News Update
May 19, 2010

American Angus Association Now on Facebook

Facebook users now have a new destination. The American Angus Association has introduced a Facebook fan page, available at www.facebook.com/americanangusassociation or by searching for “American Angus Association.”

In addition to the Association Facebook presence, the National Junior Angus Association (NJAA) and American Angus Auxiliary have also introduced fan pages. Read more.

Montana Angus Association Appoints Secretary

The Montana Angus Association has appointed Amy Van Dyke-Crowder to serve as secretary and editor of the Montana Angus News. Secretary Van Dyke-Crowder will facilitate communication between the board of directors and the membership, ensuring a good flow of information concerning the Montana Angus Association and its activities. As editor, Van Dyke-Crowder is the official press contact for the Association and will attend important industry events. The editor is also responsible for publishing an annual directory and quarterly issues of the Montana Angus News.

NCBA’s Cattlemen to Cattlemen TV Show Features Series on Safe Use of Antibiotics

The top priority of cattle producing families across the country is protecting the health of the animals for which they care, each and every day. That’s why the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA), in partnership with Bayer Animal Health, is proud to bring viewers of NCBA’s Cattlemen to Cattlemen a series focusing on the appropriate protocols and judicious use of antibiotics in the beef cattle industry.

Join host Kevin Ochsner for NCBA’s Cattlemen to Cattlemen on April 27, May 4 and May 11 as he brings viewers a four-part series focusing on the important role antibiotics play on today’s cattle operations. For the series, NCBA’s Cattlemen to Cattlemen visited a feedyard in Kansas, spoke to experts at Kansas State University (K-State) and also had the chance to speak with Members of Congress and officials from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as well as the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) about how antibiotics play a safe and pivotal role in modern beef production.
 

Also in the coming months, NCBA will be bringing cattlemen regular policy and association updates through web videos with new, in-house television production studios.

“Since most people can’t be out on the farm every day seeing what our members do firsthand, these shows will help bring the farm to them,” said NCBA Vice President of Government Affairs Colin Woodall.

NCBA’s Cattlemen to Cattlemen debuts Tuesdays at 8:30 p.m. on RFD-TV, and re-airs Wednesdays at 10:30 a.m. and Saturdays at 9 a.m. (all times Eastern). Episodes are also available online at www.CattlemenToCattlemen.org.

— Release by NCBA.

Shade Aids in Cattle Growth, Producer Profit

Don't underestimate the value of shade for beef cattle in the fescue belt, according to Eldon Cole, livestock specialist, University of Missouri (MU) Extension.

Management intensive grazing (MiG), where larger pastures are reduced in size for more efficient use of the forage, can leave some pastures without shade. Cole says research shows that shade for cattle is both helpful and profitable in southwest Missouri.

Two years of shade research was carried out at the University of Missouri's Southwest Research Center in Mount Vernon with impressive results favoring shade.

According to Cole, in 2000, a group of spring-calving cows were compared using portable manmade, metal roof shade (8 ft. x 12 ft.) or no shade. The trial was done on both endophyte-infected and endophyte-free fescue.

The greatest difference showed up on the infected fescue where the shaded cows outgained the others by 0.72 pound (lb.) per day for 84 days. The calves nursing the shaded cows also made slightly better gains, 0.17 lb. per day, but that was not significant. The trial ran from July 3 to September 25 and the animals were all black.

The most dramatic finding of the shade study was the difference in pregnancy rates at the end of the summer. The overall pregnancy rate was 87.5% for the cows given shade while it was only 50% for cows with no shade.

“The difference was more pronounced when only the endophyte-infected pastures were considered. The elevated body temperature is likely the culprit for the drop in percentage bred,” said Cole.

The following year, the same trial was conducted at the Southwest Center using 550-lb. steers. The shaded steers gained 0.2 lb. more per day for 84 days than the unshaded ones. As with the cows, the difference increased up to 0.35 lb. per day when the shade/no shade comparison was made on the “hot” fescue pasture.

University of Kentucky researchers have also compared manmade shade to no shade pastures on fescue and fescue-alfalfa mixed fields. Their data show daily gain advantages for the shade cattle as follows: 1.25 lbs. for cows; 0.41 lb. for nursing calves and 0.89 lb. for steers.

Arkansas researchers used dry, Brangus-cross cows in a June 12 to August 14 trial on Bermuda grass pastures to compare no shade (daily gain 1.47 lbs.); artificial shade (1.81 lbs. ADG) and tree shade (2.34 lbs. ADG).

“Shade trees can present a problem since cattle traffic can kill them and the manure will not be distributed around the pasture. Trees may also present a lightning risk,” Cole said.

The bottom line on the economics of shade will be a farm-to-farm situation, according to Cole.

Here are several considerations to keep in mind: Pastures that have fescue toxicosis problems will definitely benefit from shade; shade response will be greatest in mid-summer; and cattle breeds, colors and even individual genetic differences will give varying differences in response.

The Southwest Research Center in Mount Vernon uses portable shade for both their beef and dairy herd. Construction plans are available at the Southwest Center or contact the Lawrence County MU Extension center at 417-466-3102.

— Release by MU Extension.

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