News Update
March 3, 2011

Kansas Angus Association Sale March 28

The Kansas Angus Association (KAA) will sponsor its annual spring Angus influenced replacement female sale at JC Livestock Sales, Junction City, Kan., Monday, March 28, 2011, at 6 p.m., and is currently seeking consignments of commercial Angus and Angus-influenced young age cows, pairs, bred heifers, and open heifers.

Females must be consigned in minimum five-head lots, with all females being eight years of age or younger. To qualify for this special sale, the females must meet Certified Angus Beef® (CAB®) live specifications: be predominantly black-hided; black white faces and/or “baldies” will be accepted; have typical beef-type conformation (no visible dairy influence); and be without long floppy ear and hump (no visible Brahman influence).

The sale welcomes bred cows and heifers; fall pairs, and open heifers.

Those interested in consigning cattle to the sale may contact Chad Johnson, 620-767-2650 sale co-chairman or Jace Johnson at 620-767-2669. Entries will be accepted up to sale day; however, those entries submitted prior to March 18 will be advertised. Breeding, health, vaccination and preg-check information are needed with consignment entry.

Angus seedstock producers are encouraged to help inform their commercial bull customers of this sale as an option for producers to market source-verified Angus replacement females. Consignors do not have to be members of the Kansas Angus Association.

The sale is sponsored by the KAA. Another KAA commercial female sale is scheduled for Dec. 3, 2011, in Pratt, Kan. For more information on the KAA and its projects, visit www.kansasangus.org, or e-mail kansasangus@wbsnet.org.

— Release by KAA.

NCBA, PLC: Congressional Oversight Needed for Wild Lands Order

The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) and the Public Lands Council (PLC) welcomed the House Committee on Natural Resource’s oversight hearing, “The Impact of the Administration’s Wild Lands Order on Jobs and Economic Growth,” March 1, 2011. Dustin Van Liew, NCBA director of federal lands and PLC executive director, said the Department of the Interior’s Secretarial Order 3310 (the Order) will have far-reaching negative effects on the western economy, which relies on a thriving public lands ranching industry.

“Shifting the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) mission to management for wilderness characteristics presents a threat to the longstanding multiple-use activities on public lands, including livestock grazing,” Van Liew said. “Supporters of the Order claim it will not have any negative effects, but their claims don’t match the facts. The loss of grazing rights will not only affect public lands ranchers, but the effects will also ripple throughout local and regional economies that rely on our industry. We commend Chairman Hastings (R-Wash.) and Subcommittee Chairman Rob Bishop (R-Utah) for their leadership on this issue and will continue working with them to stop the Order.”

Van Liew said according to the Wilderness Act of 1964, Congress, not the administration, has authority to designate wild lands. He said the order will allow the BLM to establish de facto wilderness areas without obtaining congressional approval.

“The law has been on the books for nearly 50 years. Just because this administration appears to prefer to manage the land to protect its wild characteristics, the reality is they don’t have the authority to do so. And in fact, the Order will likely have extensive negative impacts on the very lands the administration claims to be protecting,” Van Liew said. “When access to federal lands is limited, ranchers, the on-the-ground stewards, may be forced out of business, resulting in the fragmentation of open spaces. It is wrong for the administration to move forward with any plan that will result in such economic losses and lost jobs in our rural communities.”

Van Liew said during the recent cattle industry convention, NCBA members approved policy opposing the Order that requests Secretary of Interior to rescind Secretarial Order 3310; requests the U.S. House of Representatives defund any attempt to implement the Order; and requests Congress to enact legislation clearly mandating the Secretary of the Interior to withdraw the Order.

“It is encouraging that Chairman Hastings and Subcommittee Chairman Bishop and members of his committee are working to shed light onto the negative effects the Order will have on our industry and our economy,” Van Liew said. “The House has taken action both by holding this hearing and by including language to prohibit funding to implement the Order in the recently passed continuing resolution. Now it’s time for the Senate to join suit and stop the administration from moving forward with the Order.” 

— Release by NCBA.

Elisabeth Hagen Addresses Beef Safety Summit Participants

 “Food safety is something we need to tackle together,” Elisabeth Hagen told more than 240 food safety experts and beef industry leaders attending the 9th Annual Beef Industry Safety Summit in Dallas March 2. Hagen, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) undersecretary for food safety, said “science, data and research are the best tools we have to protect consumers,” and asked for the industry’s help and commitment in making that happen. Summit participants meet through March 4 to discuss research and develop plans for improving beef safety and addressing safety challenges, such as E. coli, that threaten public health. Since 2003, participants in the Beef Industry Safety Summit, funded in part by the beef checkoff, have worked to share solutions for existing and developing beef safety issues. 

— Release by The Beef Checkoff Program.

Musk thistle biology and control

If you’ve had problems with musk thistle on your land in the last year and intend to apply chemical control, early spring is a good time to check for new growth of this noxious weed, said a University of Missouri (MU) Extension agronomy specialist.

“For optimal control, herbicides should be applied when musk thistle is in the rosette stage, typically in the fall or early spring,” Travis Harper said. “Landowners should walk fields in the spring or fall looking for these rosettes.” The musk thistle rosette is a flat circle of leaves that can reach a diameter of 2 feet or more.

Timing is critical. “Spraying after the plant has bolted and/or produced a flower is too late to achieve good control,” Harper said. “Typically, the plant will survive, flower and produce viable seed.”

Spray rosettes with 2,4-D or other registered herbicide, he said.

Musk thistle, a European weed introduced to the U.S. in the 1800s, can infest old fields and overgrazed pasture. Missouri statute classifies musk thistle as a “noxious” weed because of its ability to cause economic harm to the state’s agriculture and the difficulty associated with controlling or eradicating the species, Harper said. According to the Missouri Department of Conservation, all landowners are required to control the plant if it is growing on their property.

Musk thistle is an erect biennial (two-year life cycle) with spiny stems and leaves that may reach 6 feet in height. It is primarily a weed of pastures, hayfields, roadsides and non-crop areas. After germination, the plant develops into a rosette. During the second year of growth, the rosettes elongate and flowering stems are produced. Musk thistle produces an average of 10,000 seeds per plant. These seeds are disseminated by wind and will germinate in the fall or following spring.

“Letting just one musk thistle go to seed usually results in multiple musk thistle plants the following year,” Harper said.

Mowing has long been a popular method of musk thistle control, but musk thistles must be mowed within two days after blooming to inhibit seed production and prevent rebolting.

“The problem with trying to control musk thistle through mowing is that not all thistles bloom at the same time,” he said. “To effectively control musk thistle, you would have to mow a given area every couple of days. Not only can this be costly and time-consuming, it is usually detrimental to desirable plant species.”

There are natural enemies that can aid in the control of musk thistle. These include the musk thistle rosette weevil and the musk thistle flower head weevil. The larvae of the rosette weevil feed on the underside of the rosette leaves and on the leaves and stems of bolted plants, while larvae of the flower head weevil feed in the base of the developing flower. Entomologists released flower head weevils in Missouri in 1975 and rosette weevils in 1979. Areas where these weevils have been present the longest have seen a 70%-90% reduction in thistle populations, Harper said.

Even with all of the available control methods, musk thistle continues to thrive, especially along roadways. If you have concerns about musk thistle populations along state-managed roadways, contact the Missouri Department of Transportation at 888-275-6636. For concerns about musk thistles on roadways not managed by the state, contact your county commission or local township.

If you would like to know more about controlling musk thistle on your own land, contact your local MU Extension center or see MU Extension Guide IPM1010, “Biological and Integrated Control of Musk Thistle in Missouri,” available for purchase or free download at http://extension.missouri.edu/publications/DisplayPub.aspx?P=ipm1010.

— Release by MU Extension.

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