News Update

November 24, 2015

‘I Am Angus’ Broadcasts
Thanksgiving Night

After gathering around the table for the Thanksgiving holiday, the American Angus Association invites you to tune in for a new season of its popular documentary series, I Am Angus®.

The program airs this Thursday, Nov. 26, on RFD-TV and features farm and ranch families from Montana to Kansas, North Dakota to Alabama. Tune in at 9 p.m. CST (10 p.m. EST) Thursday, Nov. 26, on RFD-TV. A second broadcast is set for 5 a.m. CST (6 a.m. EST) Saturday, Nov. 28. The hour-long documentary is produced entirely by the American Angus Association, and pays tribute to the history and heritage of cattle ranching across the country.

Check out the full news release to see who will be featured in the Nov. 26 episode.

— Adapted from a news release by Jena McRell, Angus Media.

MaternalPlus: What’s it Worth?

The maternal traits of the Angus cow are what made the breed famous, and a good cow herd is the backbone to a profitable operation. However, selecting for maternal traits in the cow herd hasn’t been easily quantifiable — until now.

MaternalPlus® is a voluntary, inventory-based reporting system designed to capture additional reproductive trait data and, ultimately, expand reproductive and lifetime productivity tools. The eventual goal is to create a cow longevity expected progeny difference (EPD).

Angus producers have been using MaternalPlus since its introduction in 2012, but not all have taken advantage of the voluntary program. Richard Tokach of Tokach Angus, Saint Anthony, N.D., and Matt Perrier of Dalebanks Angus, Eureka, Kan., shared how MaternalPlus has helped improve their herds.

Read the full article in the Newsroom at www.angusconvention.com.

— Adapted from an article by Nicole Lane, freelance writer.

Growing More Grass with Intensive Grazing

Kent Powell and wife Linda raise registered-Angus cattle on their ranch near Kalvesta, Kan. — a ranch that has been in Kent’s family since his great-grandfather started farming there in 1887.

“For much of our history, we farmed wheat and a little milo. When faced with the decision to upgrade equipment and hire help to continue farming — or change direction — we chose to convert our farmland to grass,” says Kent.

“We started planting grass through the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP). We put the first 1,000 acres in CRP for 10 years in 1986. As each contract expired, that land was used for grazing, and we signed up more farmland. Over the past 30 years we’ve put more than 3,000 acres of our farm back into grass,” he explains.

Kent and Linda developed a workable grazing system for their purebred Angus cattle. They buried more than 10 miles of pipeline, drawing water from two wells. Now, they have 18 watering points, with the potential for 27.

Read the full Angus Beef Bulletin EXTRA article online.

— Adapted from an article by Heather Smith Thomas, Angus Media.

Adding Value to Angus-Sired Calves

Increasing the value of your Angus-sired feeder cattle and replacement heifers is probably of more importance this year than in years past, especially with the lower feeder-cattle prices compared to last year. A year ago, most feeder cattle were selling for record prices, and the price difference between high- and low-quality feeder cattle was not significant in most parts of the region. This year is a different story.

Premiums are being paid for Angus-sired feeder cattle that have been properly managed, with a history of performing in the feedlot and meeting Certified Angus Beef® (CAB®) brand standards. As you look forward to marketing your calves this year or any year, it’s time to consider enrolling your calves in the AngusSource® or AngusSource Genetic program through the American Angus Association to increase their value.

Read the full Angus Beef Bulletin EXTRA article online.

— Adapted from an article by Rod Geppert, American Angus Association.

Junior Angus Winners Named at 2015 North American

Junior Angus exhibitors led 195 entries at the 2015 North American International Livestock Exposition (NAILE) Junior Angus Heifer Show, Nov. 15 in Louisville, Ky. Lydell Meier, Clinton, Tenn., evaluated the females before naming champions.

Maddy Udell, Sioux City, Iowa, led the grand champion owned female. Sull Keymura’s First 4086 is a February 2014 daughter of Dameron First Class and first won early junior champion.

SCC SCH Phyllis 426 claimed the reserve grand champion owned female. Lauren Grimes, Hillsboro, Ohio, owns the February 2014 daughter of Dameron First Class who first won reserve early junior champion.

Shelby Stabler, Gaithersburg, Md., led the grand champion bred-and-owned female. Pleasant Valley Elsa 1439 is a September 2014 daughter of EXAR Classen 1422B and first won owned senior calf champion.

For more show results, view the full news release online.

— Adapted from a news release by Amber Wahlgren, Angus Media.

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