News Update
February 7, 2013
Deadline Approaching to Apply for
Angus Foundation’s YCC sponsorship
The Angus Foundation will again nominate and sponsor an American Angus Association member between the ages of 25 and 50 to attend the 2013 Young Cattlemen’s Conference (YCC) — the beef industry and tour sponsored by the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA).
Sponsorship and program nomination is granted to an active Association and NCBA member using an application process. Applications for the conference are available at www.angusfoundation.org, and should be postmarked to the Angus Foundation no later than Feb. 8, 2013. Learn more about the YCC and the program’s educational and networking opportunities at www.beefusa.org.
NCBA Cattlemen’s College® Celebrates 20th Year Anniversary
Now in its 20th year, the NCBA Cattlemen’s College® has established a reputation as one of the most thorough cattle producer education programs in the nation. Sponsored by Zoetis Animal Health (formerly Pfizer Animal Health), the 2013 edition of Cattlemen’s College began Tuesday night and continued through Wednesday. Attendees heard from an outstanding lineup of industry experts. Internationally respected futurist Lowell Catlett, who spoke about the resiliency of the beef industry and the people who work in it, provided Wednesday morning’s keynote address. Catlett also provided his predictions for the long-range outlook for the agricultural industry, along with factors that influence profitability and sustainability of beef cattle production.
“No matter what is thrown at us, we just get up in the morning and go to work,” said Catlett. “The resiliency of the human spirit is amazing. People matter, and the beef industry needs to be ready for tremendous changes to come.”
Wednesday’s sessions included a cattle market update presented by CattleFax, along with sessions on preserving family relations on the ranch, weather predictions for 2013 and beyond, consumer attitudes toward beef and beef production, how to cope with drought and high feed prices, animal welfare issues and how to identify risk factors that affect cattle producers’ bottom line.
For Angus Journal coverage of the Cattle Industry Convention and NCBA Trade Show, including coverage of Cattlemen’s College sessions, visit the newsroom at www.4cattlemen.com.
2013 Beef Feedlot Roundtables at Three Locations in February
Beef feedlot managers, owners, employees and supporting industry personnel will learn the latest in feedlot health, nutrition, environment and economics at the 2013 Beef Feedlot Roundtables Feb. 19-21 in Gering, Holdrege and West Point, Neb., with remote connections to locations in Iowa.
The University of Nebraska–Lincoln (UNL) Extension Roundtables will be offered Feb. 19 at the Gering Civic Center in Gering, Feb. 20 at the Phelps County Extension Building in Holdrege, and Feb. 21 at the Nielsen Community Center in West Point. Attendees should note that the western and central events are being hosted in different locations this year than in previous years.
Registration is from 7:45 a.m.-8:15 a.m. local time, with introduction and welcome at 8:15 a.m. by local extension personnel.
University and industry representatives will speak on feedlot economics, animal health, nutrition and management, which include a producer panel on adapting to the current environment, and a research update. The Nebraska Beef Council will give an update on new beef products and sponsor lunch.
Feedlot economics and research topics include feeding options with more expensive inputs, issues related to formula pricing, animal welfare in the feedlot and current animal health issues. The program will conclude with a research update and adjourn by 3:30 p.m.
Preregistration is available by phone, fax, email or mail, and requested by Feb. 14. Cost is $30 for those who preregister, and will be accepted at the door. Cost for those who have not preregistered will be $40. For more information or a registration form, contact Matt Luebbe at the Panhandle Research and Extension Center, 4502 Ave. I, Scottsbluff, NE 69361, phone: 308-632-1260, fax: 308-632-1365 or email mluebbe2@unl.edu.
For more information and the full release, click here.
How U.S. Cattle Industry Will Supplement
Declines in Mexican Imports
During the last 30 years, Mexico has become an aggressive exporter of feeder cattle to the United States. The U.S. has relied so heavily on these imports to supplement supply that experts are now calling the levels of imported Mexican feeder cattle unsustainable.
According to a new report from the Rabobank Food & Agribusiness Research and Advisory (FAR) group, the availability of cattle for shipment is expected to post a steep decline in 2013, leaving the U.S. cattle-feeding industry searching for ways to make up for this sharply reduced supply.
“Record-high feeder and calf prices in the U.S., as well as a favorable exchange rate, were factors in a surge of exports to the U.S. over the last two to three years,” notes report author Don Close, vice president, food and agribusiness research and advisory, animal protein. “However, it was really the severe drought in 2011 that prompted such a notable increase in exports to the U.S. so that the levels became unsustainably high.”
A critical result of the drought-induced surge in feeder-cattle imports from Mexico during the past two and a half years has been a substantial increase in the shipment of heifers. When U.S.-Mexican feeder trade began to gain steam, 90% of the cattle exported by Mexico were steers.
By September 2012, spayed heifers accounted for more than a quarter of all shipments. Such an escalation in heifer shipments signals a depletion of total Mexican cattle supplies.
For more information and the full release, click here.
Figure Costs Carefully Before Deciding
On Nitrogen Rates for Cool-Season Pastures
Much of the nitrogen applied to tall fescue and smooth bromegrass hay meadows and pastures goes on in January or February in eastern Kansas.
The amount and timing of nitrogen depends on whether the field is hayed or grazed; how much, if any, nitrogen was applied in the fall; the price of nitrogen and hay; and the growing conditions since last fall, said Kansas State University (K-State) agronomist, Dave Mengel.
For fields that will be hayed, normal nitrogen fertilization rates for established fescue and bromegrass hay fields are 90 to 120 pounds (lb.) of actual nitrogen per acre, or about 30 lb. of nitrogen per ton of expected yield, said Mengel, who is a soil fertility specialist with K-State Research and Extension.
A recent summary of fescue and bromegrass nitrogen response data shows that across nearly 100 experiments in Kansas, the average yields for unfertilized plots was 1.35 tons of hay per acre, while maximum yields averaged 3.15 tons of hay with 140 pounds of nitrogen, he said.
“Doing some simple cost-and-return calculations, using a long-term average value of $60 per ton as the value of the hay produced and 50¢ per pound of nitrogen, the normal rates of nitrogen (90 to 120 lb. per acre) are appropriate to maximize profit in most years. It will be important to watch nitrogen costs, however, as they continue to be volatile,” Mengel said.
The other issue is hay price and supply, he added. With the drought, prices for grass hay have been considerably above the long-term average of $60 per ton. If hay prices remain high in 2013 and nitrogen prices for urea continue in the range of 50¢ per pound, applying nitrogen rates at the upper end of the 90- to 120-lb. range should be most profitable.
“But going beyond that 120-pound nitrogen rate would still not be cost-effective,” he added.
One issue these calculations don’t consider is hay quality, Mengel said.
For more information and the full release, click here.
Managing Wild Hog Damage Workshop Scheduled
With an estimated population of nearly a half million in the state, feral hogs are in every corner of Oklahoma.
They root around, looking for food, leaving farmers and ranchers with a mess and more than a small hole in their pocketbooks. Teaming with The Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation and the Mississippi University Extension Service, the Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service is hosting a daylong workshop to provide landowners with information about “Managing Wild Hog Damage.”
“This workshop is for anyone who is having issues with feral hogs doing damage on their property and is looking for some solutions,” said Dwayne Elmore, Oklahoma State University Cooperative Extension wildlife specialist. “With such a high number of hogs in the state, we get many reports and calls about the damage they are doing.” The Ag Building at the Osage County Fairgrounds, 320 Skyline Drive, Pawhuska, will be the host venue for the event slated Feb. 15 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Participants will learn wild hog control techniques, biology and ecology, as well as become versed in the status of hogs in Oklahoma.
For more information and the full release, click here.
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