News Update
October 30, 2014
Iowa Family Honored for Historic Herd
The Historic Angus Herd Award is presented to Angus breeders or immediate families who have been in continuous production of registered-Angus cattle for 50 years or more. To honor their dedication to the breed, the American Angus Association is proud to recognize KM Cattle Co., Coon Rapids, Iowa, as a Historic Angus Herd.
One November day in 1964, the late Thomas Musfeldt visited the Bread and Butter Sale in Denison, Iowa, where he purchased his first registered-Angus heifer, Energice of Val-Mar 339, from Otto Frank’s Val-Mar Farms. The Energice cow family is still represented in today’s cow herd at KM Cattle Co.
Thomas must have been pleased with his purchase because 13 years later in 1977, the Musfeldt & Sons ranching enterprise purchased the entire Val-Mar cowherd and began leasing Otto Frank’s Manilla, Iowa, farm. The Val-Mar herd had a storied history with Earl Marshall genetics at the National Western Stock Show, showing more champion pens and carloads of bulls than any other herd at the time.
The legendary bull, Earl Marshall, bred by W.A. McHenry of Denison, Iowa, was born in 1913 and sold to Escher and Ryan, who made the bull famous and expanded his influence in the Angus breed. Earl Marshall sired six International Grand Champions, and today more than 15 million of his descendants have been registered with the American Angus Association.
Now the second and third generations of Musfeldts are continuing the family’s Angus legacy. Thomas’s son, Kent Musfeldt, along with his wife, Jill, and their son, Kyle, manage KM Cattle Co. today in Coon Rapids, Iowa. They moved to the area in 1992 from Kansas City, Kan., after managing other Angus programs in the region. In 2002, the family purchased a farm that was once part of the famed Pingrey Ranch, which is where 200 cows from the Escher and Ryan historic Angus herd landed in 1924 for Earl Ryan, prior to partnering with the Harrisons of California and starting the Harrison and Ryan operation.
Over the years, the Musfeldt’s 100-head operation has seen great success. KM Cattle Co. has been honored to sell bulls to other renowned Angus herds such as Green Mountain Angus Ranch, Montana; Kraye Angus and Wagonhammer Angus Ranch, Nebraska; Mill Coulee Angus, Wisconsin; and ABS Global.
“We’ve come a long way in fifty years, since Dad purchased that first bred heifer,” says Kent Musfeldt. “Artificial insemination was in its infancy, and Dad would be amazed at the tools available that we use today in our program to make genetic progress.”
As the cattle business has evolved, KM Cattle Co. has implemented many technological advancements to strengthen the herd. They have moved from utilizing the showring in visual appraisal to performance testing, ultrasound and DNA technology to make genetic advancements.
For more information, please view the full release here.
Register Online Now For The 24th Annual NBFA Conference Nov. 7-8, 2014
The 24th Annual National Black Farmers Association (NBFA) Conference 2014 is an interactive two-day program providing practical knowledge and techniques to enhance skills and networking and financial resource capabilities for small, limited resource and socially disadvantaged farmers, ranchers and landowners.
How to help
You can help the NBFA fight against hunger, prevent land loss and secure food sovereignty. Donations are needed from concerned individuals, companies and organizations to make it possible for the NBFA to continue its outreach efforts, technical assistance and nationwide advocacy to help black farmers. It is possible to donate here, www.donationto.com/Help-Save-the-FARMS-FARMERS
Become a member
Benefits of membership:
- Access to state and national information concerning agriculture through newsletters and other special online communication tools;
- Network with other black farmers and agriculture professionals;
- Participate in high-quality, competency-based training and technical assistance activities and events;
- Support and be a partner with NBFA, an organization that provides outreach, advocacy and technical assistance nationally and internationally.
To join the NBFA and for more information about membership, please join online at http://form.jotform.us/form/42448597802161.
For more information, please view the Angus Journal Virtual Library calendar of upcoming events here.
Canola Production Part of Presentation Lineup at Texas Plant Protection Conference
Canola cropping practices will be featured at the Texas Plant Protection Association Conference scheduled Dec. 10-11 at the Brazos Center, 3232 Briarcrest Drive in Bryan, Texas.
Clark Neely, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service small grains and oilseed specialist in College Station, will give an overview of growing canola and its potential in Texas.
“Researchers and producers are always on the lookout for new alternative crops to help diversify cropping rotations and spread out economic risk,” Neely said. “In the past decade, canola acres have rapidly expanded to over 300,000 acres across the Southern Great Plains, and the growing infrastructure provides a realistic future for canola in Texas.”
Neely said much research is needed on this new crop under Texas environments to establish yield goals and best management practices.
This year’s conference theme is the future use of water and its impact on agriculture.
“Water availability is paramount for agricultural production and certainly is of utmost concern to everyone in Texas,” said Ray Smith, association chairman. “This conference will feature several presentations from leading experts across the state.”
Travis Miller, interim director for state operations for AgriLife Extension, will be one of the featured speakers during the opening general session Dec. 10.
John Nielsen-Gammon, Texas state climatologist, and Carlos Rubinstein, chairman of the Texas Water Development Board, will also be general session featured speakers. Nielsen-Gammon will discuss climate variability, and Rubinstein will give a Texas water outlook.
Other presentations during the general session will focus on water conservation, comparative irrigation methods, agricultural innovations from industry in dealing with climate change and a Texas farmer’s perspective on dealing with water management.
Afternoon sessions on Dec. 10 will include a look at the impact of the Texas drought on wildlife, unmanned aerial vehicles in agriculture, and decision and precision applications of nitrogen.
The second day of the conference will feature sessions on grain, cotton, horticulture, turf, and pasture and rangeland. A student poster contest will be held, as well as an awards luncheon.
For more information, please view the Angus Journal Virtual Library calendar of upcoming events here.
CattleFax Announces Agenda for Outlook & Strategies Seminar
The potential for the beef cattle industry to rebuild and expand the cow herd has not been this strong in more than 20 years. Likewise, cheaper feedstuff prices and robust protein demand are fueling expansion efforts in the pork and chicken segments.
Beef industry participants will feel the far-reaching influence of livestock expansion well beyond 2015. CattleFax will discuss those implications in detail during its Outlook & Strategies 2015 Seminar scheduled for Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2014.
The event’s keynote speaker is Jan Lambregts, global head of financial markets research for Rabobank International. He will share his thoughts on what factors will shape the U.S. and global economy in 2015. Art Douglas, professor emeritus of the Atmospheric Science Department at Creighton University, will discuss weather patterns and trends expected for 2015 and beyond.
The CattleFax team will share its expectations on the major trends that will shape the livestock, grain, protein and energy markets during the next 12 to 24 months. Discussions will highlight:
- U.S. livestock and feedstuff production scenarios and expansion implications
- Domestic wholesale and retail protein market demand considerations
- Global supply and demand drivers for agricultural products
- Strategies to grow profits and manage risk in an expansion-era livestock market
- Forecasts for 2015 prices in the calf, feeder-cattle, fed-cattle and beef markets
Seminar discussion will include topics such as beef cow herd expansion, cheaper feedstuffs, energy market price changes, feedyard and packing segment overcapacity, protein market trends, interest rate expectations, and world trade policy.
The Marriott Denver South at Park Meadows in Littleton, Colo., is the seminar headquarters hotel. Seminar cost is $325 per person and includes a preseminar networking reception on the evening of Monday, Dec. 2. Registration is open, but space is limited.
For more information, please view the Angus Journal 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.