News Update
July 30, 2015
Kitchen Competition
During the National Junior Angus Show (NJAS), movie stars and pop culture characters were seen milling around the exhibition hall. Characters from the movies The Three Amigos and Scooby Doo mingled with contestants for Dancing With the Steers, rock stars, cavewomen, cheerleaders and Santa and Mrs. Claus. The juniors in these costumes competed in the All-American Certified Angus Beef® (CAB®) Cook-Off July 14 in Tulsa, Okla.
The contest, sponsored by the American Angus Auxiliary and Certified Angus Beef LLC (CAB), is one of the most popular events at the NJAS. Participants prepare a CAB recipe and write and perform a skit that promotes the product in an educational and entertaining way to the judges, the audience and, ultimately, to consumers. Teams may consist of two to six juniors and are divided by age and type of beef used in the recipe: steak, roast or other beef.
“Year after year, we are always impressed by our Angus youth participating in the Cook-Off,” says Anne Lampe, co-chair of the competition. “The Angus breed and the CAB brand is fortunate to have such a strong future in the National Junior Angus Association members.”
For more information, please view the full Angus release.
Application Open for Beef Industry Internship
in Washington D.C.
The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) and the Public Lands Council’s (PLC) government affairs office in Washington, D.C., is accepting applications for the spring 2016 public policy internship. The deadline to submit an application is Oct. 1, 2015.
NCBA Executive Director of Legislative Affairs Kristina Butts said this is a great opportunity for students with an interest in the beef industry and public policy.
“The internship gives college students the opportunity to work alongside staff on a range of issues that impact U.S. cattlemen and women,” Butts said. “The internship is designed to work closely with the lobbying team on Capitol Hill; to assist with NCBA and PLC’s regulatory efforts; and to work closely with the communications team.”
Producer-led and consumer-focused, NCBA is the nation’s oldest and largest national organization representing America’s cattle producers. PLC is the only organization in Washington, D.C., dedicated solely to representing cattle and sheep ranchers that utilize federal lands. The organizations work hand-in-hand on many issues, sharing office space in the heart of the nation’s capital.
For more information, please view the full NCBA news release.
Genetic Improvement for the Beef Herd:
Focus of eBEEF.org
For beef producers, one of the best ways to improve profitability is to improve herd genetics. A new website called www.eBEEF.org was developed by beef cattle scientists to help producers access one location for the latest beef cattle genetics and genomics information.
The website, showcased at the 2015 Beef Improvement Federation Conference in Biloxi, Miss.,, is part of the national eXtension program, an interactive program that delivers research-based information to the public from land-grant universities across the United States. The beef cattle scientists who developed the website’s resources represent six land-grant institutions.
One of the scientists was Bob Weaber, cow-calf specialist for Kansas State Research and Extension. He said a grant provided through eXtension supported the project.
“The focus is on genetics,” Weaber said. “We’ve put together a vast set of resources including short video clips, fact sheets, archived talks, webinars and other useful links all related to genetics of beef cattle and genetic improvement of beef cattle. We think it’s going to be a good resource for producers to interact with many extension educators.”
For more information, please view the full news release online.
State Fair Puts Youth and Livestock in the Spotlight
Missouri State Fair Director Mark Wolfe announced July 29 that a new program is planned for the 2015 event that will showcase Missouri youth exhibitors and their livestock. “Let’s Talk Livestock” sponsored by Tractor Supply Co, will offer an inside glance for fairgoers on livestock care and the show process.
“The new Let’s Talk Livestock program will help expand the fair’s mission of serving as an extension of the agricultural classroom,” Wolfe said. “Developing a program to showcase livestock is beneficial to both exhibitors and to the general fairgoing public as it provides interaction and education between the two.”
Missouri 4-H and Missouri FFA youth exhibitors, their families, project leaders and teachers have volunteered their time to conduct demonstrations throughout the 2015 Fair, Aug. 13-23. The featured animal will be present at each 20-minute demonstration with an opportunity for questions and interaction from fairgoers. Exhibitors will focus on animal preparation and nutrition and share personal stories, including information on showing livestock at the State Fair.
Demonstrations are planned for sheep, swine, poultry, beef cattle, goats, dairy cattle and rabbits.
For more information, please view the full release online.
61st Texas A&M Beef Cattle Short Course
Aug. 3-5 in College Station
The 61st Texas A&M Beef Cattle Short Course is scheduled Aug. 3-5 on the campus of Texas A&M University.
Multiple sessions throughout the three-day event will focus on beef cattle production, management, market outlook and the future of the industry.
During the general session scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Aug. 3 at Rudder Auditorium, speakers will be:
- Derrell Peel, Oklahoma State University livestock economist, discussing cattle market outlook and current supply/demand factors.
- Brian Bledsoe, chief meteorologist at KKTV-Colorado Springs, providing a weather outlook.
- Rick Machen, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service livestock specialist, Uvalde, discussing hot topics in the beef industry.
- Dan Halstrom, senior vice president of global marketing and communications, U.S. Meat Export Federation, discussing export trends.
The Cattleman’s College portion of the short course will feature workshops on introductory cattle production, forage-management practices, nutrition and reproduction, recordkeeping, genetics and purebred cattle and stocker cattle management.
On Aug. 5, fence building, cattle working and carcass quality demonstrations will be featured, as a business management workshop.
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.