News Update
September 18, 2014
Largest Convention for
the Cattle Industry now
Accepting Internship Applications
The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) is accepting applications for internships during the 2015 Cattle Industry Convention in San Antonio, Texas, Feb. 4-7, 2015. The deadline to submit an application is Oct. 6, 2014.
This year will mark the 117th Cattle Industry Convention, which is the oldest and largest convention for the cattle industry. The convention and trade show create a unique, fun environment for cattle industry members to come together to network and create policy for the industry.
“This convention brings leaders from across the industry together to network and discuss issues important to the beef industry,” said NCBA Public Policy Analyst Mallory Gaines. “Along with helping to see the convention run smoothly, students will be provided time to maximize their opportunities to network and learn throughout the week.”
The annual Cattle Industry Convention boasts more than 5,500 attendees and a trade show with more than 250 booths. Interns are offered a unique, behind-the-scenes experience of setting up the trade show, manning the NCBA Political Action Committee (PAC) booth, assisting with the NCBA-PAC auction, helping members vote on NCBA policy, working with the media and helping to guide cattlemen and cattlewomen to convention events.
To apply, interested college juniors, seniors or graduate students should submit the convention internship application, a college transcript, two letters of recommendation and a résumé to internship@beef.org. More information and the internship application are available on NCBA’s website.
U.S. Ag Centers Ready for National Farm Safety
and Health Week
The 10 U.S. Agricultural Centers funded by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) urge everyone involved in agriculture to recognize National Farm Safety and Health Week (Sept. 21-27) and promote awareness of safety solutions year round.
The 2014 safety week theme is, “Safety Counts: Protecting what Matters.” The U.S. Agricultural Centers address that theme with their special regional and collective expertise.
“The theme underscores the importance of us all working together to build a safer and healthier agricultural workplace,” said Scott Heiberger, U.S. Ag Centers spokesman.
A great starting point for tapping into the Centers’ resources is their YouTube channel, www.youtube.com/USagCenters. The channel features more than 40 videos available for Extension agents/educators, agricultural science teachers, producers/owners/operators, first responders and agricultural families.
NIOSH, within the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), funds nine regional Centers for Agricultural Disease and Injury Research, Education and Prevention and one National Center to address children’s farm safety. The centers are distributed throughout the nation to be responsive to the agricultural safety and health issues unique to particular areas.
Links to individual Centers can be found at www.cdc.gov/niosh/oep/agctrhom.html.
The Ag Centers were established by Congress in 1990 in response to evidence that agricultural workers were suffering substantially higher rates of occupational injury and illness than other U.S. workers.
“These Ag Center resources can be especially relevant during harvest season, as farmers are putting in long hours under the stress of weather delays, equipment breakdowns, and high operating costs,” Heiberger said.
For more information on National Farm Safety and Health Week and safety resources, visit the website of the National Education Center for Agricultural Safety, www.necasag.org/.
For more information, please view the full release here.
Elanco Animal Health, Dow AgroSciences
Announce Strategic R&D Agreement
Two Indiana agricultural companies, Elanco, the animal health division of Eli Lilly and Co., and Dow AgroSciences LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of The Dow Chemical Co., are announcing a strategic research and development (R&D) agreement that will focus on developing integrated solutions to enable livestock producers to increase meat and milk production to meet the demands of the growing global population.
According to the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), demand for meat, milk and eggs will increase by more than 60% in the next few decades. The agreement leverages the strengths of Elanco’s animal health business with the proprietary germplasm and feed technologies of Dow AgroSciences to develop innovative solutions that can increase the efficiency, quality and productivity of livestock for ranchers and producers worldwide.
“Dow AgroSciences is proud to work closely with another Indiana agricultural company to develop future product solutions for beef and dairy producers,” says Tim Hassinger, president and CEO, Dow AgroSciences. “Collaborating with Elanco is exciting because it unites the strength of their animal health expertise with our feed and forage expertise. Together, we will be looking for ways to develop total solutions that involve improving both the carrying capacity of the land and the health and productivity of production animals to help our customers meet the needs of the growing world.”
“Delivering enough of the high-quality meat, milk and eggs we’ll need to feed our growing population is one of the greatest challenges of our time,” said Jeff Simmons, president of Elanco. “We’ll have to produce more with less because we are already over-using our resources, equivalent to 1.5 earths each year. Ultimately, these issues will be solved with innovative solutions, which is at the foundation of this agreement. We are very excited about the opportunities this effort will bring.”
For more information, please view the full release here.
Beef Cattle Institute and Kansas Beef Council
to Host Free BQA Training Sessions
The Beef Cattle Institute (BCI) at Kansas State University (K-State) and the Kansas Beef Council are partnering to host four advanced beef cattle care and health training sessions in Kansas during October. The Beef Checkoff-funded sessions will provide beef producers and veterinarians with up-to-date standards and technologies to improve animal welfare and food safety. The training sessions will be led by the BCI’s Dan Thomson, Chris Reinhardt and Dave Rethorst.
The meetings are scheduled as follows:
- Oct. 1 — Leavenworth County Fairgrounds, Tonganoxie, 6-9 p.m.
- Oct. 2 — JC Livestock Sales, Junction City, 6-9 p.m.
- Oct. 7 — Fort Scott Livestock Market, Fort Scott, 6-9 p.m.
- Oct. 9 — Overbrook Livestock Commission Company, Overbrook, 6-9 p.m.
Producers and veterinarians will receive Beef Quality Assurance (BQA) training and information relevant to the cow-calf, stocker and feedlot industry segments; animal husbandry best management practices; and downed animal care and humane euthanasia training. In addition, stockmanship principles and low-stress cattle-handling techniques will be studied. All producers and veterinarians who attend will earn BQA certification. BQA certification is valid for three years.
Each workshop is free of charge and includes a complimentary meal. Preregistration one week or more prior to the event is requested. You may preregister by contacting the BCI at 785-532-4844 or kjoliver@vet.ksu.edu. Walk-in attendees are welcome but are not guaranteed a meal.
The BCI was founded in 2007 to provide beef industry stakeholders with the most current education, research and outreach available in the beef industry. The BCI offers certificates and tools to aid producers in managing a successful beef business.
The Kansas Beef Council administers the $1-per-head beef checkoff in Kansas. Funds are used for research, educational activities and promotion of beef and beef products. Twenty-nine cattle producer volunteers from Kansas serve on the executive committee and direct how checkoff funds are utilized.
For more information, please view the Angus Journal Virtual Library calendar of upcoming events here.
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