News Update
Jan. 27, 2010

‘Ordinary’ Cattle Yield Extraordinary Measures

“We’re feeding calves the same way everyone else does,” Pete Mitts says. “There’s nothing really special about them; they’re just cattle.”

A modest cover-up — most would call a load of calves that grade 56.4% USDA premium Choice and 35.9% Prime with 92.3% meeting Certified Angus Beef® (CAB®) brand standards anything but “just cattle.” Nevertheless, Mitts and John Osborn have been working on feeding these “ordinary ol’ cattle” together near Savannah, Mo., for more than a decade.

That pen was extraordinary enough to win the fourth quarter AngusSource®  Carcass Contest (ASCC) for the Northeast region. The Mitts/Osborn team won overall top honors in the annual contest with their 92.5% CAB and Prime entry from the third quarter. The fourth quarter’s top pen came in second for the overall contest.

“We don’t have any magic formula for feeding calves to make them Prime. You’ve got to do that genetically,” Mitts says. They’ve done that by stacking genetic traits that focus on carcass quality, birth weight and growth potential in their herd females and then reaping the rewards in the feedlot and packinghouse. Read more.

Free Webinars Planned for February

The eXtension Beef Cattle Clearinghouse Community of Practice will conduct two free webinars Feb. 11 and Feb. 25 starting at noon (CST).

The hour-long session Feb. 11 will review the mode of inheritance common to many genetic defects, understanding inbreeding, and practical advice for selection and culling. The Feb. 25 session will discuss crossbreeding.

To connect to the webinars:

• At the meeting time, click on the following link or copy and paste it into your browser to enter the meeting: http://connect.extension.iastate.edu/beefcattle/.
  
• At the login page, enter your name under the "Enter as a Guest" heading. Click on "Enter Room." Instructions to join the integrated phone audio conference will be provided on-screen when you join the meeting
  Prior to the meeting:
  
• Visit http://www.extension.iastate.edu/testconnect/ to confirm your ability to connect.

The Beef Cattle Clearing House Community of Practice is a web site providing research and information from faculty members from universities throughout the United States.

If you have any questions, contact Rick Rasby (UNL Beef Extension Specialist: rrasby@unlnotes.unl.edu) or Bob Weaber (weaberr@missouri.edu).

— Release provided by eXtension Beef Cattle Clearinghouse Community of Practice.

2010 Beef Industry Economic Outlook

Last week, University of Wisconsin (UW)–Madison hosted the 2010 Wisconsin Agricultural Economic Outlook Forum. Brenda Boetel, Department of Agricultural Economics, UW–River Falls, presented the outlook for livestock and poultry. Looking back at 2009, meat consumption in the United States declined 2.1% (4.5 pounds [lbs.]) from the previous year. Other factors affecting the decrease in demand in the last year are declines in exports and byproduct values. On the supply side, feed costs have also put pressure on the livestock industry. The increased price of corn during the last 3 years and lower supply due to increased ethanol production have both contributed to higher feed costs as well as drought in the western United States. This has resulted in a 1%-2% decline in beef production in the last year.

For 2010, modest improvements are expected in the beef industry. Domestic beef demand is expected to be stable to slightly higher in 2010. As the world economy recovers, exports and byproduct values should increase. This should help improve packer margins and allow for a slight increase in fed-cattle prices relative to 2009. A tighter supply of feeder-cattle due to a smaller calf crop and higher fed-cattle prices should support higher feeder-cattle prices in 2010. The 2009 record corn crop and hay production up from a year ago will also help to lower feed costs, which should also have a positive effect on feeder-cattle prices.

To download the full report, titled “State of Wisconsin Agriculture 2010,” go to www.aae.wisc.edu/pubs/status/. Following the forum, a Market-to-Market Rural Economic Summit was held and recorded. The video can be viewed by clicking here.

— Release by University of Wisconsin.

Beginning Farmers Conference Looks to the Future Feb. 6

The Beginning Farmer Network (BFN), an organization made up of Iowa State University (ISU) students interested in entering farming, is sponsoring the Beginning Farmers Conference on Feb. 6, at the Memorial Union, ISU campus, Ames. The conference will feature keynote speakers Craig Lang, Iowa Farm Bureau Association president and Paul Lasley, ISU Extension sociologist and department chair.

“This year’s conference is very future looking with speakers that will talk about what’s up and coming in agriculture,” said Dan Gradert, BFN member and a conference organizer. “The conference will bring people entering farming — students and people with only a few years of farming experience — together with experienced farmers and agencies that serve as resources for beginning farmers.”

Three sets of one-hour breakout sessions will cover topics ranging from value added ag and livestock in the future, to farm succession and expanding or maintaining farm operations. Session speakers from the Coalition to Support Iowa’s Farmers, Practical Farmers of Iowa, Iowa Agriculture Development Authority, Farm Service Agency (FSA), Beginning Farmers Center, Center for Agriculture Law and Taxation, and the Chair of Iowa Ag Committee are on the agenda.

“The conference sets the stage to network with other individuals who are at the same stage of farming and those with more experience, and introduces beginning farmers to people in agencies that they potentially will work with in the future,” Gradert said.

Online registration is available at www.ucs.iastate.edu/mnet/beginningfarmer/home.html. Registration also can be made by calling 515-294-6222. The registration fee is $35 prior to Feb. 1; $45 after that date. Registration includes all conference materials, lunch and networking breaks.

A complete agenda for the conference can be viewed at http://www.ucs.iastate.edu/mnet/beginningfarmer/schedule.html.

— Release by ISU Extension.

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