News Update

August 24, 2015

Speaker Sensation
at the National Angus Convention

The complete program for the 2015 Angus Means Business National Convention & Trade Show, which takes place Nov. 3-5 in Overland Park, Kan., features an incredible slate of speakers.

Highlights of the week’s events include an International Angus Genomics Symposium on Tuesday, Nov. 3, sponsored by Neogen®’s GeneSeek Operations, during which keynote speaker and genetics pioneer Richard Resnick will discuss the evolving progress of genomic technology. The afternoon will provide hands-on Genomics Innovation Workshops sponsored by Zoetis.

On Wednesday, Nov. 4, Angus University, sponsored by Merck Animal Health, returns to follow “A Story of a Steak” and share insights on increasing quality in the nation’s beef production chain. Ken Schmidt, former Harley-Davidson communications director, is the morning keynote speaker. The afternoon will feature 21 educational breakouts with emphasis on management, animal health, advertising and marketing, commercial cattle production, ag markets, social media training, and low-stress cattle demonstrations.

For more information, please view the full Angus news release or visit www.angusconvention.com to get registered and make your hotel reservations today.

— Adapted from a release by Becky Weishaar, Angus Media.

Price Points for Cattle, Beef

Cattle and beef prices are rising, but why the difference between the live price of cattle and the price of the retail product? Brent Eicher, senior vice president of Certified Angus Beef LLC, explains some of the factors that go into the price change and how shooting for a high-quality product helps a cattleman’s bottom line.

“Thirty to thirty-five percent of the live weight is actually beef. Now you take that, put it in the case. You have things like shrink, if the product doesn’t sell. You have markup on the product at the retail store, maybe 30% to 35%,” Eicher says. “When you’re talking about an investment today, that’s truly an investment in the steak, your expectations are higher. So with these higher prices, I will pay more for that steak, but it better be good.”

Watch the full interview on this week’s The Angus Report.

— Adapted from The Angus Report.

Ablaze

As massive wildfires blaze across the West, the need to address the increasing wildfire threat is even more apparent. According to the Agriculture and Interior Departments, in mid-August there were 19,000 interagency personnel fighting wildfires across 13 states. The Soda Fire that burned across southern Idaho and eastern Oregon consumed roughly 300,000 acres of rangeland, threatening the homes and lives of residents, livestock and wildlife.

While Washington bureaucrats call for more funds to suppress the growing fires, the Public Lands Council (PLC) and the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) sent a letter to the White House Aug. 17 stressing the importance of proper natural resource management to help prevent these catastrophic events and the gross negligence and mismanagement of our nation’s forests and rangeland by the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM).

According to USFS, wildfire suppression now costs the agency more than $1 billion annually. For the first time in its 110-year history, the agency is spending more than half of its budget on wildfire suppression. When the cost of suppression exceeds the budgeted amount, USFS is forced to reallocate funds from other programs to cover the cost of fire suppression, known as fire-borrowing.

Read the full Angus Beef Bulletin EXTRA article online.

— Adapted from news releases by the Public Lands Council and the National Beef Cattle Association.

2015 American Royal Media Internship

Are you a writer, photographer, social media guru or livestock enthusiast interested in new experiences and sharpening your media coverage skills? Apply for the American Royal Livestock Show media internship by Sept. 11.

Interns will receive a $500 scholarship, lodging and experiences that simply can’t be gained in a classroom. Interns will attend shows/events, write human interest stories, contribute to the American Royal blog, generate content and manage social media platforms, shoot candid photos, and assist breed associations with recording show results.

Applying students must be enrolled as a college undergraduate. Plus, a personal laptop and digital camera are required. Two students will be selected to cover each week of the livestock show: week 1, Oct. 22-25; and week 2, Oct 29-Nov. 1.

To apply, email your cover letter indicating intern week preference, résumé and two work samples to Kylee Deniz at kylee@lessingflynn.com by Sept. 11. Selected interns will be notified by Oct. 1.

— Adapted from a release by the American Royal.

Ohio State Beef Cattle School

Beef cattle producers who want to reduce costs while maximizing their profit potential can learn how during a Beef School Oct. 6, 13 and 20, taught by experts from Ohio State University (OSU) Extension and the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center (OARDC).

The three-day program focuses on forage weed control, spring development, working livestock, carcass beef breeds and open cows, said Clif Little, OSU Extension educator in agriculture and natural resources.

“We’re hoping to show producers low-stress, economical and practical practices they can implement on their cattle farms,” he said. “For example, participants can see the effects of pasture clipping versus chemical weed control methods that we’ve implemented on land at the research station to see which method would offer them the best use of their time and resources to implement.”

The Beef School is sponsored by OSU Extension, OARDC and Farm Credit Mid-America of Cambridge. The school will be from 5:30 to 8 p.m. each day at the Eastern Agricultural Research Station, 16870 Township Road 126, in Belle Valley, just off Interstate 77 in Noble County. Registration is $10 and includes all materials and dinner daily. The deadline to register is Sept. 28.

View the complete news release for more information.

— Adapted from a release by Tracy Turner, Ohio State University College of Food, Agriculture and Environmental Sciences.

— Compiled by Paige Nelson, field editor, Angus Journal.