News Update
Sept. 29, 2010

Saddle and Sirloin Club to Honor Col. Ray Sims

If you were among Angus breeders marketing cattle during the emerging auction methods of the 1950s and 1960s, Col. Ray Sims was likely at the top of your auctioneer list.

Sims, who now resides in Raymore, Mo., helped develop purebred auctions into fast-paced and steady marketing venues and helped lay the foundation of many modern auction techniques.

During his 46-year career, Sims traveled throughout the United States, selling for both large- and small-scale livestock breeders, senators and three U.S. Presidents — more than an estimated 7,000 auctions total.

Sims will be honored for his contributions to the industry as he receives the Saddle and Sirloin Portrait Award this fall during a special ceremony in conjunction with the North American International Livestock Exposition (NAILE) in Louisville, Ky. Read more.

K-State’s Cattlemen’s Day, Swine Day Research Information Available Online

A new online tool is making it possible for livestock producers and others to find research information that has been presented at Kansas State University (K-State) Cattlemen’s Day and Swine Day events going back decades.

“The Department of Animal Sciences and Industry has undertaken a project to deposit research papers from the entire series of Cattlemen’s Day and Swine Day conferences in the K-State Research Exchange (K-REx),” said Marty Courtois, repository manager at Hale Library on K-State’s campus.

A service of the K-State Libraries, K-REx is an example of an ‘institutional repository’ — a place where faculty, students and staff of the university can deposit electronic versions of their articles, dissertations, research papers and other scholarly work. K-REx is organized by communities, Courtois said. The community homepage for the Animal Sciences and Industry department is available at http://krex.k-state.edu/dspace/handle/2097/1720.

“Publications archived in K-REx are freely available on the web, including to the public,” said Courtois, who is working with Lois Schreiner and others in the animal science department on the project. “K-REx is built on a set of standards that facilitates the exchange of information with other repositories around the world. Google and other search engines make a point of indexing all institutional repositories worldwide, and items from institutional repositories rank highly in Google searches.”

If a producer is interested in research information on dried distiller’s grains, for example, he or she can enter that phrase in the search box on the Animal Sciences and Industry community page in K-REx and retrieve more than 300 papers. Users also can search by author, title or published date.

Research papers have been added dating back to 1968 from K-State’s Swine Day, and Cattlemen’s Day proceedings to 1995. Eventually, all Cattlemen’s Day papers back to 1968 will be available.

More information about K-REx is available at the website: http://krex.k-state.edu/dspace/2097/1720 or by contacting Courtois at 785-532-4428 or krex@ksu.edu.

— Release by K-State Research and Extension.

Multicounty Range, Predator and Livestock Program Slated for Oct. 26 in Ozona

Range topics, predators and livestock issues will all be addressed during a multicounty program conducted by the Texas AgriLife Extension Service offices in Crockett, Sutton and Schleicher counties from 8:30 a.m. until 3:30 p.m. Oct. 26.

The program will be in the Crockett County Fair Park Convention Center, located at 1301 Ave. AA in Ozona.

Three Texas Department of Agriculture continuing education units will be offered.
“Anthrax and predator problems have been a topic of concern with many landowners in Crockett, Sutton and Schleicher counties this year, as well as in previous years,” said Chase McPhaul, AgriLife Extension agent in Crockett County. “The purpose of this program is to educate producers and give them possible solutions to their predator issues as well as other ranch-related problems.”

The day’s topics and speakers will include:

• Recognizing and Managing Common Livestock Health Problems (including anthrax), Floron “Buddy” Faries, AgriLife Extension program leader for veterinary medicine at College Station.
  
• Least Cost, Most Effective Methods for Controlling Pricklypear, Juniper, Mesquite and Regional Perennial Weeds, Alyson McDonald, AgriLife Extension range specialist at Fort Stockton.
  
• Interpreting Evidence of Predation, Predator Biology, and Trapping Techniques and the Role of Predator Control in Predator Management, Saidor “Hoppy” Turman, Texas Wildlife Damage Management Service district supervisor at Fort Stockton.

Individual preregistration is $10 by Oct. 22 and $15 thereafter. Lunch will be provided.

To preregister or for more information, call the AgriLife Extension office in Crockett County at 325-392-2721.

— Release by AgriLife Extension.

Scholarship to Support Future Generations of Beef Cattle Veterinarians

A student scholarship fund has been created to honor the longtime service of Gary Rupp, who has retired as professor and founding director of the University of Nebraska (NU) Great Plains Veterinary Educational Center near Clay Center, Neb.

To recognize his 22 years of leadership, colleagues and members of the beef cattle industry created an endowed student scholarship fund in his name for the School of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

Their charitable contributions to the NU Foundation established the Dr. Gary P. Rupp Beef Cattle Production Management Scholarship. The scholarship will be awarded annually to Nebraska students pursuing a doctor of veterinary medicine degree through the professional program in veterinary medicine who demonstrate a strong interest in beef animal production management.

Organizers say Rupp is well respected in the beef cattle industry and that the scholarship will commemorate his character, especially his unique ability to mentor and challenge others, and his contributions to the industry and university.

Since the Great Plains Veterinary Educational Center opened in 1988, Rupp has played a vital role in developing the center and building its prominence as a national center of excellence in food animal veterinary medical education. It offers educational programs, research, outreach and scholarly service, which is vital for advancing the rapidly changing veterinary profession and helping livestock producers meet modern challenges.

As both director and professor, Rupp took on many roles, which included administrative, teaching, research and scholarly service for the veterinary program. He’s been actively involved in the development and support of the cow-calf computerized herd health-management record system. He also implemented a certification program for veterinary practitioners called the Beef Cattle Production Management Series and served as its course mentor. In 2005, Rupp received the Merial Excellence in Preventative Medicine Beef Award.

Given his recent retirement, the fund is one way Rupp’s legacy will live on, say those who recognize his many contributions.

More than $57,000 has been raised for the Dr. Gary P. Rupp Beef Cattle Production Management Scholarship Fund. Additional funding is sought to increase the endowment to support many future generations of veterinary medicine students interested in pursuing careers in beef cattle production management.

To learn more about the scholarship fund or to contribute in Rupp’s honor, contact Ann Bruntz at the NU Foundation at 402-458-1176, 1-800-432-3216 or abruntz@nufoundation.org.

— Release by the NU Foundation.

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