News Update
March 19, 2014
Angus Foundation Golf
Tournament Scheduled for July 8
The Angus Foundation’s 14th annual golf tournament will take place Tuesday, July 8, at the Deer Creek Golf Club in Clayton, Ind. Held in conjunction with the 2014 National Junior Angus Show (NJAS), the tournament is a short drive southwest of Indianapolis. The Angus Foundation is seeking both players and sponsors for the tournament.
Angus Foundation President Milford Jenkins says the organization aims to raise $25,000 from the tournament, which benefits the Angus Foundation’s education, youth and research programs.
“We invite Angus golf enthusiasts to join us for this enjoyable fundraising activity as a player or sponsor,” Jenkins says. “With your help, we will raise the remaining balance needed to achieve our goal, as Express Ranches has given us a good start.”
The 2014 event sponsor is Express Ranches of Yukon, Okla. Bob Funk, owner, purchased the event sponsorship for $4,000 during the 2014 Angus Night on the Mountain fundraiser at Spruce Mountain Ranch, Larkspur, Colo., this past January.
Eight additional sponsorship levels for individuals, farms and ranches are available. Each sponsorship level contains various promotional opportunities, including recognition in the tournament program, post-event news release, the Angus Journal, and the Angus Foundation’s website, annual report and newsletter. Available sponsorships are luncheon, beverage/player cart, club house, hole-in-one, gift, tee box, hole and flag. Sponsorship deadline is May 30.
Interested players may register until June 23. Adult golfer registration is $100 per player, and National Junior Angus Association (NJAA) member registration is $75 per player. After the June 23 deadline, a $10 late fee per player will apply to the rates.
More information about the annual golf tournament, as well as the event schedule, can be found at www.angusfoundation.org.
For more information, please view the full release here.
New Report Shows Labor Challenges
Lead to Loss in GDP, Farm Income
The Partnership for a New American Economy and the Agriculture Coalition for Immigration Reform released a new report March 18 showing how American families are eating more imported fresh produce today than ever before, in substantial part because U.S. fresh produce growers lack enough labor to expand their production and compete with foreign importers.
“American consumers want fresh U.S grown fruits and vegetables, but our farmers don’t have the labor force available to meet that demand,” said John Feinblatt, chairman of the Partnership for a New American Economy. “This means more produce is imported, and our economy loses millions of dollars and thousands of jobs every year. We need to pass immigration reform now, so our food remains homegrown and our economy strong.”
“On the issue of farm labor, we have a growing amount of evidence that all points in the same direction: Farmers and consumers both need responsible immigration reform,” said American Farm Bureau Federation President Bob Stallman, a cattle and rice farmer from Texas.
For more information, please view the full report here.
Temple Grandin Inspires Students While Visiting MSU
Animal welfare was a hot topic on the campus of Michigan State University (MSU) during the week of March 10. Although animal welfare is always a top priority, that week had an extra push: Temple Grandin, professor of animal science at Colorado State University, was visiting the campus. The most visible event was the public seminar hosted Tuesday, March 11, for a capacity crowd in Anthony Hall on the campus of MSU. The seminar, titled “Making Decisions about Animal Welfare and Food: Is Big Always Bad and Small Always Good?” left the whole audience thinking and many youth inspired.
“It was really great of her to take time out of her busy schedule to share her experience with people who are going to make up the agriculture industry in the future,” said MSU senior and animal science major Andrea Meade after the seminar.
Andrea was just one of many that packed the lecture hall, creating a diverse audience that included teachers, livestock producers and students of all ages. Numerous youth representing 4-H clubs and FFA chapters were also visible during the public seminar.
Grandin spoke on a variety of topics, including survey statistics, the Five Freedoms, humane slaughter practices, guidelines for auditing welfare and more. During the presentation, she shared the importance of traveling to learn how others around the country and world manage. Grandin also stated the agricultural industry needed to work better together, communicating more clearly, because those involved in smaller agricultural production can help those involved in larger production practices, and vice versa. Grandin also stressed the importance of opening up the agricultural production doors to be more visible and transparent with animal agriculture production practices.
For more information, please view the full release here.
Denton County Cool-season Forage Field Day Set for April 1
The Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service in Denton County and the Denton County Extension Agriculture Committee will host a cool-season forage field day from 5-8 p.m. at Rancho De La Roca, located on 2459 Blackjack Road West, Aubrey, Texas.
The event will begin in the field on the north side of Farm-to-Market Road 428, between Blackjack Road and the Green Belt Corridor at 5 p.m., said Brandon Boughen, AgriLife Extension agent for agriculture and natural resources in Denton County.
Jason Banta, AgriLife Extension beef cattle specialist in Overton, will discuss the pros and cons of utilizing cool-season forages in cattle operations, Boughen said.
Registration will be $15, and include educational materials and a light meal. Those wishing to attend should RSVP by calling Pamela Hill at 940-349-2894 by March 31, he said.
“When properly utilized, cool-season forages can save cattle producers the time and cost associated with extensive hay use,” Boughen said. “The results of our cool-season ryegrass demonstration will be used as a teaching tool to help producers understand the dynamics of forage, whether they are grasses or legumes.”
For more information contact Boughen or Hill at 940-349-2894.
For more information, please view the Angus Journal’s Virtual Library calendar of upcoming events here.
Editor’s Note: The articles used within this site represent a mixture of copyrights. If you would like to reprint or repost an article, you must first request permission of Angus Productions Inc. (API) by contacting the editor at 816-383-5200; 3201 Frederick Ave., Saint Joseph, MO 64506. API claims copyright to this web site as presented. We welcome educational venues and cattlemen to link to this site as a service to their audience.