News Update
November 13, 2012
Angus Elects New Board Members and Officers
The American Angus Association announced new members and officers for its Board of Directors during the 129th Annual Meeting of Delegates in Louisville, Ky. Those serving the Association for three-year terms are Charlie Boyd, Mayslick, Ky.; Scott Foster, Niles, Mich.; Philip Howell, Winchester, Ind.; Vaughn Meyer, Reva, S.D.; and Don Schiefelbein, Kimball, Minn.
Phil Trowbridge, Ghent, N.Y., was elected the American Angus Association president and chairman of the board. He succeeds Jarold Callahan, Edmond, Okla. Gordon Stucky, Kingman, Kan., was chosen by delegates to serve as vice president and vice chairman. Cathy Watkins, Middletown, Ind., will serve as the 2013 treasurer.
More than 311 elected delegates from 41 states, Canada and the District of Columbia represented Association members during the Annual Meeting of Delegates at the Kentucky Fair and Exposition Center (KFEC) in conjunction with the North American International Livestock Exposition (NAILE) Super-Point Roll of Victory (ROV) Angus Show.
For more information and the full release, click here.
Pinkeye to Be Major Topic at Livestock Symposium
Cattle producers who want to know more about pinkeye will find many sources of information at the Missouri Livestock Symposium Dec. 7-8 at Kirksville Middle School.
Veterinarian Bruce Addison, a pinkeye expert and owner of Addison Biological Laboratory in Fayette, Mo., will be among the nationally known guest speakers at the event, which is organized by a committee composed of 20 members representing all aspects of the livestock industry.
Pinkeye in cattle, a highly contagious and costly disease, results in inflammation of the membrane lining the eyelid and eyeball. Without prompt treatment, afflicted livestock lose weight or gain less weight and may suffer eye damage, leading to extra costs for producers and steep discounts at the sale barn.
Addison Biological Laboratory has been recognized as Exporter of the Year by the Missouri Department of Economic Development and received a regional Blue Chip Enterprise Initiative Award from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
Throughout the two-day event, pinkeye expert Gary Snowder of the University of Nevada at Reno will speak.
Snowder previously served as an associate director of a national research center at Texas A&M University and was a senior research geneticist with USDA. Craig Payne, University of Missouri Extension veterinarian, will serve on a panel discussing pinkeye, and will also address bluetongue and bull infertility related to pour-ons and insecticides.
The free event includes a 4 p.m. panel discussion on pinkeye by Addison, Payne and Snowder, in addition to individual sessions earlier in the day.
Program and trade show details are available at www.missourilivestock.com. For more information, contact Bruce Lane, Adair County MU Extension Center, at 660-665-9866 or LaneN@missouri.edu. Preregistration is not required.
Wisconsin Firm Recalls Beef Tongues That May Contain Specified Risk Materials
Black Earth Meat Market Inc., a Black Earth, Wis., establishment, is recalling approximately 99 pounds of beef tongue products because they may not have had the tonsils completely removed, which is not compliant with regulations that require the removal of tonsils from cattle of all ages, the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced.
The products subject to recall are:
Various size cases of Black Earth Meats Natural Beef Tongues and Black Earth Meats Local Beef Tongues produced on October 8, 11, 17 and 18, 2012.
The products bear Est. 34379 inside the USDA mark of inspection and were distributed to a restaurant in Wisconsin and a distributor in Illinois.
The problem was discovered during a routine Food Safety Assessment at the establishment. Tonsils are considered a specified risk material (SRM) and must be removed from cattle of all ages in accordance with FSIS regulations. SRMs are tissues that are known to contain the infective agent in cattle infected with bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), as well as materials that are closely associated with these potentially infective tissues. Therefore, FSIS prohibits SRMs from use as human food to minimize potential human exposure to the BSE agent. There is no indication that any of the cattle slaughtered displayed any signs of BSE.
For more information and the full release, click here.
Konkol Hired as Vice President Finance at Accelerated Genetics
Accelerated Genetics is pleased to announce the hiring of Cliff Konkol as vice president of finance. In this position, Konkol is responsible for providing financial leadership, guidance and strategic planning for the cooperative properly utilizing financial resources to achieve cost efficient operations and control of financial assets ensuring profitable company growth. He will be based out of the administration headquarters in Baraboo, Wis.
Konkol joins Accelerated Genetics with a vast knowledge base in the financial field. His prior employment history includes CFO at a $40 million multi-entity organization for 11 years and Controller at several prominent Wisconsin businesses, one of which was Mid-State Power and Equipment Inc., Columbus, Wis.
Konkol has a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Wisconsin–Whitewater and maintains a certificate as a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) for the state of Wisconsin since 1983. He and his wife, Deb, reside in Sun Prairie, Wis.
Dual County Program to Offer
Varied Slate of Ag-Related Topics
The Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service offices in Schleicher and Sutton counties will conduct a Range and Pasture Workshop from 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Nov. 27 in the Schleicher County Civic Center, 427 U.S. Highway 277, Eldorado.
“We have a pretty varied slate of topics scheduled for this program,” said Anthony Munoz, AgriLife Extension agent in Schleicher County.
“Parts of the state have had good rains and even made hay,” Munoz said. “Those of us in areas where we’re looking to buy hay have a little more opportunity to be selective, as last year it was more ‘take what you can get.’ We’ve asked Dr . David Drake, AgriLife Extension agronomist at San Angelo, to discuss how to address the question of hay quality and to provide techniques for properly collecting hay samples for folks needing to test for protein, nitrates, etc.”
For more infromation, click here.
ASA Calls for Quick Passage of
Russia PNTR in Lame Duck Session
The American Soybean Association (ASA) and more than 500 fellow members of the Coalition for U.S.-Russia Trade urged both chambers of Congress, as well as President Barack Obama, to approve legislation graduating Russia from the Jackson-Vanik amendment to the Trade Act, and enacting Permanent Normal Trade Relations (PNTR) with the world’s ninth-largest economy, which was admitted as a member of the World Trade Organization less than three months ago.
“For nearly 80 days now, all of the other 155 members of the WTO have been able to fully access Russia’s market liberalizations, including new rules related to services, science-based animal and plant health, and intellectual property protection — but U.S. businesses cannot,” wrote the Coalition in the letter. “For nearly 80 days now, U.S. business has had no voice in the WTO’s rules-based system to engage Russia regarding any of its policies that may be inconsistent with the obligations it has undertaken as a WTO member. Without PNTR, the United States has no enforceable rights and no recourse in the Russian market.”
Home to more than 140 million consumers and a fast-growing economy, Russia last year imported more than $770 million in U.S. meat, poultry, egg and dairy products, which require soybean meal as feed in the production process. That total contributed to more than $25 billion in soybean exports overall in 2011-2012, making soy the largest U.S. farm export.
For more information and the full release, click here.
Effects from Sandy Could Delay
Harvest and Impact Corn Yields
The high winds and heavy rains some parts of Ohio experienced last week with the remnants of Superstorm Sandy could cause stalk lodging and ear drop, leading to yield declines for corn and making a bad year even worse for many growers who’ve had losses because of the drought, an Ohio State University Extension expert said.
The concern is that the overly wet soils are impacting harvesting in some parts of the state that got the heavy rains, particularly in some areas of Ohio where as much as 70% of the corn hasn’t yet been harvested, said Peter Thomison, an OSU Extension agronomist.
The heavy winds may have caused corn plants to blow over and break ears, he said.
“With this drought-stressed corn, the high winds could have a larger effect to result in more corn lodging,” Thomison said. “The rains were a big deal in many parts of the state, which is slowing harvest because combines can’t get into the fields.
“And the more time you wait to harvest, the more occurrences of dropped ears and natural lodging occur. In stress years like this, we can still see good yields but often more stalk lodging and ears on the ground.”
The loss of one “normal”-sized ear per 100 feet of row translates into a loss of more than one bushel per acre. An average harvest loss of two kernels per square foot is about one bushel per acre, he said.
For more information and the full release, click here.
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