News Update
August 13, 2013
Angus Youth Participate
in 2013 LEAD Conference
Angus juniors from 32 different states, Canada and Uruguay took a glimpse into Cajun culture as part of the 2013 Leaders Engaged in Angus Development (LEAD) conference. More than 170 participants traveled to New Orleans, La., Aug. 1-4 to take part in the annual event sponsored by the Angus Foundation.
Themed “Cajun Livin’ Angus Leadin’,” participants visited Mardi Gras World, the Jackson Square in the French Quarter, and took a ride down the Mississippi river on the historic Steamboat Natchez. The LEAD conference, designed for youth ages 14-21, aims to teach National Junior Angus Association (NJAA) members teamwork and leadership skills.
“Overall, I feel that ‘Cajun Livin’ Angus Leadin’ really raised the bar and stepped it up to make sure all of the juniors had a fun weekend from morning to night,” says Kelli Retallick, now-retired NJAA board member, Glen Haven, Wis. “I think this is a good opportunity for our juniors to extend their knowledge and focus on different areas of the agriculture industry so they can educate others.”
Throughout the four-day event, the junior board, elected during the 2013 National Junior Angus Show (NJAS), led juniors in team-building activities and presented various leadership workshops. Junior members also heard from various speakers throughout the course of the weekend. A former NJAA board member and now the current host of Ag Minute, Kristen Oaks shared with juniors the importance of getting involved in the organization. Motivational speaker Eddie Slowikowski encouraged juniors on their journey to discover the greatness from within, and Amy Gallimore spoke of the importance of being an “all in” type of leader.
For more information, please view the full release here.
USDA Report, Survey Data Peg Record Corn Crop
The highly anticipated August World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE) report was released Monday by the Agriculture Department. This first report of the year to incorporate farmer survey and field plot measurements to projected yield and production potential indicates a record crop.
“Up to this point, USDA has been using a statistical model for corn that predicts yield based on planting date, rainfall and temperature during the growing season,” said Todd Davis, American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) economist. “The August report, through the rest of the year, will incorporate farm production information in the supply and demand estimates.”
For more information, check out the August issue of the Angus Beef Bulletin EXTRA. You can subscribe for monthly inbox delivery at www.angusbeefbulletin.com/extra.
Wildlife, Ranch Management Workshop
Set Aug. 17-18 in Harlingen
A two-day workshop for small acreage owners in the Lower Rio Grande Valley interested in wildlife management will be hosted Aug. 17-18 at the Bass Pro Shop, 101 Bass Pro Drive in Harlingen.
The no-cost Wildlife and Ranch Management Workshop will be from 1-5 p.m. Aug. 17 and from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Aug. 18 in the Trophy Room of the Bass Pro Restaurant. The workshop will be conducted by the Texas A&M Institute of Renewable Natural Resources, Texas Water Resources Institute and the Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center at Weslaco.
“This workshop will offer landowners best practices for wildlife management,” said Roel Lopez, director of the Institute of Renewable Natural Resources and interim director of the Texas Water Resources Institute. “The workshop is part of a program we are developing that targets small-acreage landowners who want to adopt non-traditional and innovative alternative land-management approaches, including wildlife-management practices.”
Luis Ribera, an AgriLife Extension agricultural economist in Weslaco, said maintaining sustainable and viable agricultural operations in the Valley is increasingly challenging because of a variety of factors, including land fragmentation, drought and adverse economic conditions.
“Opportunities to assist these landowners in overcoming these challenges, such as this workshop, will help increase the sustainability and profitability of these producers,” he said.
For more information, please view the Angus Journal Virtual Library calendar of upcoming events here.
Food Science Grad Student Advises
U.S. Policy-Makers on Global Food Security
An Ohio State University graduate student from Tanzania informed policy-makers about the tangible benefits of continued U.S. engagement on global food security at a July 25 Capitol Hill panel discussion co-hosted by the Senate Hunger Caucus.
Rita Mirondo, a doctoral student in Ohio State’s Department of Food Science and Technology, was invited to be one of three panelists for “Feed the Future: Growing Innovation, Harvesting Results.” The purpose of the event was to highlight advances in global food security being made by the U.S. Agency for International Development’s (USAID) Feed the Future initiative.
Mirondo is studying at Ohio State with seven other Tanzanians as part of a Feed-the-Future project, the Innovative Agricultural Research Initiative. Another 50 Tanzanian students are studying at partner universities across the United States as part of the program, said Mark Erbaugh, director of Ohio State’s Office of International Programs in Agriculture, which is leading the initiative. The office is housed in the university’s College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences.
Mirondo discussed the subsistence-level farm production common throughout Tanzania, and said a transition to commercial agricultural and food-processing practices is sorely needed. A shortage of skilled personnel in agriculture — the backbone of the Tanzanian economy — and food processing is one of the major challenges in Tanzania, she said.
“Providing knowledge and training to farmers and the younger generation to better handle agricultural activities would be the best means to deal with this challenge,” Mirondo said. “If this is successful, it will give a good promise of a future world without hunger.”
For more information, please view the full release here.
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