News Update
March 12, 2014
Angus University Set for Nov. 5
at National Angus Convention
Make plans now to attend the first-ever Angus University, an all-day educational event that takes place as part of the 2014 Angus Means Business National Convention & Trade Show. Angus University will be Nov. 5 at the KCI Expo Center in Kansas City, Mo.
Sponsored by Merck Animal Health, the Angus University is themed “The Story of the Steak” and will build on the successful television and editorial campaign developed by the High Plains Journal.
The “Story of a Steak” series, which appears on The Angus Report, a news program on RFD-TV, emphasizes the importance of all industry sectors working collaboratively to improve the quality of beef and the profitability of producers, feeders and packers.
Headlining the event will be keynote futurist Lowell Catlett who will share his perspectives on emerging technologies and their potential impacts on the cattle industry.
In addition, Angus University will feature a slate of top-flight speakers representing all sectors of the beef industry — from ranchers to chefs — and include producers and others profiled in the successful TV segments.
“Our goal is to help Angus producers more fully recognize the opportunities not only of producing the highest-quality product in the world — Certified Angus Beef® — but also to understand the advantages of working with other industry sectors as key to building consumer demand for our products,” says Bryce Schumann, American Angus Association CEO.
The Angus University is part of the three-day Angus Means Business National Convention & Trade Show, the first of its kind for the Angus industry. The convention will feature top-notch speakers, evening entertainment and also a comprehensive trade show with products and services of interest to all cattle producers.
For more information, please view the full release here.
Registration Opens for 2014 PLC
and NCBA Legislative Conferences
The Public Lands Council (PLC) and the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) announced that registration is open for their 2014 legislative conferences. PLC will be hosting its event April 7-9, in Washington, D.C., while NCBA’s conference, sponsored by Elanco, will kick off the evening of April 8 and will run through April 10.
In addition to meeting with their U.S. representatives and senators about a variety of issues affecting the livestock industry, attendees will hear from administration officials, industry experts and other multiple-use industry representatives. PLC President Brice Lee and NCBA President Bob McCan agreed that it is important for livestock producers to visit Washington, D.C., and have their voices heard on Capitol Hill.
“Decisions made inside the Beltway have a direct impact on cattle producers’ daily operations,” said McCan. “I encourage all cattlemen and women to get involved in our nation’s legislative process in order to ensure that the beef industry remains successful and our agricultural economy remains vibrant.”
During the conferences, attendees will be hearing from government agency personnel, Congressional staff and industry members. After their Hill visits, NCBA conference attendees are invited to a reception on Capitol Hill hosted by Outback Steakhouse on April 9.
“This is an invaluable experience for ranchers who are able to make the trip to Washington,” said Lee. “They take home great information from their congressional representatives and the federal regulatory agencies, and they make important contacts that can last a lifetime. Every single producer also benefits from this conference, because we carry the message to Washington about the issues that are important to the bottom line of our nation’s livestock producers operating with federal grazing permits.”
For more information, please view the full release here.
Group Frustrated at Meaningless Responses from USDA
In a firmly worded letter sent to Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack on March 12, the Ranchers-Cattlemen Action Legal Fund, United Stockgrowers of America (R-CALF USA) once again requested that significant changes be made to the Beef Checkoff Program. Many requests in this letter were originally submitted in a letter sent Aug. 4, 2010.
The letter states, “It is beyond any semblance of common sense and impartiality that you would allow the Beef Checkoff Program to continually collect and expend producer contributions — for a period of nearly four years after you had definitively learned that funds were being misspent — while not having any assurance whatsoever that the program was being operated and administered in accordance with U.S. laws and regulations.”
The letter explains that R-CALF USA submitted these requests and complaints again because they “have been stonewalled for nearly four years,” and the USDA is no closer to validating these complaints and addressing the requests than they were in 2010 when R-CALF USA first began making them.
“The facts show that after [UDSA] learned definitively that the NCBA (National Cattlemen’s Beef Association) attempted to expropriate hundreds of thousands of U.S. producer dollars, after your OIG (Office of Inspector General) agency issued a whitewashed report that conspiratorially attempted to exonerate the NCBA, CBB (Cattlemen’s Beef Board) and [USDA] from complicity for the misappropriations of those producer dollars, and even after the OIG retreated from its conspiratorial cover-up, you continue to allow the NCBA, including its policy division, to benefit both directly and indirectly from the Beef Checkoff Program” the letter further explains.
For more information, please view the letter here.
Farm Bureau Kicks Off ‘Our Food Link’ Program
Farmer and rancher members of Farm Bureau from around the country officially kicked off the organization’s new “Our Food Link” program in conjunction with a conference for state leaders of Women’s Leadership and Promotion & Education programs.
“Our Food Link is a year-round program that county and state Farm Bureaus use to provide consumers of all ages and backgrounds with information about today’s agriculture,” explained Terry Gilbert, a Kentucky farmer and chair of the American Farm Bureau Women’s Leadership Committee (AFBWLC). The AFBWLC spearheads the program with participation open to all Farm Bureau members.
“People want to know where their food comes from and who is growing or raising it,” Gilbert said. “Helping people connect with sources of clothing, food, shelter and energy in their communities is the foundation of this multi-faced new program,” she said.
Our Food Link activities range from outreach at supermarkets or farmers’ markets to hosting interactive booths at community events, speaking with lawmakers and neighbors about food and visiting classrooms to help students understand agricultural topics. Other program ideas include an Adopt-a-Farmer program, fun runs, garden projects, and “Zest ’n Zing” or other foodie events. Our Food Link activities may also include the collection of food and monetary donations for Ronald McDonald House Charities or other charities.
For more information, please view the full release here.
AgriLife Extension Weed and Brush Management Workshop
Set for March 25 in Anson, Texas
The Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service office in Jones County will conduct their Weed and Brush Management Seminar for Pasture and Rangelands from 8:30 a.m. until noon March 25 in the Lawrence Hall Activity Center at 801 23rd St. in Anson.
“Controlling unwanted weeds and brush in our pastures is a constant battle,” said Steve Estes, AgriLife Extension agent in Jones County. “The purpose of this workshop is to acquaint our producers with the latest, best and most cost-effective control methods now available. There are some new products out there this season, so if anyone has been out of the loop regarding the new herbicides now available, this workshop would be well worth their time if controlling weeds and brush is in their future.”
Individual registration is $10 and includes a catered meal. Estes asks those planning to attend to preregister by March 21 by calling the AgriLife Extension office in Jones County at 325-823-2432. More workshop information can also be obtained at that number.
Three Texas Department of Agriculture continuing education units, two integrated pest management and one general, will be available for those with a private applicators license.
For more information, please view the Angus Journal’s Virtual Library calendar of upcoming events here.
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