News Update
July 5, 2013
Stay Connected with the
2013 National Junior Angus Show
Angus juniors and their families are gathering in Kansas City this weekend for the 2013 National Junior Angus Show (NJAS) at the American Royal Complex. The festivities begin Saturday, July 6, and continue through Thursday, July 11. The six-day event is full of cattle shows, showmanship competitions and a variety of educational contests.
Those attending the NJAS, or those keeping up with results at home, can stay up-to-date with the latest show news and information by accessing the show results website, using a computer or cell phone, downloading the Angus Mobile app on any smartphone, watching live coverage of the showring, joining Angus on the NJAA Facebook and Twitter page for instant updates, watching video segments from the day on the Angus TV channel on YouTube and by visiting www.angus.org.
More than 1,100 head of cattle are expected to walk through the NJAS showring this week. The cattle shows kick off at 8 a.m. Monday, July 8, with bred-and-owned heifers. Throughout the week, the cattle show features steers, bred-and-owned cow-calf pairs, owned cow-calf pairs, bred-and-owned bulls, bred-and-owned best five head and owned heifers. States will also compete for the best five head, while individual members will vie for Junior Premier Breeder, the Silver Pitcher Award and Top Showman.
Outside of the showring, hundreds of junior members will participate in more than a dozen educational contests including prepared and extemporaneous public speaking, career development, graphic design, writing, photography, livestock judging, video and poster competitions.
In addition, each state can enter a team in the quiz bowl, team sales and fitting contests, as well as the American Angus Auxiliary-sponsored All-American Certified Angus Beef® Cook-Off, herdsmanship and scrapbook contests.
For more information about the conference, please visit the Angus Journal’s Virtual Library calendar of upcoming events here.
Express Ranches to Donate 2014 Angus Foundation Heifer
The Angus Foundation is pleased to announce that Express Ranches, Yukon, Okla., will donate the 2014 Angus Foundation Heifer, to sell January 2014 at the National Western Stock Show in Denver, Colo.
The chosen female is EXAR Royal Lass 2068 (AAA Registration No. 17160657), born Jan. 8, 2012, and sired by EXAR Upshot 0562B. Royally bred, 2068 is the maternal granddaughter of the now deceased record-setting $263,000 in 2009 calving-ease sire EXAR 263C and the dam of BR Midland, BR Royal Lass 7036-19.
Closely related to 2068 is her increasingly popular half-brother EXAR Denver 2002B, sired also by EXAR Upshot 0562B. Denver was the lead bull of Express Ranches’ 2013 grand champion carload of bulls. The 2014 Angus Foundation Heifer is bred to Sitz Top Game 561X and is due to calve Feb. 13, 2014.
Express Ranches is America’s largest seedstock operation. It sells more than 4,800 head of registered cattle per year. Express Ranches Owner Bob Funk believes in the cattle industry and is an advocate for America’s youth. Funk has supported the Angus Foundation in many ways in the past, including hosting “That Old West Magic” gala and auction for the Angus Foundation in Oklahoma City, Okla., in 2008, which raised more than $345,000 in gross proceeds.
“We at Express Ranches feel it is a great honor and privilege to have the opportunity to support Angus youth through the donation of the 2014 Angus Foundation scholarship heifer,” Funk says.
Angus Foundation President Milford Jenkins says, as with all Angus Foundation Heifer donors since the inception of the successful fundraising activity in 1980, the Foundation is thankful to Express Ranches as the 2014 donor.
For more information, please view the full release here.
Increased Oil and Gas Drilling Demands More Land-Applied Fluid Disposal
Drilling fluids, including muds and liquids, can be applied to surrounding land, but landowners need to know what to do before and after the application to prevent major land damage, according to a Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service expert.
Due to the increase in drilling in Texas from the different oil shale formations, the need to recycle drilling fluids through land application has increased, said Sam Feagley, AgriLife Extension state soil environmental specialist in College Station.
“There are numerous potential issues associated with land application of these materials,” Feagley said. “If done properly on soils that can accept these types of materials, no detrimental effects should occur, however, if not applied properly, then numerous detrimental effects can occur that can take many years to remediate.
“I know money talks, and I’ve been told they will offer anywhere from $10,000 to $30,000 per acre to land-apply these materials in Texas,” he said. “But we have a legacy and responsibility for our soils.”
Land application can provide a beneficial use of the materials and not be detrimental to the soil, if done properly, Feagley said.
Drilling fluids and muds come from oil and gas exploration, and it is recycled until it cannot be used anymore, he said. Then it needs to be disposed of, and operators turn to landowners who will allow the “sludge” to be spread across their acreage.
For more information, please view the full release here.
Farmers Union Members Bring Knowledge and Experience to Zambia
National Farmers Union (NFU) representatives are currently in Chipata Eastern Province, Zambia to participate in the National Cooperative Business Association's — Cooperative League USA (NCBA-CLUSA) Farmer-to-Farmer Program. Brittany Jablonsky, NFU’s director of advocacy communications, and Ellen Linderman, a North Dakota Farmers Union board member, will spend two weeks working with the region’s Chipata District Farmers Association to visit with local farmers and aid in developing marketing initiatives.
“I’m excited to work with the Zambian farmers who have just gotten their first co-op off the ground,” said Jablonsky. “I think this assignment will be an important part of helping these farmers begin to address some of the marketing and financial-management issues they will face as they continue to grow their co-op’s capacity.”
The Chipata District Farmers Association is a nongovernmental farmers association with more than 2,000 registered farmers. The Association offers training to farmers in agriculture-related subjects such as poultry, crop husbandry and agribusiness. It also focuses on poverty reduction and land access for disadvantaged members of the community. The Association offers seasonal agricultural inputs on credit in partnership with Zambia National Farmers Union (ZNFU) and Zambia National Commercial Bank (ZANACO).
The goal of this Farmer-to-Farmer project is to help farmers in developing countries in other areas of the world learn to make the most of their resources by tapping the knowledge of American farmers.
“NFU is proud to work with NCBA (National Cattlemen’s Beef Association) and the Farmer-to-Farmer program in order to share the knowledge and experience of American family farmers with their peers in developing countries in order to improve the quality of life of all those involved,” said NFU President Roger Johnson.
For more information, please view the full release here.
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