided by the American Angus Association.

Bill Bowman Featured on CattleNetwork

Bill Bowman, American Angus Association chief operating officer (COO), was featured Saturday, July 12, on Cattle Network. Visit www.cattlenetwork.com/brangus_content.asp?ContentId=235721 to read the brief interview.

Organization Sues USDA

The Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund filed suit in the U.S. District Court–District of Columbia today in an effort to stop the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Michigan Department of Agriculture from implementing the National Animal Identification System (NAIS) as part of a mandatory bovine tuberculosis (TB) control effort.

According to a release issued by the Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund, the suit asks the court to issue an injunction to stop the implementation of NAIS at the state or federal levels by any state or federal agency. The organization states that if the suit is successful, it would halt NAIS nationwide.

Organization representatives stated in the release that they believe current records from sale barns and livestock shows provide ample documentation for tracking animal disease.

Beef Producers Urged to Vote

Missouri cattle producers are encouraged to make sure they are registered to vote in elections this summer for representatives to serve on the Missouri Beef Industry Council (MBIC) board of directors.

MBIC Director of Marketing Dawn Thurnau says the elections take place in different regions of the state each year.

“This year we are filing positions in three of the regions — northeast, northwest and southeast,” she said. “So if you are in any of those regions it is important to register to vote.”

For a beef producer to be able to vote, they must be registered by July 18 at their local Farm Service Agency office, but producers who have voted in the last three elections do not need to register again.

“Any cattle producer within the regions where we are electing directors who owns one or more head of cattle is eligible to vote,” Thurnau said.

Those producers who have been nominated by the Missouri Cattlemen’s Association, Missouri Farm Bureau and MFA to serve on the board of directors are as follows:

Region 2 - Northeast
David “Blue” Geier
Sally Angel

Region 3 - Southeast
Jim Freeman
Mike Kasten

Region 4 – Southwest
Jay Stahl
Howard Hardeke
Chris Cloud

Thurnau notes that other qualified producers may be nominated to be added to the ballot in their particular region before July 18.

— Adapted from a release provided by the Missouri Beef Industry Council (MBIC).

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