News Update
November 18, 2015
The Luck of the Draw
Commercial-Angus producers Maxine and Jason Davis from Antone Ranch in Mitchell, Ore., were pleasantly surprised during their recent trip to the Angus Means Business National Convention & Trade Show Nov. 3-5 in Overland Park, Kan.
It was their first time to attend the premier event hosted by the American Angus Association, and they certainly didn’t go home empty handed. Maxine was the lucky winner of a brand-new Cat® 262D Skid Steer Loader, generously donated by Caterpillar Inc. All participants attending the Angus Convention Nov. 3 were eligible to win the machine, which is valued at $60,000.
“I’d been teasing all day that I was going to win,” Maxine said. “When they said my name, I was actually in shock. Then it still didn’t register until I looked up at the screen [inside the skid steer] and it said, ‘Welcome winner.’ I was like, oh my gosh, it’s mine!”
Maxine and her husband manage 1,500 head of Angus cows on their ranch in central Oregon. They were invited to the Angus Convention by their bull suppliers at Rollin’ Rock Angus, and joined more than 2,100 quality-minded cattle producers who gathered in Kansas City for the week’s events.
For more information, please view the full Angus news release.
TSCRA Voices Concern Over EPA Water Rule
As most ranchers and landowners know by now, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) continues waging a war against ranchers and private property owners across the nation by trying to implement its flawed Waters of the United States (WOTUS) rule.
The Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association (TSCRA), its members and many others submitted over one million comments voicing their concerns and opposing the rule. The EPA continuously disregarded these serious worries across the country and stressed the agency would move forward with implementation.
On May 27, the EPA announced the final rule and said it would become effective on Aug. 28. While this came as bad news to us, leaders across the nation were still working to prevent it from immediately taking effect. A preliminary injunction was issued against the rule by a U.S. District Court in North Dakota on Aug. 27, the day before it was to take effect.
On Oct. 9, a bigger milestone was achieved when it was announced that the Cincinnati, Ohio-based U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit issued a nationwide stay on the rule.
To learn more, please access the full TSCRA release online.
Risk Management During Cow Herd Expansion
The cattle cycle has not disappeared and neither is it broken. CattleFax market analyst Lance Zimmerman offered that reminder to cow-calf producers attending a risk-management workshop at the 2015 National Angus Convention. The workshop was part of a series of Angus University educational opportunities offered during the convention’s run, Nov. 3-5, in Overland Park, Kan.
Granted, drought and accompanying high feed prices confounded what most cow folk considered the “normal” cattle cycle. Liquidation of the U.S. cow herd brought numbers down to levels unseen for decades. Calf crops were smaller and demand for feeder cattle soared. Expansion was delayed, even when market conditions suggested the time was right. When moisture conditions improved, heifer retention began in earnest. It comes as no surprise.
“Profitability breeds optimism and fuels cow herd expansion,” nodded Zimmerman, calling it evidence that the cattle cycle is alive. “We’ve seen prices driven up for five years and now we’re in a transition phase, with prices shifting a bit lower through 2018. Then, prices will trend farther downward. A transition to stronger prices will come, but probably not until the next decade.”
For more information, visit the Newsroom at www.angusconvention.com.
USDA Helps Schools Connect with Local Farmers and Ranchers
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced $4.8 million in grants for 74 projects spanning 39 states that support the USDA’s efforts to connect child nutrition programs with local farmers and ranchers through its Farm to School Program.
“Farm to school programs work — for schools, for producers and for communities,” said Vilsack. “With early results from our Farm to School Census indicating schools across the nation invested nearly $600 million in local products, farm to school also provides a significant and reliable market for local farmers and ranchers.”
USDA’s Farm to School Grants fund school districts, state and local agencies, tribal nations, agricultural producers, and nonprofit organizations in their efforts to increase local foods served through child nutrition programs, teach children about food and agriculture through garden and classroom education, and develop schools’ and farmers’ capacities to participate in farm to school.
For more information, please view the full USDA release online.
Multi-County Land and Livestock Conference,Dec. 1
The Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service will conduct the Multi-County Land and Livestock Conference Dec. 1 in the Murchison/Whitehead Youth Complex, located on U.S. Highway 190 in Menard.
“This is an effort among the AgriLife Extension offices in Concho, Menard and McCulloch counties,” said Lisa Brown, AgriLife Extension agent in Menard County. “It will include quite a mix of topics ranging from wild pig abatement legalities to watershed management with some range health and livestock topics added to complete the day.”
Five Texas Department of Agriculture continuing education units — one laws and regulations, one integrated pest management and three general — will be offered. Registration, which includes lunch, is $20 for individuals and $30 for couples by Nov. 23 and $25 and $40 respectively thereafter.
To RSVP call any of the AgriLife Extension offices in the following counties: Menard, 325-396-4787; McCulloch, 325-597-1295; or Concho, 325-732-4304.
For more information, please view the Angus Journal Virtual Library calendar of upcoming events here.
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