News Update
July 20, 2011

Feeding Quality Forums in August

“Ahead of the feeding curve” is a good place to be with the volatile markets and ever-changing dynamics in the cattle-feeding business. It’s also the theme of this year’s Feeding Quality Forum, slated for Aug. 23 in Omaha, Neb., and Aug. 25 in Garden City, Kan.

Cattlemen and women, educators and allied industry are invited to the sixth annual event to learn more about topics that will affect their livelihoods.

Registration by Aug. 5 is $50 and includes a Certified Angus Beef® (CAB®) brand lunch. Space permitting, late registration will be $75.

Check-in and refreshments begin at 9:30 a.m., with a welcome at 10 a.m. The program wraps up at 4:15 p.m.

Popular market analyst Dan Basse, AgResource Co., will kick off the agenda by addressing the human food protein and livestock feedstuff outlook.

“We have asked Dan back after several years of outstanding reviews,” says Larry Corah, vice president for Certified Angus Beef LLC (CAB). “With all of the outside pressures on our markets, both inputs and fed cattle, this is a great way to get briefed on who and what the key players will be during the next year. His presentation is always very timely and insightful.” 

Other topics include:

• Today’s Feedlot Profitability Factors by Shawn Walter, Professional Cattle Consultants
• Beef Quality Scorecard with Glen Dolezal, Cargill Meat Solutions
• Managing the New Workforce in the New Economy, Don Tyler, Tyler & Associates
• Clearing the Air: Livestock, Air Quality and Climate Change, Frank Mitloehner, University of California-Davis

The lunch program will feature the second annual Feeding Quality Forum Industry Achievement Award winner, Max Deets. The longtime Kansas cattle feeder and past president of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) will make comments at both locations.

“Max has always been an early adopter of new ideas, a true innovator,” Corah says. He helped set up some of the first feedout programs and bull tests, and pioneered the win-win concept.

“He is a great believer in the differences in genetics, and the merit that attention to quality has for ranchers, feeders and ultimately the end consumer,” he says.

The meetings are sponsored by Pfizer Animal Health, Land O’ Lakes Purina Mills, Feedlot magazine and CAB.

To register, visit www.cabpartners.com/events, or contact Marilyn Conley by phone at  1-800-225-2333, ext. 298, or email mconley@certifiedangusbeef.com.

— Release by Certified Angus Beef LLC.

The Angus Report

In this week’s edition of The Angus Report, Sally Northcutt, Association director of genetic research, discusses new updates to National Cattle Evaluation expected progeny differences (NCE EPDs); we highlight scenes from last week’s National Junior Angus Show; and we review beef exports in the Asian market.
Click here to access The Angus Report.

— Release by the American Angus Association.

Online Meat Purveyor Supports Angus Foundation Colvin Scholarship Endowment

Online meat purveyor 35° Premium Aged Steaks has announced that it will donate 5% of specified orders placed at www.35degreessteaks.com to the Colvin Scholarship Endowment. Customers need only to type “MICK” into the “Affiliate ID” box.

Rick Nicholas, technical director and partner of 35° Premium Aged Steaks, was one of the original Certified Angus Beef® (CAB®) brand purveyors during the program’s infancy. He is the founder and former owner of Newport Meat Co., a frequent recipient of CAB’s high-volume foodservice distributor award.

With his son, Adam, he recently launched 35° Premium Aged Steaks to provide home chefs, foodies and trendsetters alike access to premium-quality, fresh, never-frozen meats custom-cut to order and delivered overnight to the customer’s door. The meat purveyor specializes in Prime and CAB beef, as well as Kurobuta and Salmon Creek Natural Pork, and Colorado Lamb.

“These well-established supplier relationships are the foundation of the 35° difference,” notes a company news release. “At 35° we pay particular attention to animal genetics, type of feed, proper aging, correct cut and trim, packaging integrity, and overall appearance.”

“I am so pleased to support the noble pursuits of Mick’s Colvin Scholarship Endowment,” Nicholas says, referring to Colvin as one of his earliest mentors.

Remember to type “MICK” into the “Affiliate ID” box when placing an order so the company will partition 5% to the Colvin Scholarship Endowment.

— Adapted from release by MRM, Modern Reliable Marketing.

Quay County Extension to Host Drought Management Workshop July 28

New Mexico has seen scattered rain showers in the past few weeks, but it is still not enough to ease the minds of producers who are dealing with drought conditions and facing tough decisions about the future of their crops and livestock.

New Mexico State University’s Cooperative Extension Service in Tucumcari is offering a free drought management workshop July 28, where area producers will get the latest updates on the drought and learn how best to operate and manage their businesses during this difficult time.

“Even with the few scattered showers we have seen, the triple-digit heat is no relief after a rain; the soil is unable to retain the moisture. We are still dealing with high winds, too,” said Tom Dominguez, Extension agricultural agent in Quay County. “Because of the drought, no water from the Conchas Reservoir is being allocated to farmers at this time.”

At the workshop, Paul Gutierrez, an NMSU economics specialist, will talk with producers about the best ways to operate their cash flow during a drought situation and the economic implications of drought, in terms of both production and marketing.

Nick Ashcroft, a range specialist at NMSU, will discuss range management during drought conditions.

Dee Kann, from the Service Operations Office of the National Weather Service, will be on hand to offer a recap of the dry spell New Mexico is going through and the current data on the El Niño-Southern Oscillation climate pattern and how it affects the Southwest. Kann will also give a long-range forecast and weather prediction model.

Judy Smith, with the Farm Service Agency (FSA), will talk with attendees about assistance programs available to producers, such as the emergency grazing of Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) lands. She will also have information on different emergency loan programs available to producers. Ron Wilmot, representative for Congressman Ben Ray Lujan, will also be available to answer questions.

“Through this workshop, we want producers to gain a better understanding of our weather patterns and also learn about the government programs that are out there to help them in these drought-stricken areas,” Dominguez said. “Hopefully, producers will be able to share their personal experiences with each other and perhaps rekindle some old practices — and new ones — through the information that will be provided, to help them successfully come through this drought.”

The workshop will be from 1:30 p.m. to 4 p.m. at the Terry Turner Extension Building, 216 E. Center Street. Refreshments will be served.

For more information, contact the Quay County Extension office at 575-461-0562.

— Release by Audry Olmsted for New Mexico State University.

AgriLife Extension to Address Effect of Climate Change on Animal Agriculture

The Texas AgriLife Extension Service will share a $4.1 million grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture-National Institute of Food and Agriculture (USDA-NIFA) with five other land-grant university extension agencies to address issues associated with climate change and animal agriculture.

One of the main purposes of the grant is “to gather research-based practical information to identify existing and new practices for reducing greenhouse gas emissions from animal feeding operations,” said Saqib Mukhtar, AgriLife Extension engineer and interim associate department head of the Texas A&M University department of biological and agricultural engineering.

“We have a lack of information in climate change — or climate variability — when it comes to animal agriculture,” Mukhtar said. “And we do not have the extension outreach education capacity in the U.S. to address climate-change issues in animal agriculture.”

In addition to the direct effect of atmospheric climate change on animal agriculture, there’s the regulatory atmosphere to consider, he said.

“Currently, greenhouse gas-emission reporting is not enforced by the EPA for animal agriculture, but that may not be the case in the future,” Mukhtar said.

It’s commonly known that ruminant animals produce methane and other gases during digestion, but more work is needed to estimate how much of these gases, as well as wastewater, is produced under varying management and climatic conditions, he said.

“In Texas, we have a little better advantage on the Texas AgriLife Research side, of which I’m also a part. The researchers at the Center for Agricultural Air Quality Engineering and Science have been measuring greenhouse gas emissions from dairy and beef cattle operations,” he said. “So we have some estimates of how much nitrous oxide, methane and carbon dioxide are produced by animal agriculture in southwestern climate and management systems.”

The grant will enable AgriLife Extension and extension personnel in several universities in the southwest and other regions to come together and “chalk out a plan,” Mukhtar said.

“First we need to learn ourselves what is available in terms of information and education,” he said.
Mukhtar said he and his colleagues will spend “ample time” sifting through what research-based information is available relevant to animal feeding operations and climate change.

Animal agriculture has been identified as a relatively minor source — 1% to 3% — of total U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, Mukhtar noted.

“But this grant will enable AgriLife Extension, after an accounting and sharing of research results, to come up with suggestions of ways to reduce emissions from animal feeding operations,” he said. “Once we have that information base built for the southwestern region, then we will start building educational materials, webinars, lesson modules, and such that we can bring to the extension personnel and technical service providers, commodity groups and general public.”

AgriLife Extension’s share of the grant will be about $670,000. Eventually, the goal is to share information not just at the state and regional levels, but nationally as well, Mukhtar said.

The other land-grant university extension agencies sharing the grant are the University of Nebraska, Washington State University, the University of Georgia, Cornell University and the University of Minnesota.

— Release by Robert Burns, Texas A&M AgriLife Communications.

— Compiled by Shauna Rose Hermel, editor, Angus Productions Inc.