News Update
April 15, 2010

Record High-Quality Beef Supply

A trend toward more Angus genetic influence in U.S. cattle, along with higher quality grades has led to a series of strong growth months for the Certified Angus Beef® (CAB®) brand. The 32-year-old company, a not-for-profit subsidiary of the American Angus Association,® reported sales volume significantly higher than expected during the past six months.

Senior Vice President Brent Eichar said the brand is “fortunate to have the supply to meet expanding demand, thanks first of all to our licensed packers.” He noted that February began with a record 66% of the harvest mix being Angus-influenced cattle. That helps explain why three weeks in February each saw more than 70,000 cattle qualifying for the brand, an increase of nearly 45,000 head over the same weeks in 2009.

For the first six months of the CAB fiscal year that began last Oct. 1, supplies for the brand are up sharply, met with record sales that average nearly 21% higher than the previous year. Read more.

Sign Up Today for Cattlemen’s Boot Camp

The American Angus Association and Virginia Tech will host a Cattlemen’s Boot Camp May 21-22 at Virginia Tech’s campus in Blacksburg. Open to all cattle producers, Cattlemen’s Boot Camps are funded by the Angus Foundation and are packed with a day and a half of educational material and speakers.

David Kohl, AgriVisions LLC, will discuss business approaches in the beef industry, while John Currin of Virginia Tech will address fundamentals of effective herd health.

Virginia Tech’s Mark McCann will cover forage-based cow herd nutrition, and Scott Greiner will discuss ways to establish and meet genetic goals.

Bill Beal, also of Virginia Tech, will provide tips to maximize reproductive efficiency.

Bill Bowman, American Angus Association chief operating officer (COO), will discuss management factors affecting beef carcass quality, followed by a demonstration for determining carcass value by David O’Diam of Certified Angus Beef LLC.

In addition, hands-on lab sessions will include forage analyses; identification (ID) basics; bull and heifer selection; and cow condition scoring.

A live cattle evaluation exercise is scheduled, and a meat lab conducted by O’Diam and Mark Wahlberg, Virginia Tech, will take participants through carcass evaluation, grid pricing, carcass cut-out values and sensory analysis.

A producer panel including Tim Sutphin, Dublin, Va.; Mike Henry, Amelia, Va.; and Bill Tucker, Amherst, Va., will provide insight on the value of Angus genetics in commercial crossbreeding programs. Registrations, at $75, are due April 30 and cover meals and materials. To register, visit www.angus.org or request a registration form from the Activities Department. Late or walk-in registrations are not accepted.

The Hilton Garden Inn will serve as hotel headquarters. To reserve a room, call 540-552-5005 by April 30 and ask for the American Angus group rate; or visit www.blacksburg.hgi.com and enter group code ANGUS.

For a full schedule, visit www.angus.org.

Reports detail why veterinarians enter, leave rural practice

Two special reports appearing in the April 15, 2010, edition of the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association (JAVMA) offer some interesting insight as to why veterinarians choose to practice in rural settings — and why some of them choose to walk away.

Rural communities are finding it more difficult to attract and retain veterinarians. The JAVMA reports identify factors that lead veterinarians to choose a career in rural veterinary practice, as well as those that contribute to them leaving.

The first report, “A survey of reasons why veterinarians enter rural veterinary practice in the United States,” reveals that survey respondents put the rural lifestyle at the top of their list. Rounding out the top-five reasons for entering rural veterinary practice were working in animal care at the herd level; working with individual animals; the location of family and friends; and the desire to practice where a community need for veterinary care exists.

“Factors reported by the highest proportions of respondents as being of high importance in their decision to actually pursue a career in rural veterinary practice reflected both personal and professional concerns, with rural lifestyle ranked as being of high importance by the highest proportion of respondents,” the authors wrote.

In the second report, “A survey of reasons why veterinarians leave rural veterinary practice in the United States,” it was clear that quality-of-life issues played a central role. While survey respondents indicated that emergency duty and time off ranked low in importance in their decision to take a job, the tide turned when it came to those same veterinarians deciding to leave the field. In fact, emergency duty and time off were the top two reasons cited by veterinarians who left rural practice. Filling in the rest of the top-five reasons were salary, practice atmosphere and family concerns.

“The factors emergency duty and time off likely were interrelated, in that excessive emergency duty could lead to a perception of not having enough time off,” the authors wrote. “Similar to numerous other professions for which emergency duty is required, personal time may be abruptly interrupted by emergency calls, inconveniencing not only the individual, but also the individual’s spouse, family and friends.”

The reports suggest that many veterinarians who chose to leave rural veterinary practice did so in an effort to provide better work-life balance.

“To promote retention of personnel in rural veterinary practice, these positions may need to evolve over time to meet the changing needs of veterinarians,” the report states. “As practitioners mature, they may place an increased emphasis on salary to support a growing family and additional time off to pursue other interests.”

— Release by American Veterinary Medical Association.

Spring Weather Favorable for Planting, Climatologist Says

After a cold winter, a mild March and warm early April, the spring planting outlook in Indiana will be much closer to normal conditions, said Ken Scheeringa, the associate state climatologist located at Purdue University.

The combination of two weather cycles, Arctic Oscillation and El Niño, were key players in the many cold, snowy days throughout the winter, but drier conditions and normal temperatures should take hold throughout spring, Scheeringa said.

“The normal temperatures we had in March, along with continued below-normal precipitation, had Indiana soils firming up as spring planting was approaching,” Scheeringa said.

Because of that, this spring’s outlook will be more positive than it was a year ago, he added.

Last year, the wet, cool weather of La Niña stuck around through spring and planting. This year, it will be drier, Scheeringa said.

“Drier-than-normal conditions are typical in late winter during El Niño in Indiana, and this dryness may linger through at least April,” Scheeringa said. “This should benefit farmers who are anxious to plant this month after the slow, wet start to the planting season a year ago.”

After April, Scheeringa said he expects Indiana temperatures and rainfall to stay close to spring normals.

Normal mean temperatures for meteorological spring, April through June, range from 48.5º F in north-central Indiana to 54.7º F in southwest Indiana.

Precipitation typically varies from 10 inches (in.) in northeastern Indiana to 13.7 in. in the southwest.

“At this time, it appears the neutral weather pattern should settle in for the summer months, as well,” Scheeringa said.

— Release by Purdue University.

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