News Update
Jan. 20, 2010

Kiamichi Link Ranch Purchases the 2010 Angus Foundation Heifer Package

L. Tucker Link, owner of Kiamichi Link Ranch of Antlers, Okla., bid $75,000 on Jan. 14 to purchase the 2010 Angus Foundation Heifer Package, donated by Jeff Ward and Duncan Smith owners of Sinclair Cattle Company, of Warfordsburg, Pennslyvania.

The heifer package was auctioned during the National Western Stock Show in Denver, Colo., with all proceeds benefiting 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. David and Mary Ann McMahon of Belle Point Ranch, Fort Smith, Ark., were the contending bidders.

Sinclair K Bty 8R102 E118 was chosen to represent the Sinclair program and is a daughter of the famed RR Rito 707. Added to this year’s package was the pick of the 2010 Sinclair Cattle Company natural born heifer crop.

In addition to the heifer package, Kiamichi Link Ranch will receive 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 from Trans Ova Genetics, Sioux Center, Iowa.

“We are honored by the generosity shown by both Sinclair Cattle Company and Kiamichi Link Ranch in the donation and purchase of this outstanding female package,” said Milford Jenkins, Angus Foundation president. “We are humbled by their charitable and unselfish endorsement of the importance of raising funds for education, youth and research for the benefit of the Angus breed. One can only be inspired by the generosity of these Angus breeders.”
 

For more information about the Angus Foundation, the sale of the heifer package or the campaign, contact Jenkins at (816) 383-5100 or mjenkins@angusfoundation.org. Look for more details on www.angus.org and in the March issue of the Angus Journal.

AVMA Partners With ARCH For Haiti Earthquake Relief

The devastating earthquake that occurred in Haiti Tuesday, Jan. 12, was tragic. Relief for the animals is being provided by the Animal Relief Coalition of Haiti (ARCH). The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) is among the participants in the coalition, and the American Veterinary Medical Foundation (AVMF) will provide monetary donations.

Even more than a week after the initial earthquake, the primary focus in Haiti continues to be on human rescue and relief efforts, especially finding and freeing survivors trapped under rubble, and providing food, water and medical attention to the devastated population. Disease has been forecast as the next major problem, according to the ARCH coalition. Among the concerns are possible outbreaks of zoonotic diseases such as rabies and leptospirosis.

Animal relief efforts in Haiti remain focused on assessment. The large bulk of the Haitian animal population is agricultural. Haiti has approximately 5 million livestock, which are critical to the country’s infrastructure. Additionally, Haiti has a large population of free-roaming dogs.

Veterinary and animal relief efforts will focus first on providing emergency care to the livestock population, which is considered critical to Haiti’s long-term recovery. An additional focus, particularly for the long term, will focus on the large stray population.

A team is staging in the Dominican Republic to help tend to animals in Haiti. The AVMA stands ready to organize the collection of specific veterinary supplies from U.S. donors, if necessary, but there has been no call for that to date, according to Heather Case, AVMA director of scientific activities and coordinator for emergency preparedness and response.

For ongoing updates, please follow the AVMA and the AVMA Veterinary Medical Assistance Teams (VMAT) on Twitter:

@AVMAVMAT: AVMA VMAT’s Twitter feed
@AVMAvets: AVMA’s general Twitter feed

The AVMA disaster response efforts, led by the AVMA VMAT, are funded through the generous support of the American Veterinary Medical Foundation. Your donation to the AVMF will help the Foundation make emergency care available to all animals in times of crisis.

— Release by AVMA.

Mid-South Stocker Conference Set For Late February

“Conditions Change, Management Makes the Difference” is the theme for the 2010 Mid-South Stocker Conference scheduled for Feb. 23 and 24 at the Montgomery Bell State Park near Dickson, Tenn. This marks the fifth annual conference devoted to forage-based stocker cattle production for the region.

Sponsored by the Cooperative Extension Services of the University of Kentucky (UK) and the University of Tennessee (UT) and each state’s cattlemen’s association, in partnership with Bayer Animal Health and BEEF magazine, this year’s conference aims to add to information of previous conferences.

“The stocker phase of beef production fits the landscape for Tennessee and Kentucky as well as other areas throughout the Mid-South due to abundant supplies of forages providing efficient gains,” said Jeff Lehmkuhler, Extension beef specialist for the UK College of Agriculture. “A readily available supply of quality calves provides additional support for this segment of the industry.”

Registration for the conference will start at 10 a.m. CST Tuesday, Feb. 23, with a tour of area cattle operations departing at noon. That afternoon participants may attend a reception and trade show at the lodge convention center. Cattle industry agri-businesses will also serve as sponsors of the conference and provide resources related to their products during the tradeshow. An evening presentation covering vaccinations will conclude the day’s activities.

The program continues Wednesday, Feb. 24, beginning at 7 a.m. CST with a continental breakfast in the trade show area. The formal program will get under way at 9 a.m. covering stocker cattle health and opportunities for custom grazing/backgrounding of calves. A panel of stocker operators will also share their experiences with attendees and discuss what has worked for them in their operations. The afternoon session will include highlights of the national stocker survey. An update and outlook of the beef cattle industry by Cattle-Fax will wrap up the conference. Additional details and the conference program are available online at www.midsouthstocker.org/.

Rooms at Montgomery Bell State Park Lodge are available at the special rate of $49.99 per night. The preregistration fee for the conference, which includes the tour, reception, meals, proceedings and access to the trade show, is $95 per person or $150 per couple. Register online at www.midsouthstocker.org/ or contact John Bartee, with UT Extension’s Montgomery County office at 931-648-5725, jbartee1@utk.edu. Registration after Feb. 16 and on-site at the conference will be $125.

For answers to questions about the conference, call Jim Neel, 865-974-7294; Roy Burris, 270-365-7541, ext. 208 or Lehmkuhler, 859-257-2853.

— Release by UK Extension.

2010 Beef Feedlot Roundtables Offered Feb. 9-11

Beef feedlot owners, employees, veterinarians and others in the industry will learn the latest on feedlot health, animal welfare, the environment, economics and research at the 2010 Nebraska Beef Feedlot Roundtables Feb. 9-11 in West Point, Lexington, Bridgeport and Orange City, Iowa.

The University of Nebraska–Lincoln (UNL) Extension and Iowa State University (ISU) Extension meeting will be offered Feb. 9 at the Nielsen Community Center in West Point and downlinked that day live to the Sioux County Extension office in Orange City, Iowa. On Feb. 10 it will be offered at the Holiday Inn Express in Lexington and Feb. 11 at the Prairie Winds Community Center in Bridgeport.

Registration is from 8 a.m.-8:30 a.m. with introduction and welcome at 8:30 by local Extension personnel.

University and industry representatives will speak on animal health and management topics which include responsible antibiotic use, dead stock and proper disposal under the new laws and feedlot cattle handling to improve animal welfare. In addition, university faculty will discuss implications of cap/trade and climate legislation on the feedlot industry, air quality regulations, runoff control via vegetative treatment systems and some discussion of feedlot economics in 2010. The program will end with a research update.

The meeting will adjourn by 4 p.m.

Lunch will be sponsored by the Nebraska Beef Council with an update on new beef products at the Nebraska locations.

Preregistration is available by fax, e-mail or mail and is requested by Feb. 4. Cost is $25 and will be accepted with a preregistration at the door. Cost for those who have not preregistered will be $40. For more information or a registration form, contact Galen Erickson, C220 Animal Science, P.O. Box 830908, Lincoln, NE 68583-0908, phone 402-472-6402, fax 402-472-6362, e-mail gerickson4@unl.edu.

The Beef Feedlot Roundtable is sponsored by UNL Extension in the university’s Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources, ISU Extension and the Nebraska Beef Council.

— Release by UNL Extension.

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