News Update
November 26, 2014
American Angus Association and Angus Productions Inc. Offices Closed
In observance of the Thanksgiving holiday, the American Angus Association and Angus Productions Inc. offices will be closed Thursday, Nov. 27, and Friday, Nov. 28. Happy Thanksgiving!
‘I Am Angus’ Broadcasts Thanksgiving Night
As you gather around the Thanksgiving table this week, the American Angus Association invites you to tune in for a new season of its popular documentary series, I Am Angus®.
The program airs this Thursday, Nov. 27, on RFD-TV and features farm and ranch families from Montana to Louisiana — people dedicated to their land and their cattle. The hour-long documentary is produced entirely by the American Angus Association and pays tribute to the history and heritage of cattle ranching across the country.
Tune in at 9 p.m. CST (10 p.m. EST) Thursday, Nov. 27, on RFD-TV. A second broadcast is set for 5 a.m. CST (6 a.m. EST) Saturday, Nov. 29.
Featured in the Nov. 27 episode are:
- Curtis “Doc” Long, Butler, Mo., of Briarwood Farms, describes the pasture where his cattle graze, which is the only large section of native prairie grass left in the area that’s never been disturbed.
- Joe Mayer, Guymon, Okla., and his family have been raising cattle in the Oklahoma Panhandle for several generations, and despite struggling with drought in recent years, Mayer Ranch remains focused on improving quality and performance.
- Topper Thorpe joined CattleFax in 1968 as the group’s first analyst and says tracking cattle markets is a humbling experience; he shares insight into the history of cattle markets and how quality plays a role in today’s industry.
- Dennis Weisenburger, partial owner of the St. Joseph Livestock Exchange Building, explains how the stockyards in downtown St. Joseph, Mo., operated as one of the country’s largest at the time and recounts the history of this important era.
- David Billingsley of Billingsley Angus Farm shares why he and his wife, Becky, enjoy raising a small herd of registered-Angus cattle in Keithville, La.
- A day in the life of Association Regional Manager Radale Tiner, who serves Angus breeders in Texas, New Mexico and Louisiana.
- Jack and Brent McRea describe the history of Big Dry Ranch in Jordan, Mont., and the Angus cattle and sheep that graze quietly throughout its landscape.
- David Means, Gloster, La., shares a glimpse into the Roseneath Plantation, established in 1845 and steeped in Southern history, where he raises registered-Angus cattle.
- Hilda Mordhorst, Wibaux, Mont., explains how she and her husband make a living on Bumgarner Angus, down a long, dusty road in eastern Montana.
For more information, please view the full release here.
NCF Accepting Applications for Beef Industry Scholarship
Applications for 2015-2016 beef industry scholarships sponsored by the CME Group are now being accepted. Ten scholarships of $1,500 each will be awarded to outstanding students pursuing careers in the beef industry.
Students studying education, communication, production, research or other areas related to the beef industry should consider applying for the scholarship. Applicants must be a graduating high school senior or full-time undergraduate student enrolled at a two- or four-year college.
The National Cattlemen’s Foundation (NCF) administers the program. Applicants for the 2015-2016 scholarship will be required to write a one-page letter expressing future career goals related to the beef industry. They also must write a 750-word essay describing an issue in the beef industry and offering solutions to this problem.
Applications should be submitted by Dec. 19, 2014, to the National Cattlemen’s Foundation, 9110 E. Nichols Ave., Suite 300, Centennial, CO 80112. The winning recipients will be announced on Jan. 15, 2015.
For more information visit www.nationalcattlemensfoundation.org.
Children and Grain Handling Don’t Mix: Here’s Why
Working in and around grain is extremely hazardous even for trained adults. Under no circumstances should young children be in the grain-handling worksite.
Still, this harvest season has brought tragic fatalities and close calls, such as:
- A 5-year-old North Carolina boy suffocates in a grain cart that is being loaded.
- An 8-year-old South Dakota boy narrowly survives engulfment in a grain wagon when his shoe jams in the bottom of the wagon gate, allowing his nose and mouth to stay above the wheat.
- A 12-year-old Iowa girl is pulled under flowing corn in a gravity-box wagon that is being unloaded by her father. Emergency personnel free her.
- A 7-year-old Iowa boy dies after being struck by a grain truck.
All of these incidents could have been prevented if recommendations from the Grain Handling Safety Coalition (GHSC) had been followed. Guidelines on how to prevent these types of incidents are available in the GHSC Position Statement for Youth Working with Grain, http://grainsafety.org/young-workers. According to the statement, youth under 18 years old should not be inside any storage structure, wagon or other type of equipment when grain is being loaded, unloaded or transferred. Youth should not be in grain bins, silos or in/around flat storage structures unless they are empty, proper lock out/tag out and other safety procedures are followed and the youth is at least 16 years old.
A popular video, “Following Proper Grain Bin Entry Procedures Saves Lives,” is available on YouTube, http://bit.ly/grainsafety. The video was produced by Salzwedel and the National Children’s Center.
Rural Entrepreneurship Initiative Webinar ‘Finding and Keeping Talent’ Slated for Dec. 2
The American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF), together with the Georgetown University McDonough School of Business Global Social Enterprise Initiative, announces the fifth in a series of free online business training webinars for rural entrepreneurs and Farm Bureau members.
“Finding and Keeping Talent” will be presented on Tuesday, Dec. 2, at 3 p.m. EST. The webinar will focus on growing your team by developing staff in new ways, in addition to recruiting outside expertise for legal, export or marketing assistance.
Featured presenters include Jeff Reid, founding director, Georgetown Entrepreneurship Initiative; Jody Keenan, state director, Virginia Small Business Development Centers Network; and Tom Mirc, senior manager, Red Hat, business strategist and investor.
Interested Farm Bureau members and others are encouraged to RSVP at www1.gotomeeting.com/register/718549705.
For more information, please view the Angus Journal Virtual Library calendar of upcoming events here.
Cattle Trails Cow-Calf Conference Set for Dec. 2 in Lawton
The annual Cattle Trails Cow-Calf Conference, a joint effort between the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service and the Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service, is set for Dec. 2.
The conference will be from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Comanche County Fairgrounds Coliseum, 920 S. Sheridan in Lawton, Okla.
This annual conference, with the slogan of “driving your operation to profits,” provides cow-calf producers the most up-to-date information on topics that influence cattle profits, said Stan Bevers, AgriLife Extension economist in Vernon, Texas.
Registration is $25 per person and includes educational materials, a noon meal and refreshments. Additional information can be obtained at http://agrisk.tamu.edu.
Bevers said, “Rich Roth from the IX Ranch in Big Sandy will provide an overview of the 3,000-cow operation in northern Montana.”
Also on the agenda will be Bevers and Derrell Peel, Extension livestock economist with Oklahoma Cooperative Extension at Stillwater, Okla, discussing cattle markets and the beef industry.
For more information, please view the Angus Journal Virtual Library calendar of upcoming events here.
Farm to School Workshop is Dec. 5
As efforts continue to expand the successful Farm to School Program, which works to connect food producers and school districts to provide fresh, local foods to students, a workshop Dec. 5 can provide farmers and school districts information on how to get started.
Offered by Ohio State University (OSU) Extension, the workshop is targeted toward educators, farmers, food producers, businesses and anyone else interested in beginning or expanding a Farm to School program or other related activities, said Rebecca Supinger, an OSU Extension educator.
One goal of the workshop is to connect farmers looking for school districts to provide with fresh, local foods and school districts looking for farmers to source local foods for their school lunch programs, Supinger said. The workshop can also help producers and school districts expand their currently operating Farm to School programs, she said.
The workshop is from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Dec. 5 at the Wellness Center located on the Antioch College Campus at the corner of E. South College and Livermore Street, in Yellow Springs. Registration is $30 and includes admission, all materials and lunch comprised of local foods.
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.