News Update
September 22, 2011
Reserve Your Invitation to the Angus Foundation’s Supporter Recognition Event
Join the Angus Foundation Saturday evening, Nov. 12, at the Crowne Plaza Hotel Louisville-Airport Kentucky Expo Center in Louisville, Ky., for its Supporter Recognition Event.
In this final year of Vision of Value: Campaign for Angus, the Angus Foundation will recognize supporters from this past fiscal year to the Angus breed’s ambitious $11 million fundraising drive for education, youth and research.
“The Angus Foundation’s Supporter Recognition Event in Louisville is designed to recognize and reward donors for reaching the Angus Foundation’s Associate or above contribution levels in the fiscal year,” says Milford Jenkins, Angus Foundation president. “This year’s theme, ‘Champions of the Vision,’ is meant to help honor those ‘champions’ of the Angus breed, who are helping to further advance the Vision of Value: Campaign for Angus toward its $11 million goal by Dec. 31 for education, youth and research programs. We are expecting a large attendance with the noticeable increase in the number of contributions this fiscal year to the Angus Foundation Associate donor level and above. You, too, will want to join us on this special occasion, and you can reserve your invitation by Sept. 30 with a gift of $250 or more to the Angus Foundation.”
Angus Foundation and campaign leadership will update event attendees on the progress of this fundraising initiative benefiting and advancing the Angus breed.
All Angus supporters who have contributed $250 this fiscal year (Oct. 1, 2010 – Sept. 30, 2011) to the Angus Foundation will be invited to attend this donor recognition celebration.
Special features of the event will be announcements of significant major gifts toward the campaign’s goal of $11 million by Dec. 31, 2011. In addition, American Angus Association registration No. 17 million will be offered at auction, and proceeds from the sale will contribute to the campaign.
You can guarantee your reservation to the event by making your gift of $250 or more by Sept. 30. Gifts can be made online by Visa® or MasterCard®, visit www.angusfoundation.org and click on “Donate Online” located at the top-right hand corner of the home page.
Your contribution, payable to the Angus Foundation, can also be mailed, postmarked by Sept. 30, to the Angus Foundation at 3201 Frederick Avenue, Saint Joseph, MO 64506. Feel free to call 816-383-5100 to confirm your contribution level for this fiscal year.
Farm and Ranch Security Workshop Sept. 29 in Laredo
Basic farm and ranch security practices, plus livestock theft prevention, are part of several topics that will be discussed at a Sept. 29 workshop at Camp Huisache on East U.S. Hwy. 59 in Laredo, Texas.
The workshop begins at 8:30 a.m.
“With cattle prices at a premium, ranchers need to protect their investment,” said George Gonzales, Texas AgriLife Extension Service agent for Webb County. “This workshop will cover a broad program area with regards to cattle theft, animal health and biosecurity.”
Other program topics include overview of land fragmentation trends in Webb County, and trends and patterns in farm and ranch security with the U.S. Border Patrol. Scheduled speakers are Joe Paschal, AgriLife Extension beef cattle specialist; Roland Garcia, Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association (TSCRA) special ranger; Bob Most, supervisory border patrol agent ranch liaison officer; and Gonzales.
Cost is $10 and RSVP by Sept. 26 for noon meal preparation. For more information, call Gonzales at 956-721-2626 or email gl-gonzales@tamu.edu.
Protocols from MU Thompson Farm Boost Cattle Quality,
Add Value to Beef
Thompson Farm, the beef reproduction laboratory for University of Missouri (MU) researchers, reported new breeding protocols at a field day, Tuesday, Sept. 20.
“We have technology that works and is being underused,” Dave Patterson told the crowd during the opening session.
Patterson, MU Extension specialist, explained the breeding protocols developed at Thompson Farm that allow all cows to be bred on the first day of the breeding season.
“The protocols are not just for breeding, but for improving beef quality,” he said.
Use of estrous synchronization protocols, followed with artificial insemination (AI) using semen from the best sires in the breed, allows improved replacement heifers and premium-quality steers in feedlots.
Quality beef will be the overriding issue in the future success of the U.S. beef business, Patterson said. “We cannot compete in the global market for commodity beef. Our opportunity relies on producing higher-quality beef.”
Goals at MU Thompson Farm have been twofold, Patterson said. “First, develop fixed-time AI programs for beef cows and heifers. Second, produce premium-quality, ‘white tablecloth’ beef.” High-end restaurants require USDA Prime grade beef.
By retaining ownership through the feedyard to the packing plant, the MU herd gets all carcass data back. That guides herd improvement.
“The challenge will be to gain adoption of the proven protocols for breeding both cows and heifers,” Patterson said. “Can we overcome the resistance to AI by breeding by appointment?”
Mike Kasten, herd owner from Millersville, Mo., told of using AI to breed his cows for 37 years. After trying many methods, he has adopted the MU protocols for synchronized breeding by appointment.
“I used to get on a horse and check the cows for heat twice a day in the breeding season,” he said. “Now I breed by appointment and eliminate that month of labor.”
Breeding by appointment produces more uniformity in the age of his calves.
Now Kasten forms alliances with five neighboring herd owners. That adds 500 cows to his timed-breeding schedule.
“When I tell farmers about timed AI, they always say, ‘That would take too much work.’”
To respond, Kasten and his helper recorded the time involved. With three trips through the chute, the combined time for both workers was 10 minutes per cow. The heifers, with an extra trip through the chute, took a little longer, 11.2 minutes.
“Most people can’t believe how simple timed breeding is,” he said. “Once they see it, they won’t use any other way.
“We no longer heat detect at all.” he added.
Kasten repeated Patterson’s message about quality. Kasten’s records show that by using superior genetics from proven sires he increased income from each steer by $177. “Timed AI pays,” he said.
Kasten feeds his calves at the Irsik and Doll feedyard, Garden City, Kan. By retaining ownership, he collects the grid premiums for Prime cattle from the packing plant.
Mark Sebranek, manager of that feedyard, told how he manages cattle from Thompson Farm, Kasten and other Missouri herds. “Development of marbling starts on your farm,” he said. Marbling, the fat in the muscle of steaks, helps achieve the Prime grade. Marbling adds flavor and juiciness sought by consumers.
Proper vaccination helps keep calves healthy in the feedyard, he explained. Dry weather on the plains of western Kansas also helps keep calves from getting sick.
Scott Brown, MU beef economist, told producers that the MU Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute (FAPRI) beef outlook shows record-high beef prices for coming years.
Drought in the Southwest creates opportunities for Missouri producers, he added. The supply of beef cows continues to decline. That reduces the supply of beef going to market.
Producers have not retained enough heifers the last few years to meet the growing demand for quality beef.
There will be increasing competition for the center of the consumers’ dinner plates, Brown said. “Anything you do to improve beef quality will be a plus for your business.”
Brown urged producers to follow the research at the MU Thompson Farm. “Each year the percentage of steers grading Prime continues to increase.”
This year, 31% of the steers graded prime. “Remember that from the U.S. herd, less than 4% grade Prime. There are a lot of opportunities for gaining premiums.”
Brown advised producers to find feedyards that know how to feed quality cattle.
“Demand is vital to the future of the U.S. cattle industry,” Brown said. “That applies in this country and around the world.”
The MU Thompson Farm is part of the Missouri Agricultural Experiment Station of the College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources in Columbia.
Patterson pointed out that having the cow herd at the north Missouri farm made his research possible. Funding came from U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) integrated grants. That means the work includes scientific study, teaching of students and extension of information to farmers.
Cattle Producers Preparing for Long Winter Battle
Severe drought this year has cattle producers preparing for a rough winter, and hard choices must be made, said Paul Beck, associate professor-animal science for the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture.
“How we are going to make it through the winter with limited or no stored forage has monopolized most of our thoughts, energy and time,” he said.
According to the U.S. Drought Monitor map released last Thursday, 97.8% of Arkansas is under some form of drought classification. The most severe categories, extreme and exceptional, encompass counties in the southwestern corner of the state.
The drought has sent livestock producers scrambling for dwindling hay supplies. Last year, Arkansas harvested 1.48 million acres of hay. This year, many hay reserves have already been used up, and the first hay cuttings were affected by cool temperatures and too much moisture. That means less forage to go around. With other sources of hay drying up, producers are looking into other methods, including soybean and sorghum forages and chicken litter.
The prospect of a hard winter means making difficult decisions “because we will have to change the way we do things, it may take more work than what we want to put in, or it may cost more than we want to spend,” said Beck.
Survival is the bottom line. “Our goal should be to have an intact cattle operation when grass begins to grow next spring,” he said.
Beck made several recommendations for cattle producers:
- Consider culling the herd to a number you can better afford to winter. This means getting rid of old or less-productive cows, or cows with higher nutrient requirements, such as those expected to calve in the fall.
- Determine how much hay you have and how much you can feed daily over the winter. Even as little as 10 pounds of hay per cow each day can provide a base for a balanced diet.
- Test your hay or other roughage source. It is impossible to determine what your cows will require without some knowledge of the quality of what you are feeding them. Hay, for example, is variable and moderate-to-low in protein and energy, while crop residues generally have lower nutrient values.
- Cross-fence while feeding hay and keep cows on a smaller area of pasture. “You will be surprised how much forage growth you will have if you allow pastures to rest,” said Beck. With the farm subdivided, the separate pastures can be used rotationally next spring and summer, and may have better plant health and harvest efficiency as a result.
- Plant cool-season annual grasses or fertilize cool-season perennials in your pastures. Complementary forages can also be established. “If you keep the cows off these pastures until they are 6 or 8 inches tall, they will provide excellent forage for use later in the winter or early spring,” said Beck. This helps decrease the hay feeding season.
- Balance a supplement or feeding program that makes sense in your operation. “There is no ‘one size fits all’ feeding program for every cow herd,” said Beck. Consider separating cows into feeding groups by stage of production, and feed them accordingly.
“Although these steps are not easy and will require thought and some work, if your goal is to keep your operation intact and profitable, they are well worth the effort,” he said.
For more information on livestock, visit www.uaex.edu or contact your local county agent.
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