News Update
Nov. 26, 2008

Angus Activities Slated for 2009 NWSS

Five days of Angus events including shows, sales, educational and social opportunities are slated for the 103rd National Western Stock Show (NWSS) in Denver. Colo. Angus events kick off Tuesday, Jan. 13 and take place daily through Saturday, Jan. 17.

Angus activities start Tuesday, Jan. 13, with the junior heifer show, which begins at 1 p.m., in the Stadium Arena. Kyle Conley, Perkins, Okla., will evaluate the junior heifers.

The Super-Point Roll of Victory (ROV) Show begins with the female show at 8 a.m., Wednesday, Jan. 14, in the Stadium Arena. The ROV bull show begins at 8 a.m., Friday, Jan. 16. Chan Phillips, Maysville, Ky., will serve as the judge, with Ernie Wallace, Stotts City, Mo., as the associate judge.

On Thursday, Jan. 15, sale bulls take the stage, with judging in the Stadium Arena at 8:30 a.m., followed by a viewing of all sale consignments. Rick Blanchard, Firebaugh, Calif.; Scott Bush, Britton, S.D.; John Grimes, Hillsboro, Ohio; Mike McGuire, Waverly, Ala.; and Cheramie Viator, Franklin, Texas, will evaluate the 29 lots. The sale begins at 2 p.m. in the Beef Palace Auction Arena. A sale book can be viewed online at www.angusproductions.com/api_catalogs.html or requested by calling the American Angus Association (see below for more information).

The sale of the 2009 Angus Foundation Heifer Package will precede the bull sale. Eddie Sims, Elgin, Okla., will serve as the auctioneer.

Thursday evening, Angus enthusiasts should gather at the Angus Reception at the Denver Marriott City Center–Downtown. The reception begins at 6:30 p.m. A time of fellowship will take place along with an auction benefiting the 2009 National Junior Angus Show (NJAS) in Perry, Ga.

Angus activities conclude on Saturday, Jan. 17, with the pen and carload shows in the Yards. The event begins at 8:30 a.m. in the Livestock Center Auction Arena. Rance Long, Big Cabin, Okla.; Larry Rice, Scottsbluff, Neb.; and Jim Pipkin, Springfield, Mo., will officiate the group competitions.

An Angus “Listening Post” will again be located in the Yards. Be sure to stop by the tent for a cup of coffee. This year’s Listening Post will include both the Association and Certified Angus Beef LLC (CAB) staff. It is available for visitors Wednesday through Saturday. Association members and commercial cattle producers are encouraged to stop by the Angus tent in the Yards to talk about current beef industry issues, visit with staff, ask questions and exchange ideas.

In addition, the Angus booth on the Hill will have the latest Association publications, and Association staff will be available to visit there.
Visit www.angus.org/newsroom/releases/09_NWSS_Preview.html for more information and a detailed schedule.

Angus Genetics Featured at 2009 National Western Angus Bull Sale

Some of the Angus breed’s top genetics will be offered at auction during the 2009 National Western Angus Bull Sale, Thursday, Jan. 15, at the Beef Palace Auction Arena at the Stock Show Complex in Denver, Colo. The sale begins at 2 p.m., and features 29 Angus bulls from 14 states and is the only sale managed by the American Angus Association.

“This year’s sale features an excellent offering of purebred and commercial herd sire prospects that represent the Angus breed and its breeders well,” says David Gazda, sale manager and Association regional manager. “In past years, some of the breed’s most influential and leading AI sires have been consigned by Angus breeders and sold through this sale, including Northern Improvement, BCC Bushwacker 41-93, Boyd New Day 8005, Twin Valley Precision E161 and Riverbend Mile High 3718, to name but a few. Sires represented in this year’s offering include BC Marathon 7022, SAV Net Worth 4200, BC Raven 7965, Connealy Onward, GAR Predestined, OCC Emblazon 854E, Gamble’s Hot Rod and others.”

The bulls in the sale include coming yearlings and 2-year-olds, along with one 3-year-old.  A sale book with a complete listing of the bulls’ pedigrees and performance information is included in the December Angus Journal and is also posted online at www.angusjournal.com. Sale books can be requested by contacting Linda Campbell at the Association at 816-383-5100.

Potential buyers will have the opportunity to preview the bulls at 8:30 a.m. Thursday, Jan. 17 in the Stadium Arena. A panel of five judges will evaluate the bulls to help establish sale order. Judges include John Grimes, Hillsboro, Ohio; Mike McGuire, Waverly, Ala.; Rick Blanchard, Firebaugh, Calif.; Scott Bush, Britton, S.D.; and Cheramie Viator, Franklin, Texas. Eddie Sims, Elgin, Okla., is the auctioneer.

For more information about this sale and its offerings, contact David Gazda at 706-296-7846 or any Association regional manager. 

A complete list of consignors follows:
Limestone LLC, Perkins, Okla.
Conley Angus, Clarksdale, Mo.
Andrew Rogen, Brandon, S.D.
Sankey’s 6N Ranch, Council Grove, Kan.
Pollard Farms  LLC, Enid, Okla.
Robertson Cattle Farms, Tahlequah, Okla.
Michigan State University, East Lansing, Mich.
Hermiston Angus, Wheatland, Iowa
Laflin Ranch, Olsburg, Kan.
Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, Okla.
LaGrand Angus Ranch, Freeman, S.D.
Hank Kemmer, Crossville, Tenn.
Holly Gamble, Clinton, Tenn.
Express Ranches, Yukon, Okla.
Canyon Creek Angus LLC, Cody, Wyo.
Sauk Valley Angus, Rock Falls, Ill.
Bar R Angus, Sloughhouse, Calif.
Werner Angus, Cordova, Ill.
Brandon Creamer, Montrose, Colo.
Lazy JB Angus, Montrose, Colo.
Bear Mtn. Angus Ranch, Palisade, Neb.
Shooting Star Ranch, Gooding, Idaho
Riverbend Ranch, Idaho Falls, Idaho
Da-Es-Ro Angus Farms, Columbus Junction, Iowa
Wilson Cattle Co., Cloverdale, Ind.

‘The Gift of the Horse’ to Support Scholarship Funds

Sheri Spader of Spader Farms, Rosendale Mo., and family have offered SF Blue Sky McMaxill, a 2-year-old blue roan Quarter Horse to benefit the American Angus Auxiliary’s scholarship funds. SF Blue Sky McMaxill, “Blue” has 90-plus days of training donated by Rich Masoner, and will be auctioned Wednesday, Jan. 14 at 7 p.m. at the Trowbridge Family and Friends Invitational Angus Sale at the Brown Palace Hotel, Denver, Colo.

The donation of “Blue” is appropriately labeled, “The Gift of the Horse.” This unique gift honors the memory of former American Angus Association Executive Vice President Dick Spader, a devoted horseman and Angus enthusiast. The Spader family’s gift honors more than Dick’s own legacy and enthusiasm for the Angus breed; it is a gift made possible through the support of many Angus enthusiasts. Since announcing “The Gift of the Horse,” American Angus Auxiliary members, Masoner, Rhonda McCurry, Jerry Lehmann, Stuart Wilson and Phil Trowbridge, and many other Angus friends, have offered time and services to create this important opportunity to support the American Angus Auxiliary’s youth scholarship programs.

For more information about “Blue” and this special gift, visit www.angusauxiliary.com and access “The Gift of the Horse” web page. You may also contact Masoner at 816-351-8148 or Brett Spader at 785-633-5512.

— Releases provided by the American Angus Association.

S.D. Beef Program Teaches Teens

South Dakota’s state beef checkoff program has developed a program designed to build beef demand by teaching teenagers how to cook the meat and providing information about its nutritional benefits, according to Grand Forks Agweek and Meatingplace.com.

The new beef program provides money to state schools for purchasing beef to use in hands-on cooking lessons. Home economic teachers can apply for the funding and educational materials to use in their classrooms.
Beef funding also will be doled out to schools with ProStart Culinary Programs for students contemplating careers in culinary arts and foodservice management, according to Meatingplace.com.

AP: Ag Goes Urban and High-tech

The Associated Press (AP) has released an article about the benefits of hydroponics, a method used to grow plants in water instead of soil, and related research currently being conducted at California State Polytechnic University (Cal-Poly) and other institutions. The technology, advocates note in the article, could be used on rooftops, vacant lots and in futuristic “growing houses” in population centers to “bring farming into cities, where consumers are concentrated.”

Click here to read the article in its entirety.

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