News Update
January 17, 2012
Annual KAA Meeting, Banquet,
Internet Sale Closing and Junior Show
The Kansas Angus Association (KAA) annual meeting and banquet will be Saturday, Jan. 21, with the closing of a new Internet sale featured Saturday evening. The meetings and educational presentations are Saturday, Jan. 21, in the Prairie Pavilion on the Kansas State Fairgrounds (KSF) in Hutchinson beginning at 11 a.m. The annual banquet, which will include a social hour, sale closing, 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. Tickets are $25 per adult and will include a buffet featuring Certified Angus Beef® (CAB®) Prime Rib. Children 12 and under may choose a burger and fries meal for $6 each.
The judging contest and junior show will be Sunday, Jan. 22, beginning at 9 a.m. 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 purebreds, steers and predominantly black Angus-based crossbred steers. Click here for online banquet reservation submission.
FCS Financial Announces 2012 Scholarship Program
To encourage and support higher education for relatives of FCS Financial members, FCS Financial will offer up to 35 scholarships valued at $1,000 each. The scholarship deadline is March 1, and recipients will be notified in April.
To qualify, applicants must be a graduating senior at a Missouri high school, a child or grandchild of an FCS Financial member, and attain a 2.5 or higher GPA, an ACT score of at least 26 or rank in the top 20% of their senior class. The scholarship applicants are then judged on leadership roles, work experience, community involvement and essays by a non-partisan committee. One recipient is selected from qualified applicants at each FCS Financial branch office. Six at-large recipients are also selected from all qualified applicants.
Apply online at www.myfcsfinancial.com. Click on Scholarships at the top of the webpage. Relatives of FCS Financial board members or employees are not eligible.
Explore What Cattle Eat in “Cow Chow” Game and Video Series
The beef checkoff recently launched “Cow Chow,” an online game and video series designed to answer common questions about cattle diets. The 10-question game and corresponding videos encourage consumers to explore what cattle eat from birth to the feedyard. The first-of-their-kind “Cow Chow” videos were filmed almost exclusively by cattle in Kansas, South Dakota, Texas and Florida, wearing specially rigged GoPro cameras to share this important animal care story from the cows’ eye view.
Curious consumers can now see exactly what cattle really eat every day as they compete in an interactive quiz game. Upon completion of the game, users can post results and a badge to their Facebook page, and challenge their friends to beat their best score. The Cow Chow game and videos emphasize the attention cattle farmers and ranchers pay to their animals, their land and their communities.
“By using social media outlets such as Facebook and YouTube, we’re hoping to reach a new generation of beef consumers,” says Roger Butler, a dairy producer from Lake Okeechobee, Fla.
The “Cow Chow: Exploring What Cattle Eat” game and videos are hosted on the checkoff’s ExploreBeef.org website where consumers can also learn more about beef safety, environmental stewardship, animal care and beef nutrition. The videos are also available on the Explore Beef YouTube channel.
Program Offered for Oklahoma Cattlemen
A new program offered by Oklahoma State University (OSU) Extension may be just the thing for cow-calf producers who want to take their operations to the next level, but can’t go back to school to do it. If you are a newcomer contemplating entry into the beef industry, this program can help you make a decision as to whether the business is right for you before you make a big investment of money, time and effort.
The second annual OSU Cow-Calf Boot Camp will be at the Creek County Fairgrounds, Kellyville, Okla., April 23-25. Extension educators will pack approximately 34 hours of learning into the three days. Enrollment is limited to 50 participants and there is a $100 fee, which covers five meals, the textbook and all other educational materials.
Most of the production topics are handled in a demonstration or hands-on format with live cattle. Most of the business and management topics are handled by working through actual problems in small groups of four or five with an agricultural educator working as a facilitator with each group. Topics covered will include an overview of the beef industry; cattle handling and production practices; hay evaluation; parasite control; breeding stock evaluation and selection; cattle marketing, cattle health and vaccinations; pasture and forage management; economical nutrition; farm business planning; reproduction; calving; and aging cows.
A complete schedule and details are available at http://osucowcamp.com. For more information contact your local county OSU Extension office or Dave Sparks at 918-686-7800, dave.sparks@okstate.edu.
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