News Update
Oct. 8, 2010

All-New I Am Angus Airs on RFD-TV Oct. 18

The American Angus Association is launching its fall and winter television programming with the upcoming broadcast of an all-new I Am Angus program Oct. 18.

The hour-long program celebrates the contributions of America’s ranching industry, with profiles of people from across the country whose lives are defined by Angus cattle and Angus beef.

“This is the first of four I Am Angus programs that will air this fall and winter, and we’re excited to tell the positive story of American agriculture,” says Bryce Schumann, Association CEO. “The American Angus Association is committed to taking a strong, multimedia approach to communicating the value of Angus cattle and to visually sharing the stories of farmers and ranchers through these beautiful — and impactful — new segments.” Read more.

Iowa Cattlemen’s Association Hires Communications Director

Dal Grooms, a longtime communications professional in Iowa agriculture circles, has been hired by the Iowa Cattlemen’s Association (ICA) as communications director.

ICA President Kent Pruismann, Rock Valley, said, “This spring, we hired Duane Gangwish as our Chief Executive Officer to implement ICA’s mission of enhancing and developing the beef industry in Iowa. With the addition of Dal Grooms to the staff, he’s strengthening ICA’s communications efforts in telling our story.”

“Dal brings many years of experience in working with Iowa farmers and Iowa media,” Gangwish said, noting her communications background in working for the Iowa Farm Bureau Federation, the Iowa Fruit & Vegetable Growers Association, and contracting with several other ag-based organizations. “She has worked with a broad spectrum of farmers, from small producers to large enterprises and understands they all serve an important niche in food production and rural prosperity.”

“I am excited to join the professional and experienced staff at ICA. We’ll be working to show the positive impact beef production has on Iowa’s economy and the world’s food supply,” Grooms said. Grooms will officially begin her work with ICA Oct. 21.

— Release by ICA.

2011 National Beef Ambassador Program Junior Competition Debut

Eight youth participated in the inauguration of the Junior National Beef Ambassador Program in Rapid City, S.D. Funded in part by the beef checkoff, the objective of this new youth program is to promote a stronger interest and clearer understanding of the many aspects of the beef industry, its values and virtues, to youth 12 to 16 years old. While preparing for the contest, students have the opportunity to gain knowledge, advocacy skills and an understanding of the importance of beef advocacy and promotion.

Junior participants were judged on a five-minute speech and an interview with the judges. First prize was awarded to Kaley Nolz, an eighth-grader from Mitchell, S.D. Nolz loves to show cattle, play sports and is active in 4-H. Erin Mairose, Kimball, S.D., earned second place. Mairose is a high school sophomore and lives on a ranch that has been in her family for more than 50 years. She is active in 4-H and plays the viola in the Huron Symphony Orchestra. Third place went to Libbi Loos, a seventh-grader from Litchfield, Neb. Loos enjoys training, showing and riding horses. She is active in 4-H where she shows cattle and has started her own beef herd with her first show heifer.

Cash prizes were awarded to the winners as well as each participant. All of these youth are encouraged to participate in the National Beef Ambassador Program’s online advocacy efforts and to continue to grow as beef advocates returning to participate in the senior division of the National Beef Ambassador Program.

For more information about your beef checkoff investment, visit www.MyBeefCheckoff.com.

— Release by the Beef Checkoff Program.

Ohio Livestock Care Standards Board Proposes First Set of Standards

The Ohio Livestock Care Standards Board has developed its first set of proposed standards regarding farm animal welfare, pursuant to the constitutional amendment passed last year by Ohio voters as Issue 2. The Livestock Care Standards Board unanimously approved standards regarding euthanasia of farm animals on Oct. 5, 2010. The Ohio Department of Agriculture (ODA) will now carry the Board’s proposed standards through the administrative rulemaking process.

The proposed standards define acceptable methods of euthanasia, which include inhalant agents, injectable agents, captive bolt guns, blunt force, gunshot, cervical dislocation, decapitation, electrocution, foam hypoxia, maceration and exsanguination. The proposal establishes different acceptable methods and guidelines for different species, which include equine, poultry, swine, cattle, goats, sheep, alpaca and llamas. Provisions also address general considerations for performing euthanasia, such as euthanization of animals unlikely to recover from illness or injury, determination of death, unsuccessful euthanasia, disposal of animals and mass euthanasia. The rule references a civil penalty provision for violations, but the actual civil penalty provision is still under development by the Board.

Interesting to note is how the proposed euthanasia rule relates to the animal welfare agreement entered into last June by the State of Ohio, the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), Ohio Farm Bureau and several other agricultural organizations. Regarding euthanasia, the animal welfare agreement states:

“Recommendations will be made to The Ohio Livestock Care Standards Board (OLCSB) to take action on issues related to downer cattle and humane euthanasia using language consistent with the proposed ballot initiative.”

The proposed ballot initiative referred to in the animal welfare agreement is the Humane HSUS-led initiative that could have been on the upcoming November ballot, but was pulled as part of HSUS’s compromise in the animal welfare agreement. The ballot initiative proposed amending the Ohio Constitution to include this language on euthanasia:

“Require a farm owner or operator to ensure that all on-farm killing of cows or pigs be performed in a humane manner using methods explicitly deemed “Acceptable” by the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA). This standard shall also include a prohibition on strangulation of cows and pigs as a form of euthanasia.”

Note that the animal welfare agreement does not require the adoption of the ballot initiative language in the euthanasia standards; it states only that “recommendations will be made” to the Board to take action using language consistent with the proposed ballot language. A review of the record available on the Board’s website does not indicate whether any party to the animal welfare agreement made such recommendations to the Board.

The Board had already begun working on the euthanasia standards prior to the announcement of the animal welfare agreement in June. A review of the Board’s proposal, however, indicates that the euthanasia standards do not precisely duplicate the HSUS’s proposed ballot language. The standards don’t include a specific prohibition against strangulation of cows and pigs. Instead, the standards do not list strangulation as an acceptable method of euthanasia. Nor do the standards specifically reference the AVMA acceptable standards; but many of the Board’s acceptable standards are similar to AVMA acceptable standards. Whether or not recommendations were made to the Board as promised in the animal welfare agreement, the Board’s proposed euthanasia standards do appear to be “consistent with” the ballot initiative language on euthanasia.

ODA announced the Board’s proposed euthanasia standards today and will accept comments on the standards until Oct. 20, 2010. Following review of comments, ODA will submit the package to the joint legislative committee that oversees the administrative rulemaking process. To view the proposed euthanasia standards, visit the ODA website, www.agri.ohio.gov/proposedrules/proposedrules.aspx.

— Release by ODA.

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