News Update
Dec. 22, 2009

Sinclair Cattle Co. Donates 2010 Angus Foundation Heifer

The Angus Foundation announced that Jeff Ward and Duncan Smith, owners of Sinclair Cattle Company, Warfordsburg, Pa., will donate the 2010 Angus Foundation Heifer, set to sell at 4 p.m., Jan. 12, 2010, at the National Western Stock Show (NWSS) in Denver, Colo.

Sinclair K Bty 8R102 E118 is the special heifer chosen to represent the Sinclair program. A January 2008 daughter of the great RR Rito 707, this outstanding female descends from the legendary N-Bar herd on her maternal side.

The sale of the Angus Foundation Heifer Package, an annual fundraising tradition initiated in 1980, supports the Angus Foundation, the not-for-profit affiliate of the American Angus Association that funds and supports programs involving education, youth and research in the Angus breed and agricultural industry.

In addition to the heifer, the buyer receives:

• 30 days of free insurance from American Live Stock Insurance Co., Geneva, Ill.;
  
• free transportation to the buyer’s ranch provided by Lathrop Livestock Transportation, Dundee, Ill.; and
  
• an Advanced Reproductive Technology Package that includes a genetic preservation and one session of in vitro fertilization with sex-sorted semen from a bull of the buyer’s choice from Trans Ova Genetics, Sioux Center, Iowa.
  

For more information about the heifer package or ways you can contribute to the Angus Foundation, log onto www.angusfoundation.org, contact Milford Jenkins, president of the Angus Foundation at 816-383-5100, or visit with any regional manager.

Interstate Meat Shipping Program Will Help Grow Local Demand, Promote Competition

The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) submitted comments yesterday to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS) regarding a proposed rule to allow the interstate shipping of certain meat and poultry products. The proposal would establish a new cooperative state program — as directed under section 11015 of the 2008 Farm Bill — to permit the sale and shipment of meat across state lines. The program will help small establishments grow their businesses and open up new opportunities for cattle producers to do business at the local level. Currently, meat processors operating under cooperative state inspection programs are prohibited from selling their products out of state.

“This program is a great opportunity to grow local demand for beef and increase competition,” said Kristina Butts, director, legislative affairs. “NCBA fought for this provision in the 2008 Farm Bill and we’re pleased that USDA is finally working towards its implementation.”

While NCBA is pleased with the spirit of the program, it is asking FSIS to clarify guidance for establishments in states which potentially become ineligible to participate. The proposed rule states that once an establishment applies to participate, it would have to transition and become federally inspected if it were ever deselected from the program. It’s unclear what would happen to establishments participating in the voluntary program in the event its respective state was to become ineligible to participate.

“It could be devastating to local markets if a plant had to shut down because it’s not allowed to revert back to being a regular state-inspected plant,” Butts said.

Cattle producers appreciate the opportunity for states to apply for transition grants to reimburse selected establishments for the cost of employee Hazardous Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) training and the development of sanitation standard operating procedures (SOPs). In order to encourage broad participation, NCBA is asking FSIS to notify states and establishments of the training opportunities to produce the safest products possible.

“Safety is a non-competitive issue for the beef industry and we encourage USDA to continue working with the industry, stakeholders and states to achieve our common goal of producing safe beef products,” Butts continued. “This program will help ensure that high quality product continues to be delivered into the marketplace, while providing cattle producers and consumers the opportunity for more local beef supplies.”

NCBA appreciates the opportunity to review and comment on the program, and we look forward to working with USDA on its implementation.

— Release provided by NCBA.

Grass-N-Beef Research Review Set for Jan. 20

North Dakota State University’s (NDSU) Central Grasslands Research Extension Center is holding its annual Grass-N-Beef Research Review Jan. 20, 2010.

The event, which will take place in the center’s conference room, begins at 9:30 a.m. with a welcome from Paul Nyren, center director. Ken Grafton, director of the North Dakota Agricultural Experiment Station and dean of the NDSU College of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Natural Resources, will follow with opening remarks.

Topics that will be covered during the day and the presenters are:

• The Heifer Bull Project: assessing calving ease and exploring finishing options — Greg Mantz, center animal scientist
  
• Using annual forages to extend grazing — Kevin Sedivec, NDSU rangeland management specialist
  
• Twenty-three years of Kentucky bluegrass and smooth brome invasion in northern mixed-grass prairie — Shawn DeKeyser, assistant professor, NDSU School of Natural Resource Sciences
  
• Ecological site descriptions as a management tool — Jeff Printz, state rangeland management specialist, Natural Resources Conservation Service
  
• Pasture monitoring techniques — Chuck Lura, biology professor, Dakota College at Bottineau
  
• Why we have Kentucky bluegrass and whether we can get rid of it — John Hendrickson, rangelands scientist, USDA Agricultural Research Service, Mandan
  
• North Dakota’s Lake George may hold the key to tracking historical climate change — Jaime Toney, Brown University, Providence, R.I.
  
• New forage agronomy program at the Central Grasslands Research Extension Center — Guojie Wang, center forage agronomist
  
• Production and quality of selected perennial biofuels crops — Nyren
  
• Livestock watering options and water quality for remote areas — Roxanne Johnson, NDSU Extension Service water quality associate
  
• Vietnam revisited — Sandi and Tim Dewald, Streeter

The Central Grasslands Research Extension Center is four miles north of Streeter or 11 miles south of Interstate 94. From I-94, go south on North Highway 30 to 48th Street, go five miles west to 48th Avenue, then go one-quarter mile south.

The program is free of charge and will include a catered lunch. Registration is not required.

— Release provided by NDSU.

World Ag Expo Beef Seminars Set for Feb. 9

World Ag Expo will present three days of seminars in the newly expanded Expo Seminar Center with a different emphasis each day. The expanded seminar, located in the southeast area of the grounds, seats 90 attendees. All of World Ag Expo’s seminars are provided free of charge with a paid admission.

“New for 2010” BEEF Magazine will present four seminars specifically designed for beef producers on Tuesday, Feb. 9, 2010. From the changes in the industry to trends in the market, these one-hour seminars will educate large to small herd producers on many important issues facing the U.S. beef industry today.

The 43rd annual World Ag Expo 2010, Powering Global Agriculture, will run Feb. 9-11 at the International Agri-Center show grounds in Tulare, Calif. An estimated 100,000 attendees from 67 countries are expected to attend World Ag Expo this year. The expo is the largest annual agricultural show of its kind with 1,600 exhibitors displaying cutting-edge agricultural technology and equipment on 2.6 million square feet of show grounds.

Online attendee registration is now open at www.WorldAgExpo. Those who register online through Feb. 1 will save time at the gate, $2 off daily admission, and be automatically entered to win a Yamaha Rhino and other registration prizes. World Ag Expo tickets are $10 online if purchased before Feb. 1, or $12 at the gate.

— Adapted from a World Ag Expo release.

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