Angus Foundation Event Grosses More than $345,000

That Old West Magic Gala and Auction, hosted Aug. 30 by Bob Funk of Express Ranches, Yukon, Okla., raised more than $345,000 in gross income to support the Angus Foundation’s education, youth and research activities.

Held at the prestigious National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City, Okla., the magical night drew more than 400 Angus supporters from across the country who gathered to partake in fine dining, Western art and culture, and a live and silent auction.

“I’m honored to welcome you to this beautiful venue,” Funk said to event attendees. “With your support tonight, we will advance the future of the Angus breed by increasing the funds available to the Foundation’s education, youth and research programs.”

“The Angus Foundation will always owe a debt of gratitude to Mr. Funk for hosting this incredible event in the name of raising funds for our Angus Foundation,” said Angus Foundation President Milford Jenkins. “We are humbled by his generosity and philanthropy, which will allow the Angus Foundation to achieve even greater levels of funding for programs benefiting the Angus industry.”

With donated auction items ranging from art to jewelry and from exclusive trips to Angus collectibles, the live and silent auctions raised a combined $259,000.

Limestone LLC, Perkins, Okla., purchased the top-selling item in the live auction for $35,000, a Four Sixes Ranch gelding sired by Tanquery Gin and donated by Burnett Ranches LLC (6666 Ranch), Guthrie, Texas. Bob and Margaret Duprey of Cherry Knoll Farm Inc., West Grove, Pa., purchased the second high-selling item for $16,000, an Express UU Bar elk hunt in Cimarron, N.M., donated by Express Ranches.

“We’re extremely grateful to the various Angus breeders and friends from across the country who supported the auction and other aspects of the event,” Jenkins said. “We also wish to express our appreciation to the dedicated team of volunteers who invested much of their personal time and efforts in making ‘That Old West Magic’ a success.”

The event steering committee was led by co-chairs Julie McMahon French, Beaverton, Mich., and Wynn Dalton Herbers, Lynchburg, Va., and included Sara Stevenson, Hobson, Mont.; Jenni Beck Winegarner, Amarillo, Texas; Betsie Michael, Staunton, Va.; Teresa Mrocka, Howell, Mich.; Lynn Hill, Bidwell, Ohio; and Mark Squires, Yukon, Okla.

For more information about the Angus Foundation visit www.angusfoundation.org.

— Release provided by the Angus Foundation.

Animal Industry Responds to Hurricane Ike

Animal response to Hurricane Ike continues to be a team effort, as the issues are much larger than the resources of any one agency or association, The Texas Animal Health Commission (TAHC) reported Sept. 15.

TAHC has worked with the livestock industry to establish sites for emergency shelters, and with local governments, agencies and associations to develop animal issues committees.

The agency has established a small area command in the Austin, Texas, headquarters, and is one of more than 30 agencies in the Governor’s Division of Emergency Management.

TAHC’s Area Command can be reached at 1-800-550-8242, ext 296.

At the request of TAHC, members of a National Veterinary Response Team (NVRT) are now being deployed by the federal government to assist in Texas recovery operations.

Animal response teams from both Florida and New Mexico have volunteered to provide assistance to Texas via the Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EMAC) system and are awaiting final authorization.



A joint TAHC and USDA Veterinary Services team is working in the Beaumont area, assessing large animal issues from the air and ground. The scope of livestock death loss is not yet known, according to TAHC.

Another team will be assessing the western side of the storm area, when re-entry is allowed.


The Texas State Animal Resource Team (TXSART), supported by the Texas Veterinary Medical Association, is working in the area with credentialed animal care groups.

A TXSART hotline for Orange and Jefferson counties has been set up at: 409-980-7280 and 409-838-2510.



In several storm-ravaged counties, large numbers of cattle and horses caught in the storm surge either died or fences are down, and animals are loose or stranded.

TAHC is coordinating carcass disposal with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) and the National Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). Reports of dead livestock should be made to TAHC’s Area Command Center at 1-800-550-8242, ext 296. Callers will be asked to provide the location, species of animal, approximate number, and, if, possible, the GPS coordinates of the site.

The Texas Agrilife Extension, Texas Department of Agriculture and livestock industry groups have established “Operation No Fences: Hurricane Ike Horse and Cattle Relief" to collect feed, hay and water troughs to provide the livestock with safe feed and water. For more information or to make a donation, call the Texas 4-H
Foundation at 979-845-1213.

Producers who wish to donate hay or are in need of hay are encouraged to call the Texas Department of Agriculture’s Hay Hotline at 1-877-429-1998.


Visit www.tda.state.tx.us/hayhotline for more information.

Many of the emergency animal shelters for large and small animals remain operational, and livestock producers continue to generously volunteer their pastures and barns for evacuees. Early information from shelters providing reports indicates that more than 550 livestock and about 1,200 small animals were provided refuge. This does not include persons sheltering their pets in their temporary housing, or individuals providing sheltering space. TAHC has sourced pet cages from Louisiana to augment the local sheltering capacity. Evacuees who need to locate sheltering space should call 2-1-1.

— Release provided by TAHC.

Livestock Manure Management
Webcast Slated For Sept. 19

The focus will be on hydrogen sulfide gas produced from animal manure during a Sept. 19 webcast that is open to all livestock producers and others interested in the topic.

Hydrogen sulfide can reach toxic levels in confined manure storage pits. Its presence in confinement buildings and open lots has been the subject of recent studies that will be discussed as part of a national series of manure management webcasts from U.S. land-grant universities.

University of Minnesota professor Larry Jacobson and Jim Sullivan with the Minnesota Pollution Control Board will join Texas A&M professor Saqib Mukhtar to discuss outdoor concentrations of hydrogen sulfide gas and the concerns of government agencies.

The one-hour session begins at 2:30 p.m. EDT/1:30 p.m. CDT/12:30 MDT. The webcast is one in a series hosted by the Livestock and Poultry Environmental (LPE) Learning Center, developed by experts from land-grant universities, agencies and other organizations. The center is part of the national eXtension interactive web resource customized with links to local Cooperative Extension web sites. Kansas State University’s (K-State’s) Research and Extension is a part of the national eXtension effort. The webcast meeting room opens 15 minutes before the start time. To view, go to http://www.extension.org/pages/Live_Webcast_Information.

— Release provided by K-State Research and Extension.

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