News Update
August 19, 2010

MU Southwest Center Field Day, Sept. 10

Tips on building better fences will highlight a special tour at the Southwest Center Field Day, Sept. 10, said Richard Crawford, superintendent of the University of Missouri (MU) research farm.

“In addition to four regular tours, we try a new special tour each year,” Crawford said. Fences, particularly those used in management-intensive grazing (MiG) systems, will be discussed. Topics include fence types, costs, electric fences and fencing laws.

Regular tours are dairy, beef, agronomy, horticulture and grapes. In addition to the hourly tours, there will be exhibits in the machinery shed and the large equipment and fencing materials will be set up on the midway behind the headquarters.

Tours start promptly at 9 a.m., Crawford said. They end at 1 p.m. with the start of the annual meeting of the Ozark Electric Cooperative under the big top erected for the event.

The event is free and open to the public. The first 1,000 people who register that morning will receive lunch tickets.

The dairy tour will visit the pasture-based milking facilities on the farm and feature crossbred cows being grazed in studies of fescue and ryegrass paddocks.

The beef tour will tell of the second year of research in the new beef facility equipped for measuring feed efficiency. Comparisons will be made between grazing and feedlot efficiency of cows and their calves.

The horticulture tour will have double offerings this year, featuring new work by Lincoln University scientists cooperating on studies at the farm.

On the grape tour visitors will see the hardiness of the various cultivars being tested and hear grape growing tips.

The agronomy tour will include reports on new research on weed control.

The “Ask the Experts” panel will be back, Crawford said. Farmers and homeowners can bring specimens and their questions about weeds, plants, insects and diseases.

The center is four miles southwest of Mount Vernon, south of Interstate 44. For more information, see http://aes.missouri.edu/swcenter.

Southwest Center is part of the Missouri Agriculture Experiment Station, Columbia, Mo.

— Release by MU Extension.

Montgomery, Ala., Stockyards Hosts 2011 World Livestock Auctioneer Championship

Thirty livestock auctioneers will compete here Sept. 13 at the Montgomery Stockyards with the same goal: winning the Livestock Marketing Association (LMA) 2011 World Livestock Auctioneer Championship (WLAC).

The Montgomery market is hosting the first of four qualifying contests for the 2011 WLAC. Three titlists will be named at each qualifying contest, and the top eight scorers from each contest will move on to the June 25 WLAC, at the Upstate Livestock Exchange, Williamston, S.C.

All the contests are actual livestock sales, with buyers on the seats. Stockyards owner Jerry Etheredge said the contest’s opening ceremonies will start at 12:30 p.m., with the contest and sale beginning at 1 p.m.

There is no charge to attend the contest. The market is located at 4500 Mobile Highway.

Etheredge expects 1,000 head of feeder cattle for the sale, “from some of this area’s top producers.”

He added, “All of us with the Stockyards are excited to showcase these talented auctioneers, and promote the competitive method of livestock marketing — it’s the best way to get the best price for your cattle.”

The Stockyards is not only hosting the contest on the 13th, it’s also “Customer Appreciation Day.” A free lunch will be served, “with barbecue brisket and all the trimmings,” Etheredge said.

The WLAC — next year will be the 48th annual — is widely considered the Super Bowl and World Series of the livestock auctioneering profession. It is sponsored and conducted by LMA, the national trade association for progressive marketing businesses like the Montgomery market.

LMA President David Macedo said the qualifying contests and the WLAC “are LMA’s way of recognizing some of the many outstanding auctioneers who work in our industry.

“The contests also let us salute the work that auction markets all across the country — like the Montgomery Stockyards — do to provide competitive marketing services to America’s independent livestock producers.”

The master of ceremonies for each qualifying contest will be Kyle Shobe, the 2010 world champion. Contest rules prohibit the world champion from re-entering.

Contestants must be at least 18 years old, and employed and sponsored by a livestock market.

Contest judges, all LMA members, score each contestant on vocal clarity and quality, bid-catching ability, conduct of the sale and personal expression. The judges also ask, “Would this auctioneer make a good spokesperson for the livestock industry?”

The champion in each qualifying contest receives a cash award and a custom-made belt buckle. A buckle is also awarded to the reserve and runner-up champion in each of these contests.

The three titlists in next June’s WLAC — the world champion, reserve and runner-up champions — win thousands of dollars in cash and prizes.

The remaining three qualifying contests will be Oct. 23 at Vold, Jones & Vold Auction Co. Inc., Ponoka, Alberta; Oct. 28, at Burlington Livestock Exchange, Burlington, Colo., and March 4, Bloomington Livestock Exchange, Bloomington, Wis.

There is still time to enter the remaining WLAC Quarterfinals. Full rules and an entry form can be found online at www.LMAWEB.com.

The qualifying contests, and the WLAC, will be broadcast live at www.LMAAuctions.com.

— Release by LMA.

Cow Culling

Earlier this month, Eldon Cole, MU Extension, spoke at the North Central Arkansas Beef Cattle Conference on cow culling. They videotaped the whole program so if you’re interested in seeing presentations on cow culling, market outlook and development of a 300-day grazing program here’s the location: http://vimco.com/channels/124700.

The cow culling session included five cows that likely had been culled and were bought just for the program. Their reasons for being culled were not known to us. We could tell one had a cloudy eye, one was probably a fescue victim with long rear toes, one had a terrible udder that nearly touched the ground and one or two looked old and thin.

The catch phrase on culling is to follow the 3 O’s system. That means cull the Old, Open and Ornery cows. None of these cows appeared to be ornery but they’d bought 6 and we speculated one died between sale day and the meeting.

Cole stressed that most herds will cull 15% to 20% of their cows each year. Many of those will be O, O or O. Hopefully you’ll also be able to cull some on performance. This requires weighing the calves individually and adjusting their weight to the standard 205-day weaning weight. If you’ve never done this you should at least once. You’ll discover some mighty differences in the producing ability of your cows. Once armed with that data you can cull the poor performers with more confidence.

If you don’t weigh the calves individually, when weaning time comes, at least sort off the “dinks.” Keep them away from the cows a few hours then turn the dinks back with the cows. When you find a dink nursing a cow, you should separate them both from the main herd and mark them to sell.

— By Eldon Cole, MU Extension.

Join TSCRA for Young Leadership Series meetings in August and October

Join the Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association (TSCRA) Young Leadership Series (YLS) for two opportunities to gain knowledge, networking, and know-how. We’re offering a Financial Workshop on Aug. 27-28 at TSCRA headquarters in Fort Worth. This unique session will give you access to cutting-edge financial skills and resources to help you succeed in the cattle business. Or attend a professional development workshop Oct.1 to 2 at the Omni Austin Hotel Downtown in Austin. The deadline for the Austin meeting has now been extended. For more information, visit the YLS website at www.tscra.org.

— Release by TSCRA.

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