News Update
September 9, 2015
NJAA Internship Deadline Oct. 15
The National Junior Angus Association (NJAA) offers an extended internship position for one college student each year, allowing them an inside look at what it takes to organize youth events across the country. The internship runs from January to August 2016 and allows students to spend eight months assisting with junior activities and traveling to a number of events.
“The extended internship is truly a unique way to gain experience in a real-world working environment,” says Jaclyn Clark, American Angus Association director of events and education. “We’re looking for a detail-oriented, outgoing individual who hopes to make a career working with youth in the livestock industry.”
The deadline to apply for the paid internship is Oct. 15. Aimed toward college sophomores, juniors or seniors, applicants must be enrolled in an agriculture-related major and have the ability to move to Association headquarters in Saint Joseph, Mo., throughout the entire internship.
Responsibilities include daily in-office tasks, preparations for NJAA-sponsored shows and conferences, working with the Green Coats: Coast to Coast program, and more depending on the intern’s interests.
Please view the full Angus release online for more details on how to apply.
New Look for AAA Login
The American Angus Association has begun to roll out an updated look to its AAA Login website. Taking a cue from the current look of smartphones and tablet devices, the login site is intended to be more user-friendly for any producer looking to access or submit data on their herd.
Gone is the Classic Menu page of multiple tabs that, in total, contained more than 300 link options. Instead, the home login page has been broken down into six different categories or graphic buttons. Pop-up descriptions for what can be found under each button are visible as the user hovers over a specific button.
For more information, see the “By the Numbers” in the September Angus Journal.
Take Advantage of Key Performance Indicators
Key performance indicators have been used in business applications for many years, but not so much in cattle operations.
Stan Bevers, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service economist in Vernon, Texas, discussed 13 key performance indicators, also known as KPIs, at the Texas A&M Beef Cattle Short Course in College Station recently.
“Key performance indicators are measurements to evaluate factors that are crucial to the success of an operation,” Bevers said. “They provide a rancher with an analysis of the operation and detail whether the operation is fulfilling the goals of ownership.”
Bevers said KPIs can become a report card for a cattle operation and provide “targets” that can be met to maintain profits. KPIs include the following:
- Pounds weaned per exposed female.
- Revenue per breeding female.
- Nutrition base expense as a percent of total expenses.
- Labor and management expense as a percent of total revenue.
- Operating expense as a percentage of total revenue.
- Net income ratio.
- Cost per hundredweight of weaned calf.
- Current ratio.
For more information, please view the full Angus Beef Bulletin EXTRA article online.
Herd Management Tips from the Midwest Region
As grain harvest begins, many herds in the Midwest will begin shifting their forage base away from grass and to the use of cornstalks for at least a portion of the fall and winter months. With the shift in forage comes the need for a shift in supplementation strategies. Although energy, protein and minerals are often the focus of fall and winter ration balancing, an influx of perinatal calf mortality cases at the Iowa State University veterinary diagnostic lab the past three springs suggests vitamin nutrition may be getting overlooked, even by some of the best-managed herds in the Midwest.
Most vitamins are synthesized in the rumen, with the exceptions being vitamin A and vitamin E, which can be derived from consuming green forages. Thus, in years where grazing periods are extended or high-quality hay can be sourced, vitamin deficiencies are rarely a concern. However, abnormally wet hay-making conditions in the Midwest this year have resulted in winter forage resources that may be low in quality and vitamin content. Mature first-cutting, rained-on or CRP hay; cornstalks; and even hay that has been stored for extended periods will most likely be deficient in vitamins A and E.
For more information, please view the full Angus Beef Bulletin EXTRA article online.
Animal Agriculture Alliance Releases Animal Rights Report
The Animal Agriculture Alliance released a report Sept. 9 that details observations from the 34th annual Animal Rights National Conference presented by The Farm Animal Rights Movement (FARM). According to conference organizers, more than 1,500 animal rights activists from 47 states and 22 countries including Brazil, Canada, India and Europe participated.
“Sending eyes and ears to events like the Animal Rights Conference to gather information about what activist groups are planning and saying behind closed doors is very important in order for the industry to better understand the animal rights movement and how it affects their businesses,” said Animal Agriculture Alliance President and CEO Kay Johnson Smith. “By attending these events we can more effectively counter their misleading campaigns against animal agriculture.”
The speakers stressed the importance of focusing on “incremental changes” towards veganism by running pressure campaigns against food companies and convincing consumers to go vegan gradually.
David Coman-Hidy, executive director at Last Chance for Animals, noted that activists need to scale back their demands in order to achieve small victories.
For more information, view the Animal Agriculture Alliance website.
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