News Update
Nov. 13, 2009

Members to Conduct Annual Meeting

American Angus Association® members will meet in Louisville, Ky., beginning this weekend for annual Angus events in conjunction with the North American International Livestock Exposition (NAILE).

Members will conduct the 126th Annual Convention of Delegates Monday, where five directors will be elected to the Association Board of Directors. Votes will also be cast for president and vice president, and an overview of Association activities during the past year, including a financial report, will be presented. Read more.

Industry Has Made Remarkable Progress in Beef Safety

A report from the American Meat Institute Foundation (AMIF) indicates the prevalence of E. coli O157:H7 and infections stemming from the bacteria have declined dramatically. Since 2000, E. coli incidence in fresh ground beef products has declined 45% to less than .5%. In addition, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports human infections attributed to E. coli have declined 44% during the past 10 years (human infections are linked to a variety of foods, not just meat products).

This information was included in the 10th anniversary report on AMIF’s Food Safety Initiative. Intensive research, applied technology and consumer education funded by AMIF, the beef checkoff, universities and private companies is responsible in large part for the reduced incidence of E. coli O157:H7 in beef.

— Release provided by the Kansas Livestock Association.

2010 International Livestock Congress

Envisioning 2020 – Preparing for Future Global Demand is the topic of this year’s International Livestock Congress (ILC). The keynote speaker will be Richard Brown, London, England, partner in GIRA Euroconsulting. GIRA is a French-based international organization that offers strategic marketing consultancy and research throughout the food industry. Brown will provide summary projections and analysis of the global beef industry based on the general economic outlook of the global financial system and global market developments.

Other speakers at this year’s ILC include:

• Wesley Batista, JBS Swift
  
• Erin Daley, U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF)
  
• Greg Bloom, Colorado Meat Packers
  
• Rob Shuey, Tyson Foods Inc.
  
• Jeff Simmons, Elanco Animal Health
  
• Randy Blach, Cattle-Fax  
  
• Colin Woodall, National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA)

Pre-Congress tours set for Mon, Jan. 11, will include stops at the JBS Swift meat packing plant in Greeley, Colo., and the Colorado State University (CSU) Grow Safe System near Fort Collins. Another tour within the Denver area will feature the King Soopers Case-Ready beef processing facility and the NCBA’s new products development center.

Cost of the ILC is $175 per person or $100 per student before Dec. 11, 2009, and includes a continental breakfast, a buffet lunch, the Flavor of Beef Tasting reception and admittance to the National Western Stock Show. Tours are $45 per person before Dec. 11 and $65 per person after Dec 11. ILC is sponsored by the International Stockmen’s Educational Foundation (ISEF).

Go to www.theisef.com for lodging information and to register online. For more details contact Clint Peck, Montana’s director of Beef Quality Assurance and 2010 ILC co-chair at 406-896-9068 or cpeck@montana.edu.

— Release by ILC.

Cattle Producers Invited to Attend the upcoming Bovine Connection at Williston, North Dakota.

The Bovine Connection program is organized by a committee of area beef producers, agri-businessmen and Extension agents with the support of area businesses, cattlewomen, seedstock producers and corporate sponsors.

The first day, Wednesday, Dec. 2, will focus on forage issues featuring Jim Gerrish.

Jim Gerrish of American Grazinglands Services will open the Bovine Connection with the presentation, “Living Without Oil and Iron.” Other presentations by Gerrish during the day include “Stocking Density — the Most Powerful Tool in a Grazier’s Tool Box,” and “Why Post-Grazing Residual Matters.” Jim has more than 20 years of beef-forage systems research and outreach while he was on the faculty at the University of Missouri (MU) and 20 years of commercial cattle and sheep production on his family farm in northern Missouri. Besides workshops and seminars, he provides an on-ranch consulting service which helps farmers and ranchers more effectively manage their grazing lands for economic and environmental sustainability. From his present location at May, Idaho, Jim writes a monthly column “Grassroots of Grazing for the Stockman” for Grass Farmer magazine and is a contributing editor to Beef magazine.

Others scheduled to speak on the first day include Kevin Sedivec, North Dakota State University (NDSU) Extension rangeland management specialist on “How to Use Stocking Density in Grazing Systems,” and Josh Dukart, technical coordinator of the North Dakota Grazing Lands Coalition on “Enhancing Soil Health with Cover Crops and Grazing.” Also that day Ken Miller, a Morton County rancher, will describe how he uses cover crops for spring and fall grazing. Lon Reukauf, a Terry, Mont., rancher will present “What Is That Extra Pound Worth and What Did It Cost?” A beef cattle market outlook will be discussed by Derrell Peel, Extension beef marketing specialist at Oklahoma State University.

Thursday, Dec. 3, has many featured speakers, all addressing “hot-button” issues of the industry with possible bottom-line effects for every cow-calf producer.

Speakers include Burton Eller, senior vice president of government affairs, National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, Washington, D.C.; Ken Odde, chairman of the Kansas State University Animal Sciences and Industry Department; Matt Spangler, University of Nebraska; Brett Olson, Montana State University; David Buchanan, NDSU; and Andy Roberts, Fort Keogh Livestock and Range Research Laboratory. They will discuss the Use of DNA Technology in Beef Cattle Selection, Effects of Wind and Cold Weather on Nutritional Needs of Beef Cows, Beef Cow Longevity and Efficiency with Limited Feed Management, Opportunities and Challenges for Cow/Calf Producers, Reclaiming Our Legacy, and Beef Cattle Genetic Defects.

The registration fee to attend is $40 per person or $60 per couple for the two-day event which includes meals, refreshments and a proceedings handbook.

For more information visit Bovine Connection to Profit.

— Release by NDSU.

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