News Update
July 26, 2013
Document Angus-Sired Calves,
Improve Value
When marketing a set of calves, simply saying they are bred to perform isn’t enough. Potential buyers need documented proof that a group of calves are of certain genetics and that they are expected to accomplish certain goals.
That’s the rationale behind AngusSource® Genetic. The improved program, implemented by the American Angus Association, documents Angus genetics, source and age, while also incorporating valuable information from the Association’s vast performance database. Once enrolled, AngusSource Genetic calves are identified in two ways: the official marketing document, and a bright, neon-green ear tag.
“The marketing document is really the centerpiece of the AngusSource Genetic program,” says Ginette Kurtz, AngusSource Genetic quality manager. “The ear tags easily identify the animals, but the marketing document provides the specific details and information buyers want to see before investing in a group of calves.”
The AngusSource Genetic marketing document authenticates a calf’s genetic integrity and potential worth. Each producer is responsible for completing the document with the date and place they plan to sell, along with any management, carcass or vaccination records they wish to provide.
For more information, please view the full release here.
Identification and Treatment of Toxic Plants
is Topic of Aug. 1 Webinar
Identification and management of toxic plants in Texas, along with the associated signs of livestock poisoning and recommended treatment, will be the subject of an Aug. 1 webinar conducted by the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service.
“An integrated approach can be the most effective way to minimize livestock losses due to toxic plant poisoning,” according to Alyson McDonald, AgriLife Extension range specialist in Fort Stockton and webinar presenter.
This webinar is part of the Texas Range Webinar Series conducted monthly by AgriLife Extension’s ecosystem science and management unit. Each webinar is scheduled from noon to 1 p.m., according to Brittany Grube, webinar coordinator in College Station.
Participants seeking Texas Department of Agriculture continuing education units must pay a $10 fee on the website. For all others, there is no fee, Grube said. Licensed agricultural private pesticide applicators participating in this webinar can earn one integrated pest management continuing education unit.
This webinar and others in the series can be accessed at naturalresourcewebinars.tamu.edu. Continuing education units for archived webinars will only be available for one month following the live version of the webinar. After the month has passed, the webinar will still be available to watch, but participants will not be able to register for or receive credits.
For more information, please visit the Angus Journal’s Virtual Library calendar of upcoming events here.
Fourteenth Annual Convention Brings in Experts
from Across the Country
R-CALF USA will host its 14th annual convention Aug. 2-3.
“We’re very excited to have a number of experts sharing their knowledge and experience with those in attendance," said R-CALF USA Membership Services Coordinator Laurel Masterson. “This year we’re bringing speakers from around the country to Pierre so ranchers can learn first-hand from knowledgeable experts.”
The 14th Annual convention will host two well-known protectors of private property rights. The first, Cliven Bundy, will speak Friday morning. Bundy is a Nevada rancher who is now the only rancher left in Nevada’s Clark County.
Also speaking on individual rights is Sheriff Richard Mack. Sheriff Mack was Graham County, Ariz., sheriff from 1988-1997. In 1994, he, along with six other sheriffs, fought against the Brady Bill and finally won in the U.S. Supreme Court. Now Sheriff Mack is an author, speaker, consultant and a strong advocate of states’ rights and individual freedoms. He will speak Saturday morning.
Brian O’Shaughnessy, chairman of Revere Copper Products, will discuss the Trans-Pacific Partnership Free Trade Agreement and other trade issues Friday afternoon. O’Shaughnessy served as Revere’s President & CEO for almost 20 years until the end of 2007. He is attending the R-CALF USA convention as a board member and president of the Coalition for a Prosperous America.
Also on Friday, Roger McEowen will present and overview of key legal cases that will have a profound and lasting effect on U.S. cattle producers. McEowen is the Leonard Dolezal Professor in Agricultural Law at Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa, where he is also the director of the ISU Center for Agricultural Law and Taxation.
For more information, please visit the Angus Journal’s Virtual Library calendar of upcoming events here.
Texas A&M Beef Cattle Short Course Scheduled for Aug. 5-7
The 59th Texas A&M Beef Cattle Short Course scheduled Aug. 5-7 at Texas A&M University in College Station will feature an update on market trends and outlook, plus a look at the future of the overall industry.
“The goal of the short course each year is to provide the most cutting-edge information that is needed by beef cattle producers,” said Jason Cleere, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service beef cattle specialist in College Station and conference coordinator. “We think we have information for everyone to take home and apply to their operations.”
An industry trade show will feature more than 110 agricultural businesses and service exhibits. For more information, please visit the Angus Journal’s Virtual Library calendar of upcoming events here.
Western States Work on Sage Grouse Conservation
As the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) carries on with its years-long deliberation over whether to list the greater sage grouse under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), ranchers in the West are still working together and with community groups to develop plans for preserving sage-grouse habitat, while at the same time providing a viable economic climate for producers.
These greater sage grouse conservation proposals, if approved by USFWS, could provide a key component in either avoiding a listing or helping private landowners minimize its impact. If states fail to get their USFWS-approved plans in place, they could face land-use restrictions that ranchers and many others consider above and beyond what is necessary to preserve the species.
“BLM (the Bureau of Land Management) and the USFWS really need to recognize the greater sage grouse conservation practices ranchers are already working with,” said Paul Schlegel, American Farm Bureau Federation endangered species specialist. “Farmers and ranchers can do more to save the sage grouse through voluntary, incentive-based conservation measures than an ESA listing would.”
Two of ranchers’ biggest contributions to protecting the greater sage grouse are their preservation of open space and their work to maintain rangeland, which reduces the risk of catastrophic wildfires, one of the biggest threats to the greater sage grouse.
“Ranchers are constantly improving their land and striving to better manage their resources, an approach that not only reduces threats to the sage grouse, but gives the species better habitat, water sources and forage,” Schlegel pointed out.
As they would with federal conservation plans, Western ranchers will have considerable responsibilities with the state-developed strategies.
For more information, please view the full release here.
Managing Fields After Wheat Harvest
With wheat harvest in Michigan coming to a close, nearly 500,000 acres of ground opened up. Leaving these fields idle until next spring may not be the best option. This article will discuss several ways farmer can utilize these acres to benefit their farming system.
Wheat stubble provides a mid-season land base for manure application. However, applying manure in the summer increases the risk of losing manure nutrients. Hot weather and surface application of manure increases the risk of losing ammonium-N. Manure Application Method and Timing Effects on Emission of Ammonia and Nitrous Oxide, a June 2013 eXtension publication, reported that with surface application of liquid dairy manure, 30 to 50 pounds (lb.) per acre of Ammonia-N was lost within the first six to 12 hours after application. This represented 46% to 77% of the ammonia fraction. This loss was reduced 60% to 80% with immediate incorporation and more than 90% with injection of manure. In addition to preserving nitrogen, this practice also decreases odor, which can be a greater concern in the summer as neighbors’ may spend more time outside or have open windows.
In addition to nitrogen, manure is a good source of phosphorous and potassium. The long time period between July and May increases the risk of nutrients being lost before another crop can use them. Cover crops and incorporation of manure are two practices that can work in concert to reduce runoff, leaching and volatilization of nutrients, all routes that nutrients take to leave the root zone.
For more information, please view the full release here.
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