News Update

News Update
August 14, 2008

Virginia Angus Association to Host Field Day

Angus enthusiasts are encouraged to attend the Virginia Angus Association’s field day, Saturday, Aug. 23. Attendees will have the opportunity to enjoy fellowship and a complimentary lunch while participating in this year’s event that features industry speakers and exhibits. Zach Tucker, Four Locust Angus, Keysville, Va., will host the single-day event, which begins at 10:30 a.m.

Bryce Schumann, American Angus Association chief executive officer (CEO), will present an update and overview of the Association’s programs. Also presenting is Jim Johnson, national director, sales and distribution for Pfizer Animal Genetics-Bovigen. Johnson will discuss “Utilizing DNA Technology, Today and Tomorrow.” Johnson has worked for Bovigen for the past four years; prior to joining Bovigen he worked for Genex and the Virginia Cattlemen’s Association.

There is no cost to attend the event; however, interested attendees are encouraged to preregister for the event by calling the Virginia Angus Association office at 540-337-3001 or e-mail at vaangus@angus.org. Additional information about the event can also be obtained by contacting the Virginia Angus Association.

Keysville, Va. is located 78 miles southwest of Richmond on Route 360. Four Locust Angus is located at the Route 15 exit for Keysville.

Mansfield Correctional Institute Farm to Host Ohio Angus Field Day Sept. 21

The Ohio Angus Association will conduct its field day Sept. 21 at the Mansfield Correctional Institute Farm in Mansfield, Ohio. Angus breeders and enthusiasts are invited to spend the day in Mansfield, as the interesting and educational program is sure to be enjoyable to all in attendance.

Registration is at 9 a.m., and the program will begin at 10 a.m. Featured speakers for the field day include Gerald Stokka, veterinarian, Pfizer Animal Health; Fernando Silveira, veterinarian, The Ohio State University; and Brian House, beef specialist, Select Sires Inc. A catered lunch will be served, and participants will be offered a wagon tour of the Mansfield Correctional Farm. In late afternoon the Ohio State Reformatory tour will begin. Bryce Schumann, Association CEO, will also be in attendance to meet and speak with Angus breeders.

Reservations are needed by Sept. 15 to plan the noon meal. Make reservations by sending $5 per Angus family to Joe Sanders, field day chairman, 5959 Hay Road, Harrod, OH 45850, or Allen Gahler, Ohio Angus Association secretary and fieldman, 641 N. Ellistown Trowbridge Road, Graytown, OH 43432.

Those who need accommodations should contact Holiday Inn in downtown Mansfield for reservations at 1-800-428-7290.

For more information about the Ohio Angus Association Field Day, contact Sanders at 419-648-3233, Gahler at 419-350-2091 or secretary@ohioangus.org.

135 Years of Angus Heritage Celebrated at Kansas Angus Field Day

The Kansas Angus Association will host its 2008 field day Sept. 27 in Victoria, in conjunction with a day of celebration of the heritage of Angus cattle and the 125th Anniversary of the American Angus Association. A daylong program is planned, and will include a historical perspective, featured speakers and a Certified Angus Beef® (CAB®) lunch. Area Angus breeders will also display cattle around the Grant Cemetery monument, which is located at 1st Street & Angus Drive.

The field day begins at 10 a.m., with cattle viewing. A formal program, along with the unveiling of the monument renovations, will follow lunch. The American Angus Association has been working closely to revitalize the monument that honors Grant and those first Angus bulls during this year — the 125th anniversary of the Association.

“In order to look to the future, we must study and celebrate the past,” says Jim Shirley, vice president of industry relations, who spearheaded the project to restore the monument and the cemetery where Grant is buried. “It is important to commemorate the beginning of our breed and to keep future generations of beef producers informed on how Angus in the U.S. got its humble start.”

Historical tours are tentatively planned. The field day will conclude in late afternoon, allowing historians to visit more of the German settlement or attend Saturday evening mass at Saint Fidelis Church, also known as the “Cathedral of the Plains,” and one of the eight wonders of Kansas.

There is no registration fee to attend the tour, but preregistrations are appreciated to accurately plan for the meal. To preregister or for more information, contact Anne Lampe, Kansas Angus Association secretary, at 620-872-3915 or e-mail her at kansasangus@wbsnet.org.

USDA Forecasts Second-Largest Corn Crop In History

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) forecast the 2008 U.S. corn crop at 12.3 billion bushels (bu.), the second-largest corn crop in history and well above the average trade estimate of about 11.94 billion bu., sending corn prices lower on the Chicago Board of Trade Tuesday morning.

As a result of the anticipated larger crop, USDA is now projecting ending U.S. corn stocks at 1.1 billion bu., up 301 million bu. from last month. USDA also lowered it season-average farm price forecast for corn to a range of $4.90 to $5.90 per bu., down by 60¢ on both ends of the range.

The new forecasts, contained in USDA’s Crop Production and World Supply and Demand reports issued this morning, are good news for livestock producers and meat processors, who have been hit by rising feedgrain costs, in part driven by concerns about the size of this year’s crop after June floods in key growing areas. Near ideal conditions in July and so far in August have improved crop prospects.