News Update
April 17, 2013
American Angus Auxiliary
Hosts Heifer Auction
The Angus breed is more than cattle. It’s a community of people committed to the same thing: raising high-quality food for the world. It’s the hard-working women of the American Angus Auxiliary that help tie the business together.
This year, the Auxiliary continues its annual tradition of selling an Angus heifer to support educational programs for Angus youth. The 2013 endowment heifer auction will take place June 16 during The All-American Angus Breeders’ Futurity luncheon banquet, which is hosted at the Kentucky Fair and Exposition Center in Louisville, Ky.
“The Auxiliary works hard to give our Angus youth opportunities they deserve, and that effort starts with fundraisers such as the Auxiliary heifer auction,” says Auxiliary President Cortney Hill-Dukehart Cates. “We believe this female will be a fantastic addition to any operation, and our junior members will benefit greatly from the financial support.”
The sale will present bred-heifer EXAR Rita 5681 from Express Ranches, Yukon, Okla. The October 2011 daughter of Connealy Consensus 7229 offers a long line of top-quality genetics including GAR EXT 614, a female whose progeny have broken several individual sale records in Angus breed history. The bred-heifer is examined safe to calve Aug. 2, 2013, to EXAR Upshot 0562B.
All proceeds from the auction will benefit the Auxiliary’s scholarship and awards endowments held in the Angus Foundation, which are: 10 Auxiliary scholarships; the Crystal, Grote and Spader Awards; the Silver Pitcher Award; the Miss American Angus contest; the All-American Certified Angus Beef® Cook-Off contest; and the National Showmanship Awards. The awards and scholarships will be presented during the 2013 National Junior Angus Show July 5-11 in Kansas City, Mo. For more information and the full release, click here.
NCBA and PLC Kick Off Legislative Conferences
The Public Lands Council (PLC) kicks off its legislative conference today in the nation’s capital. PLC’s event runs through the evening of Apr. 16, while the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) conference will begin that evening and end on Thursday, April 18. In addition to meeting with their U.S. senators and representatives about a variety of issues affecting the livestock industry, attendees will talk with administration officials and hear from policy experts.
PLC President Brice Lee, a rancher from Hesperus, Colo., said his organization’s members are looking forward to interacting with congressional representatives and agency officials to make sure that livestock producers are represented in Washington. “A strong showing of livestock producers in Washington is vital to the success of our association and to the livestock industry. Oftentimes, producers are very busy on their operations and believe that what goes on in Washington is a world away,” said Lee. “The reality is that decisions made inside the Beltway have a direct impact on families providing food and fiber to a growing population. Our legislators and regulators need to hear from those in the countryside about how their decisions impact ranchers with public-land grazing permits and agricultural operations nationwide.”
While in Washington, PLC members will be fully engaging in the legislative process, including providing testimony at three hearings before the U.S. House of Representatives. PLC Vice President Brenda Richards will testify on the importance of the Grazing Improvement Act, PLC’s priority legislation this session. In another hearing, she will urge Congress to make well-placed appropriations in order to promote business stability for ranchers. PLC Secretary/Treasurer Dave Eliason will testify on the importance of reining in the ability of presidents to make sweeping national monument designations.
Many PLC attendees will stay in Washington to join the NCBA conference, which will include policy discussions, meetings with agency officials and legislators, and — always a highlight — a Wednesday evening reception on Capitol Hill hosted by Outback Steakhouse.
For more information and the full release click here.
Act Now to Decrease Impact of
Vitamin A Deficiency in Cattle
Effects of last year’s drought are evident at the Iowa State Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory in the form of an increasing number of calves with vitamin A deficiency, said Grant Dewell, Iowa State University Extension and Outreach beef veterinarian.
The 2012 drought and subsequent low-quality hay supplies for winter feeding mean cows don’t have normal liver stores of vitamin A, and without supplementation, cows will potentially be deficient in vitamin A. That can lead to a variety of calf health problems, Dewell said.
“Typically, calves have been submitted with a history of being either stillborn or weak at birth. Some veterinarians have reported blindness, neurologic signs or diarrhea that can also be associated with vitamin A deficiency,” he said. “Severe vitamin A deficiency can result in abnormal bone development in fetal calves. Other calves may be born weak and fail to thrive. Additionally, poor immune function can lead to increased infectious disease incidence.”
Dewell recommended that cows receive supplemental Vitamin A either through oral supplementation or injection of vitamin A. Calves may benefit from an injection of vitamin A at birth and potentially a second dose in two to three weeks, especially if cows have not been supplemented.
For more information, see Dewell’s fact sheet on vitamin A deficiency posted on the Iowa Beef Center website, click here.
Case IH and American Farm Bureau
Announce Tractor and Equipment Incentive Program
Thanks to a membership value program partnership between Case IH, the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) and American Farm Bureau Inc. (AFBI), Farm Bureau members can now take advantage of farm equipment discounts. Eligible Farm Bureau members will receive an incentive discount — from $300 to $500 — when purchasing qualifying Case IH products and equipment from participating dealerships.
“We selected Case IH as a member benefit program partner because they offer product expertise and field support, as well as the resources of a leading tractor manufacturer,” says Ron Gaskill, executive director of AFBF. “The program’s goal is to provide Farm Bureau members with greater value when they purchase or lease eligible equipment.”
“Case IH is proud to support the American Farm Bureau and its mission of building strong, prosperous agricultural communities,” says Zach Hetterick, Case IH livestock marketing manager. “The organization unifies farmers to make farming more sustainable and the community a better place to live in a way that could not be accomplished on an individual level.”
For more information and the full release, click here.
Pineywoods Cow Congress Set April 26
One of the highlights of this year’s Pineywoods Cow Congress April 26, set near San Augustine, will be weed control in pastures.
“After the 2011 drought, we are still trying to get our pastures back up to snuff,” said Cary Sims, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service agent for Angelina County. “We’ve had a lot of weeds that have taken up residence and are keeping our summer forages from being all that they can be.”
In response, Sims, along with AgriLife Extension agents in Nacogdoches, Panola, Sabine, San Augustine and Shelby counties, have devised a training session that will feature cutting-edge weed control measures for pastures, he said.
Set for 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. April 26 at the F8 Ranch, 1914 CR 338, San Augustine, Texas, speakers will review the latest weed control products and methods of application, including GPS directed spraying, Sims said.
Speakers and their topics include: “Calibrating Sprayers,” John Roach, Dow AgroSciences, Buffalo; “Using Field GPS,” Mark Goolsby, Outback Guidance Systems, Crawford; “Dow Update-Pasture Management,” Roach; “Evaluating Hay,” Sims; and “Considerations for Retaining Calves,” Ron Gill, AgriLife Extension livestock specialist and associate department head for the Texas A&M University department of animal science.
Registration for the program is $15 and includes lunch. The fee may be paid at the door, but participants are asked to RSVP by April 22 to Jerry Nickerson, AgriLife Extension agent for San Augustine County at 936-275-3644, j-nickerson@tamu.edu.
For more information and the full release, click here.
Agribusiness Offers Leadership Opportunities for Women
A Kansas State University (K-State) agricultural economist is optimistic about agriculture, which, he claims, “is the only business that will not go out of business.”
He’s also enthusiastic about opportunities for women to fulfill leading roles in the success of agribusiness.
As a featured speaker at the 2013 edition of the “Women Managing the Farm Conference” hosted in Manhattan, Kan., recently, Vincent Amanor-Boadu challenged the more than 200 women attending the conference to be creative and think like entrepreneurs.
Amanor-Boadu, who has earned distinction as a faculty member in the Department of Agricultural Economics in the College of Agriculture at K-State, sees opportunity for Kansans and agribusiness.
“In the U.S., in the last 60 to 70 years, agriculture has proven to be the most productive segment of the economy,” Amanor-Boadu said. “Input has remained virtually the same, yet production has more than doubled.”
He cited politics, technology (including improved seed, genetics and equipment), and globalization as primary factors in driving growth in agribusiness.
Amanor-Boadu expects continuing growth with new opportunities, and noted that “the consumer is changing, and demanding more from food producers.”
As global consumers enjoy increased economic success — with China moving toward achieving about $5,000 per capita income per year — they typically consume more protein, and that includes lean meats. Those who prefer whole grains consume more grains and are demanding higher-quality grains, he said.
Kansas is positioned to capitalize on such trends, said Amanor-Boadu, who predicted that there will be more opportunities for women to lead agribusinesses. For more information and the full release, click here.
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