News Update
August 26, 2009

American Angus Association® Members to Meet at 126th Annual Convention

American Angus Association members and Angus enthusiasts from across the nation and Canada will gather for the 126th Annual Convention of Delegates at the 2009 North American International Livestock Exposition (NAILE) Nov. 14-17 in Louisville, Ky. A full schedule of events is planned for attendees, including the 2009 Super-Point Roll of Victory (ROV) Angus Show.

The Annual Meeting will begin at 1:30 p.m. Monday, Nov. 16, at the Kentucky Fair and Exposition Center (KFEC) and is open to all Association members. President Jay King, Rock Falls, Ill., will preside over the meeting. Delegates from across the United States, the District of Columbia and Canada will conduct the business of the Association, including electing officers and five new directors.

During the Annual Meeting, the Association’s Annual Report will be presented and distributed to the membership. In addition, reports will be given on the activities of Angus Productions Inc. (API), Certified Angus Beef LLC (CAB), Angus Genetics Inc. (AGI) and the Angus Foundation.

All Angus events at the KFEC will be in the South Wing C Rooms 201-204, the same as in 2008. The hotel headquarters remains in the same location, but the name has changed from the Executive West to the Crowne Plaza. For more, visit www.angus.org.

— Provided by the American Angus Association

Cattle Industry Leader Selected for National Leadership Conference

Rod Wesselman of Moses Lake, Wash., was one of 53 young cattle producers selected to participate in the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) 30th Annual Young Cattlemen’s Conference (YCC). The YCC program is a comprehensive, nationwide tour of beef industry sectors, created to enhance leadership skills in young cattle producers.

“YCC is a prestigious and competitive program designed to foster the future leadership of our industry,” Forrest Roberts, CEO of NCBA, says. “The participants selected to attend YCC were chosen because of their exceptional contributions to the beef industry and their potential to be a strong voice in our future development.”

Wesselman graduated from Washington State University with a degree in general agriculture and a minor in animal sciences. He is currently a regional manager for the American Angus Association and covers the territory of Hawaii, Idaho, Oregon and Washington. Additionally, Wesselman is involved in the Washington Cattlemen’s Association and serves as a director on the board that represents the Allied Industries Committee, Breeds Committee, and assists with the Endowment Trust Fund.

“This was a tremendous opportunity to learn every aspect of the beef production chain,” Wesselman says. “I feel more prepared to address the challenges facing our industry after having gone through this program.”

The tour is sponsored by the NCBA, state and breed affiliates, Tyson Fresh Meats, Inc., Five Rivers Ranch Cattle Feeding and John Deere. Most participants were nominated by their respective NCBA affiliates. Additional cattle and beef industry representatives also attended.

— Release provided by NCBA.

Dehorning Calves Can Have a Tremendous Effect on Feeder/Stocker Cattle.

It may seem like one of the simpler management processes, but it still gets overlooked. Angus cattle, for instance, are naturally polled — and breeding cattle to Angus bulls is an easy way to remove horns naturally without the stress of using mechanical means.

According to the most recent National Animal Health Monitoring System (NAHMS) report, the percentage of calves marketed with horns, across all states evaluated, had decreased from 8.4% in 1992 to 6.3% in 2007.

The authors speculated that a majority of this decrease was due to the use of polled genetics. However, another import finding was that fewer calves born with horns were dehorned on the operation.

The 2007-2008 NAHMS report also evaluated dehorning practices by geographical region.

The South Central region (Texas and Oklahoma) had the highest percentage of calves born in 2007 that had or were expected to have horns (22.8%). The East region (Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee and Virginia) had only 9.8% calves with horns but only dehorned 39.5% of those calves.

The West and Central regions dehorned a much higher percentage of calves born with horns (70% combined).

The presence of horns has a consistently negative effect on the selling price of feeder calves. Reports from eastern Oklahoma, evaluating the sale price of more than 9,000 head, have shown that horned steers bring $3.23 per hundredweight (cwt.) less than their polled or dehorned contemporaries. Reports from the Southeastern states estimate that polled or dehorned calves sell for $1.50 to $2 per cwt. more than horned calves.

Horned feeders sell for less because they require dehorning when they arrive at the feedlot and that negatively affects their performance and health. If they are not dehorned, they decrease the value of the entire pen they feed with.

The 2005 National Beef Quality Audit (NBQA) reported that 22.3% of the cattle passing through 16 packing plants had horns. This represented a reduction from previous reports dating back to 1991 but still does not meet the industry goal of reducing horns on fed cattle to less than 5%.

One of these previous reports estimated the loss due to horns on fed cattle to be $1 for every finished animal marketed. The reduction in value comes from the increased incidence of bruising, especially on high-priced cuts, that has to be trimmed from the carcass.

Dehorning replacement females and bulls is also very important.

Horned cows can cause damage to other cattle during transportation and are often difficult to work in a handling facility. Non-fed market animals (cull cows and bulls) also experience a significant amount of carcass trim from bruising when they are managed or hauled with horned cattle.

— Release by Justin Rhinehart, beef cattle specialist; Mississippi State University Extension Service.

— Compiled by Mathew Elliott, assistant editor, Angus Productions Inc.