News Update
August 21, 2015
Celebrate 35 Years
with the Angus Foundation
Over its 35-year-history, the Angus Foundation has benefitted from hundreds of generous supporters from across the Angus breed. Together, they’ve been able to support Angus education that equips breeders with the knowledge they need to be successful, youth in their dreams of higher education and research to advance the Angus breed into its future generations.
This November, the Angus Foundation will celebrate the 35-year milestone and recognize supporters who have contributed $250 or more throughout the current fiscal year (Oct. 1, 2014-Sept. 30, 2015). The event will take place at 6 p.m., Nov. 2, at the Sheraton Hotel, Overland Park, Kan., in conjunction with the 2015 Angus Means Business National Convention & Trade Show. There’s still time to submit a donation to the Angus Foundation, for anyone interested in attending.
“The Supporter Recognition Event is the Angus Foundation’s honor and opportunity to say thank you to our supporters,” says Milford Jenkins, Angus Foundation president. “Without our loyal contributors we wouldn’t be able to fund the education, youth and research activities we do each and every year.”
For more information and highlights for the evening’s event, please view the full news release online.
United States and Canadian Cattle Inventory Up 2%
A recent report from the USDA National Agricultural Statistics Services offers the following reports on cattle inventories in the United States and Canada.
- All cattle and calves in the United States and Canada combined totaled 111.4 million head on July 1, 2015, up 2% from the 109.6 million on July 1, 2014. All cows and heifers that have calved, at 44.5 million head, were up 1% from 2014.
- All cattle and calves in the United States as of July 1, 2015, totaled 98.4 million head, 2% above the 96.3 million on July 1, 2014. All cows and heifers that have calved, at 39.8 million head, were up 2% from 2014.
- All cattle and calves in Canada as of July 1, 2015, totaled 13.0 million head, down 2% from the 13.3 million on July 1, 2014. All cows and heifers that have calved, at 4.72 million, were down 3% from a year ago.
For more information, please view the full report online.
Wet Weather Exposes Wheat to Mold and Mycotoxins
Before the combines hit the fields this fall for harvest, farmers may want to keep a watchful eye on their crop quality. Preliminary testing over the summer months of the 2015 North America wheat crop, conducted by Alltech’s 37+® mycotoxin analysis, shows an average 3.2 mycotoxins per sample, with Deoxynivalenol (DON) the most predominant toxin.
Produced by Fusarium graminaerum mold, DON is part of the Type B Trichothecene family. At high risk levels, DON can have negative impacts on animal health and productivity, such as a reduction in milk production and weight gain, gut irritation, and lower immune response. Critical factors for Fusarium mold growth include heavy rainfall, moderate temperatures, plant immaturity and crop stress or damage from insects, hail and wind.
Summer rainfall levels through Missouri, Iowa, Illinois, Ohio, Michigan and Indiana presented a consistent pattern with areas of high mycotoxin contamination in wheat testing from 2,000 to 12,000 parts per billion (ppb).
“For the past 90 days, we have had above average rainfall. This caused late planting, with some acres not planted at all. This made it difficult to get in to spray or do postplanting field work. Wet soil has also created a nitrogen loss situation,” said Max Hawkins, nutritionist with Alltech’s Mycotoxin Management team.
For more information, please view the full Alltech release.
Zoetis Completes Manufacturing Facility
Zoetis announced Aug. 20 that the company has completed an expansion of its global manufacturing and supply facility in Lincoln, Neb., to help meet the demand for Synovex® implants. The new 19,000-square-foot, three-story facility will house the global manufacturing operations for Synovex, which helps improve gain and feed efficiency in beef cattle.
Zoetis continues to invest in research and development of the implant. Last year, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted a label extension for Synovex Choice® for use in heifers.
In 2014, the FDA completed an environmental impact review of the implant, the first beef-cattle implant to receive such an assessment. The FDA evaluated and approved data from in-depth environmental modeling studies completed by the company, which examined exposure of the active ingredients in the implant — trenbolone acetate and estradiol benzoate — and their metabolites. The studies also evaluated direct impact of these ingredients. The FDA issued Zoetis a FONSI (finding of no significant impact) on the environmental assessment, including waterways, air, plants or aquatic species, when used according to label directions.
For more information, please view the full Zoetis release online.
MU Extension Conference for Farm Women
A University of Missouri (MU) Extension agriculture business conference for women is set for Sept. 11-12 at Windermere Conference Center at the Lake of the Ozarks.
Keynote speakers are Katie Dilse, Farm & Ranch Guide’s 2014 Country Woman of the Year, and Texas A&M agriculture economist Jason Johnson.
Topics include a crop and livestock marketing outlook, how to start an ag tourism venture, Missouri fence laws, livestock health, home energy efficiency, meal planning for families on the go, identity theft, insurance, investments and more.
“Throughout the course of our classes for farm women we have had several women express the desire for a conference where they could meet other farm women from across the state,” says Mary Sobba, MU Extension ag specialist and a state coordinator for Annie’s Project. “This is another great forum for women in agriculture to get together to learn about the business of farming and network with others in like situations.”
MU Extension and the USDA Risk Management Agency sponsor the conference.
For more information, please view the Angus Journal Virtual Library calendar of upcoming events here.
— Adapted from a release by Linda Geist, University of Missouri Extension.
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