News Update
March 11, 2010

Spire Named API Production Manager

LaVera Spire has been named advertising/production manager for Angus Productions Inc. (API). Currently API’s circulation and billing manager, Spire will begin her new role upon the retirement of Cheryl Oxley April 30.

Spire is no stranger to the Angus business. She has served the American Angus Association and API in various capacities since 1966, when she began work for the Association’s Public Relations Department.

In 1980, Spire accepted a position as an advertising coordinator for API, and following several years at home raising her twin sons, T.J. and Travis, rejoined API in 1999 as circulation and billing manager.

“LaVera has contributed greatly to both API and the American Angus Association during her more than 25 years here,” Terry Cotton, API general manager, says. “We are very fortunate to have someone like LaVera to step into this important position and continue API’s reputation for excellence.”

Spire was raised on a commercial Angus farm in northwest Missouri and has an appreciation of the agriculture industry and its people.

“The Angus community and the people I’ve met through API have been an important part of my life,” Spire says. “Cheryl will be leaving some very big shoes to fill. I look forward to carrying on the professionalism and breeder relationships that she has established. We have a great crew here at API that works each day to exceed cattle producers’ expectations, and I’m eager to continue that.”

Photos Displayed on EPD/Pedigree Search

Angus cattle producers using the EPD/Pedigree search at www.angus.org may soon notice a new feature.

Animal photos may now appear in the upper right-hand corner of the EPD/Pedigree lookup, alongside expected progeny difference (EPD) and pedigree information.

Using their AAA Login accounts, American Angus Association® members can upload images by clicking on “Pictures on EPD/Pedigree Lookup” and following available instructions. Producers can display an animal’s photo for $50 for one year, or $200 for five years, payable at the time of order.

“By including a photo through this online service, producers and their customers can now view their animals and their valuable EPD and pedigree information simultaneously,” says Lou Ann Adams, director of information systems. “This new option represents the latest in our growing list of breeder capabilities through AAA Login.”

Last month, the Association introduced a graph of EPD percentiles using data from the latest National Cattle Evaluation (NCE). Also available through the EPD/Pedigree search, the graph visually displays where animals rank within the breed according to their sex and category.

For more information about Angus cattle and the American Angus Association’s programs and services, contact the Association at 816-383-5100 or visit www.angus.org.

Canada Confirms BSE Case

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) confirmed its 17th case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in a 72-month-old beef cow from Alberta. No part of the animal entered the human food or animal feed systems. CFIA’s BSE information is available online at: www.inspection.gc.ca/english/anima/heasan/disemala/bseesb/bseesbindexe.shtml.

The animal’s birth farm has been identified, and an investigation is underway. The age and location of the infected animal are consistent with previous cases detected in Canada. This case was detected through Canada’s national BSE surveillance program, which continues to play an important role in Canada’s strategy to manage BSE. The CFIA is conducting a full investigation based on the guidelines of the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE). The feed cohort, birth cohort and all feed to which the animal may have been exposed early in its life will be investigated.

Canada carries the same international BSE status as the United States. Both are categorized as Controlled Risk for BSE by the OIE. The U.S. and Canada currently have in place multiple and appropriate firewalls to protect animal and human health; and these firewalls have proven effective.

This disease is fast approaching eradication worldwide. Last year, there were just two cases of BSE diagnosed outside Europe (one in Canada and one in Japan) and just 60 cases total (compared to more than 37,000 in the United Kingdom alone during peak occurrence in 1992).

If you receive questions about U.S. animal health or human food safety from BSE, please refer to the BSE scientific resource at www.BSEInfo.org.

— Release by NCBA.

Vet Schools Converge On Hill For HR 2999

Officials from the nation’s 28 colleges of veterinary medicine converged on Capitol Hill today, March 11, 2010, to advocate for HR2999, The Veterinary Public Health Workforce and Education Act, which would provide urgently needed funds to meet societal needs for more veterinarians. The legislation, if enacted, would be the first direct federal infrastructure support for veterinary medicine schools in more than 30 years.

An alarming report from the General Accounting Office (GAO) warns of a growing shortage of veterinarians nationwide, “particularly of veterinarians who care for animals raised for food, serve in rural communities, and have training in public health.” The Bureau of Labor Statistics has projected a need for an additional 22,000 veterinarians by 2016. The leading cause of the shortage is lack of capacity at U.S. veterinary medical colleges, where applicants outnumber seats by more than three to one.

“Veterinarians are our frontline of defense against potentially deadly disease outbreaks,” said Representative Tammy Baldwin, sponsor of the Act. “As the H1N1 outbreak proved, disease can travel from animal to human rapidly and unpredictably. We must have enough public health veterinarians to help keep our food supply and our families safe.”

If enacted into law, The Veterinary Public Health Workforce and Education Act would create a competitive grant program to schools of veterinary medicine; programs to support faculty recruitment and retention; a rotating fellowship program within the Department of Health and Human Services; and a Division of Veterinary Medicine and Public Health at the Health Resources and Services Administration.

“The current critical shortages of veterinarians means that public health practice disciplines such as bioterrorism and emergency preparedness, environmental health, food safety and security, food production systems, regulatory medicine, diagnostic laboratory medicine and biomedical research, are underserved,” said Marguerite Pappaioanou, the executive director of the Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges (AAVMC). “With only 28 veterinary medical colleges in the country, we do not have enough capacity to meet all of these needs.”

Recent steep state budget cuts have further increased stress on the nations’ veterinary schools and colleges. The AAVMC estimates that $45 million to $50 million in public support has been lost by the nation’s 28 veterinary schools during the past two years.

“State budget shortfalls are resulting in major cuts for veterinary medical colleges and our message to Congress is that if we are to expand these schools to meet societal needs, we need help,” Pappaioanou said.

— Release by the Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges.

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