News Update
Jan. 14, 2010

Pfizer Animal Genetics Announces Availability of High-Density 50K for Angus Cattle

Pfizer Animal Genetics announced the completion of HD 50K, the beef industry’s first commercially available predictions based on a high-density panel of more than 50,000 markers. This breakthrough presents greater selection opportunities for owners of black Angus cattle.

“Pfizer Animal Genetics is very proud to bring a high-density panel to the beef industry,” says Nigel Evans, vice president of Animal Genetics for Pfizer Animal Health. “This is a major event for the industry and our company, and cattlemen now have access to unprecedented genomic selection information that can supplement EPDs (expected progeny differences) to accelerate genetic progress in their herds.”

HD 50K reports 14 genomic trait predictions as Molecular Value Predictions (MVPs™). A portion of the traits described by the MVPs — average daily gain, dry-matter intake, net feed intake and tenderness — are not currently expressed as EPDs and provide producers with an opportunity to select cattle according to traits of economic importance that can be difficult or costly to measure. Other traits associated with calving ease, growth, maternal and carcass merit can be used in concert with existing EPDs.

Also included is a DNA-based economic index, $MVPFL, which provides a predicted value in relation to net return of feedlot progeny.

“The MVPs from HD 50K have a strong relationship with an animal’s performance,” says Ronnie Green, senior director, global technical services for Pfizer Animal Genetics. “This enables Angus producers to achieve a significant return on investment (ROI). Producers making breeding decisions utilizing the product along with EPDs can benefit from up to a three-to-one improvement in ROI versus using EPDs alone in producing genetics for commercial cattlemen.”

The most powerful use of the HD 50K is to establish a genetic profile for animals early in life. DNA samples can be analyzed from young calves, long before progeny data is available and with greater accuracy than parent average information. The resulting data provide a reliable prediction of future performance, and allow producers to make earlier, better and more profitable genetic decisions.

— Adapted from a release provided by Pfizer Animal Genetics.

Editor’s Note: Producers should be aware that, at the current time, the data resulting from the HD 50K is not incorporated into the American Angus Association database for generation of genomic-enhanced EPDs.

Eight Cattle Industry Groups Agree on Statement of 12 Principles in Development of Cattle Disease Traceability ID System, Present To USDA, Congress

Believing that the discussion of a national animal identification plan had moved away from those most affected by it — cattle producers and marketers — eight cattle industry organizations have agreed on a statement of 12 principles in the development of a cattle disease traceability identification (ID) system.

The organizations, representing the beef, dairy and marketing sectors, developed the statement of principles during a meeting in Kansas City, Mo., last November.

The meeting was organized by Livestock Marketing Association (LMA) in cooperation with its cattle industry partners, to work toward a common understanding and approach to enhancing current cattle ID and traceability systems for animal disease surveillance and control in the United States.

The organizations agreed that an ID plan for the cattle industry should be specie-specific because of the diverse way cattle are raised, marketed and processed. The plan was presented Dec. 18 to U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Undersecretary for Marketing and Regulatory Programs Edward Avalos and other agency officials and transmitted to members of Congress recently.

Nancy Robinson, LMA vice president for government and industry affairs, said the discussion of what is “a practical, workable, cost-effective plan for cattle disease ID traceability has largely moved from the cattle production and marketing sectors.

“Those responsible for the production and marketing of cattle have long understood the importance and value of ID for cattle disease surveillance, control and eradication purposes,” she said. “Building upon that, we agreed upon principles that should form the basis of a workable, national cattle disease ID plan.”

Highlights of the 12 principles:

• Additional costs to the beef and dairy industry must be minimized.
  
• Cattle ID information must be kept confidential and should be kept under the control of state animal health officials. The only data required to be collected should be that necessary only for cattle disease surveillance, control and eradication.
  
• There should be renewed emphasis on preventing the introduction of foreign animal diseases.
  
• The 48-hour foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) traceback model is currently unachievable.
  
• The ID system should operate at the speed of commerce.
  
• An interstate movement ID program should use as a model the brucellosis/tuberculosis (TB) surveillance and control programs.
  
• Any ID enhancements of historically established federal and state cattle disease ID programs — beginning with the individual ID of adult breeding cattle — should be modeled after the TB and brucellosis programs, as they existed prior to USDA’s National Animal ID System (NAIS) modifications and voluntarily phased in over a proper time frame.
  
• Producers should be protected from liability for the acts of others after the cattle have left the producer’s control.
  
• State animal health officials should continue to have their historical flexibility and discretion in assigning an identifier for the person responsible for the livestock, such as in an epidemiological investigation or mitigation of a disease outbreak.
  
• Producers should have the flexibility to use currently established and/or evolving methods of official ID.
  

In transmitting the statement of principles to USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack and members of Congress, the organizations said while they “realized much work remains to be done within our individual organizations, as well as the wider cattle industry, we believe the attached statement of general principles … represents a significant step forward on a challenging issue for all of us.”

Signing the statement of the 12 principles were, in addition to LMA, the American Angus Association, American Farm Bureau Federation, Dairy Farmers of America, National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, R-CALF USA, Texas Cattle Feeders Association and the U.S. Cattlemen’s Association.

The complete 12 principles can be found on the home page of LMA’s website, www.lmaweb.com.

— Release provided by LMA.

Weather Cold, But Not Brutal at Most National Westerns of the Past

If the National Western Stock Show is in town, there’s an 80.7% chance there will be no snowfall and only a 23.9% chance that temperatures will be less than or equal to 35° F. There’s only a 9.1% chance that the weather will be below 25°, which probably surprises people, says Nolan Doesken, Colorado State University state climatologist.

Doesken and his team at the Colorado Climate Center analyzed daily temperature averages during the past 61 years that show most days between Jan. 10 and Jan. 25 have temperatures of 36° or higher. Doesken analyzed National Weather Service temperatures taken between Jan. 10 and Jan. 25 at the former Stapleton airport site between 1948 and 2009.

Based on those statistics, there’s only a 0.6% chance that more than 10 inches of snow will accumulate during that time period, but a 44% chance that more than an inch will accumulate.

“People love to talk about ‘stock show weather’ and the cold temperatures, but the truth is, the stock show doesn’t set any records for cold,” Doesken said.

Fun statistics about stock show weather during the past 61 years:

• The coldest days — Jan. 11, 1963, and Jan. 12, 1963 — were –25°.
  
• The warmest day was 73° Jan. 22, 2009.
  
• The most snow was 10.1 in. that fell Jan. 15, 1987.
  

For coverage of Angus events at the 2010 National Western Stock Show, visit www.angus.org.

— Adapted from a release provided by Colorado State University.

NFU and USCA Submit Joint Letter to USTR

The National Farmers Union (NFU) and the U.S. Cattlemen’s Association (USCA) submitted a joint letter to U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Ron Kirk, urging a vigorous defense of the country-of-origin labeling (COOL) law at the World Trade Organization (WTO).

On Jan. 8, NFU and USCA filed joint comments in response to the Dec. 4, 2009, Federal Register notice regarding the COOL challenge filed by Canada and Mexico with the WTO.

“A close examination of the data and facts surrounding this international challenge of a domestic law reflects that North American livestock trade has been impacted by the volatility in exchange rates, Canadian and U.S. feed prices, climate conditions, escalating transportation costs, competing protein sources, a weakened economy, a subsequent decline in demand for beef products and a substantial decline in Canadian cattle herds,” said USCA President Jon Wooster.

When COOL was mandated by Congress in the 2008 Farm Bill, the action fulfilled a decade of work by livestock producers to see their product differentiated in retail cases in a manner that provides meaningful point-of-purchase information to consumers. All sectors of the industry, including production and processing were involved in the sensitive negotiations finalizing the language in the COOL law. 

Of late, twenty-six U.S. Senators sent a letter to the Secretary of Agriculture and the USTR urging a vigorous defense of the COOL law at the WTO. 

— Release provided by NFU.

NCBA, PLC and ASI Express Concerns with Montana Wilderness Bill

The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA), Public Lands Council (PLC) and American Sheep Industry (ASI) are calling for changes to the Forest Jobs and Recreation Act of 2009 (S. 1470). S. 1470, introduced in July by Senator Jon Tester (D-Mont.) and referred to the Subcommittee on Public Lands and Forests, would designate additional wilderness lands in Montana. In a recent letter to the Chairmen and Ranking Members of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources and Subcommittee on Public Lands and Forests, NCBA, PLC and ASI submitted recommendations to help minimize the unintended adverse effects this legislation could have on livestock operations. The groups expressed concerns with the following provisions:

• Changes in Authorized Numbers: The bill should clearly state that changes in the numbers of authorized livestock must be based on facts, not the whim of individual land managers.
  
• Permit Transfers: The bill should explicitly state that permits will be transferrable to new owners in the exact same manner as they were prior to the wilderness designation.
  
• Motorized Access for Permit Administration: Explicit language must be added to allow for continued motorized access for the administration of grazing permit in the same manner as is currently allowed. It's important that farmers and ranchers continue to have motorized access to the land.
  
• Sheep Trailing Areas: Explicit language is needed to protect producers’ ability to trail sheep to summer pastures.
  
• Weed Control: It’s important that mechanical weed-control methods are specifically allowed in new wilderness areas. Without proper management, noxious weeds will take over the landscape, compromising the biodiversity and health of the ecosystem.
  

NCBA, PLC and ASI will work with the Committee and staff to see that these concerns are considered in order to protect our members and improve the legislation.

— Release provided by NCBA.

— Compiled by Shauna Rose Hermel, editor, Angus Productions Inc.