News Update
Jan. 10, 2011

Kansas Angus Association Annual Meeting, Banquet & Junior Show is Jan. 22-23

The Kansas Angus Association (KAA) annual meeting, banquet and junior show will be Jan. 22-23 in Hutchinson, Kan. The KAA will not host a Futurity Show & Sale in 2011.

The meetings and educational presentations will be Saturday, Jan. 22, in the Prairie Pavilion on the Kansas State Fairgrounds (KSF) beginning at 11 a.m. Featured educational workshops and presentations will be presented by Jeana Sankey Hurlbut, Maximum Exposure, and Bryce Schumann, CEO, American Angus Association. Schumann will speak to attendees about how your membership in the American Angus Association can work for you and give an update on the Association’s programs. Jeana Hurlbut will present and demonstrate how the latest technology can step up your marketing through using videos, photographs and design.

The annual banquet, which will include a social hour, the Kansas Angus Auxiliary scholarship auction, honorary member induction, KAA Directory page auction and Miss Kansas Angus crowning is at the Ramada Inn and Conference Center. Adult tickets are $25 each for a generous buffet featuring Certified Angus Beef® Prime Rib; children 12 and under may choose a burger and fries meal for $6 each.

The judging contest and junior show is scheduled for Sunday, Jan. 23, at 9 a.m.; Dru Uden, Franklin, Neb., will evaluate the junior show entries. The cattle judging contest is open to all junior Angus, 4-H and FFA youth, as well as adults. The contest will have classes of heifers and steers chosen from the junior show entries and runs concurrently with the junior show.

The junior show includes classes for registered Angus owned heifers, bred-and-owned heifers and bulls, steers and cow-calf pairs, as well as commercial purebred and Angus-based crossbred steers. Today, Jan. 10, is the entry deadline for the junior show, late entries are not accepted.

Look for the banquet reservation submission, hotel info and complete schedule of events online at www.kansasangus.org.

— Relese by the KAA.

Missouri State Fair ‘Youth in Agriculture’ Scholarship Deadline Feb. 1

Only a few weeks remain for Missouri high school seniors pursuing higher education degrees in the field of agriculture to apply for Missouri State Fair “Youth in Agriculture” scholarships. Applications are available online at www.mostatefair.com for the 30 $1,000 scholarships and one supreme $2,500 scholarship and must be postmarked by Feb. 1, 2011.

“Youth who have participated at the Fair as exhibitors are eligible for these scholarships,” said Wayne Yokley, Missouri State Fair Youth in Agriculture Committee Chairman. Eligible applicants must be high school seniors and be active 4-H or FFA members having participated in the Missouri State Fair as a 4-H or FFA exhibitor, and having not sold livestock in any past Missouri State Fair Sale of Champions. Applicants must also enroll in an accredited Missouri college or university and major in agriculture.

The scholarships are funded through the generosity of Youth in Agriculture sponsors and buyers of the livestock sold during the Fair’s annual Sale of Champions with a percentage of each animal’s sale price earmarked for these scholarships.

The Youth in Agriculture Committee, which is responsible for administering the scholarships, will award the scholarships, including the Supreme Scholarship sponsored by Sydenstricker John Deere of Missouri/Sydenstricker Angus Genetics.

For more information please call the Missouri State Fair at 1-800-422-3247 or e-mail your questions to mostatefair@mda.mo.gov.

— Release by the Missouri State Fair.

Beef and Livestock Pavilion Home to Demonstrations

Adding to World Ag Expo’s seminars lineup for 2011, the Beef and Livestock Pavilion seminars and demonstrations bring a new level of agriculture education to an already packed expo. Located in the 22,500-square-foot (sq. ft.) pavilion in the southwest corner of the grounds, the Beef and Livestock demonstration area will be the premier location where exhibitors will showcase new technology for the beef and livestock industry.

On all three days, cattle breed associations  — Red Angus, Angus and Hereford — will speak on heterosis, feed efficiency, evaluations and land availability. Jon Mollhagen of Moly Mfg. Co. will have a Silencer Hydraulic Squeeze Chute for live demonstrations that will take place between seminars. And demonstrations will be hosted by Ultrasound Practitioner John Openshaw and Jon Mollhagen from Moly Mfg. Check www.worldagexpo.com for more information.

To top off the events in the pavilion, Top-40 Professional Bull Rider Brendon Clark will be signing autographs and presenting giveaways from the Professional Bull Riders exhibit space.

During the last two years, World Ag Expo staff have noticed an increase in interest in a beef and livestock area among producers who attend the expo. This interest has motivated World Ag Expo officials to create a pavilion to meet the growing demand.

“Major exhibitors in the beef and livestock industry have expressed interest in showcasing their technology in on-the-farm situations at World Ag Expo,” said Lee Coito, 2011 World Ag Expo Chairman. “We have been told ‘If you build it, we will come.’ We believe there is no better place to showcase this technology than at World Ag Expo.”

Exhibit spaces in the pavilion are available. For information contact Julia at 559-688-1030 or e-mail julia@farmshow.org.

The 44th annual World Ag Expo 2011, Tools for Agri-Business, will run February 8-10 at the International Agri-Center show grounds in Tulare, Calif. An estimated annual average of 100,000 attendees from 72 countries are expected to attend World Ag Expo this year. The expo is the largest annual agricultural show of its kind with 1,500 exhibitors displaying cutting-edge agricultural technology and equipment on 2.6 million sq. ft. of show grounds.

— Release by the World Ag Expo.

MDA Invites Farmers to Feb. 15 Nutrient Management Conference in Rochester

The Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) invites farmers to hear about the latest research and techniques at a Nutrient Efficiency and Management Conference set for Tuesday, Feb. 15, from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., at the Rochester Event Center in Rochester.
The conference will bring together agricultural supply and service consultants, growers, university Extension specialists, crop advisers, researchers, and local, state and federal government officials. Continuing education credits will also be available for Certified Crop Advisers.

“Farmers have a lot of goals to accomplish each year, from maximizing yields to controlling input costs to protecting water quality,” said MDA Commissioner Dave Frederickson. “These tasks are easier when producers have the latest nutrient management information. We’re offering this conference as a way to get that information to farmers.”

Scott Murell of the International Plant Nutrient Institute will kick off the meeting with a discussion of the basics of nutrient interactions and how they affect the efficient use of nutrients. He will also provide a big-picture view of nutrient use efficiency and stewardship trends in the Midwest. Dennis Frame of Wisconsin Discovery Farms will follow with a discussion of water quality runoff research from a variety of crop and livestock farms in Wisconsin. Tim Radatz with the Minnesota Agricultural Water Resources Coalition will provide updates on the newly formed Minnesota Discovery Farms Program. The morning session will wrap up with a panel discussion of innovative and progressive management ideas from local farmers and crop consultants.

In the afternoon, participants will have their choice of listening to a variety of other speakers covering topics such as key manure management practices, precision conservation, optimizing phosphorus recommendations, soil test phosphorus trends in Minnesota, effectiveness of nitrogen additives, and vertical tillage. A variety of other topics and information will be made available throughout the day.

In addition to MDA, sponsors include Minnesota Agricultural Water Resource Coalition, Southern Minnesota Nutrient Efficiency Coalition, University of Minnesota Extension, Minnesota Corn Growers, Minnesota Soybean Growers, Agrium, Mosaic, and Conservation Technology Information Center.

There are no fees to attend and lunch will be provided. Participants are encouraged to preregister online at www.mda.state.mn.us/nutrientconference.aspx or by calling 651-201-6141. For more information about the event, contact MDA’s Kevin Kuehner at 507-765-4530.

— Release by MDA.

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