News Update

January 18, 2016

‘Angus Night on the Mountain’
Earns a Record $91,400

More than 500 Angus breeders and friends gathered at Spruce Mountain Ranch in Larkspur, Colo., on Wednesday, Jan. 13, for Angus Night on the Mountain during the National Western Stock Show (NWSS). Eleven packages and one raffle item generated more than $91,400 in gross proceeds — a record for this fifth annual event — for the Angus Foundation to benefit its mission to support Angus education, youth and research, as well as two packages raising funds for the 2016 National Junior Angus Show (NJAS) in Grand Island, Neb.

“Event hosts and underwriters Tom and Lois Ames of Spruce Mountain Ranch enable the Angus Foundation to provide guests an enjoyable evening to socialize with fellow Angus breeders and purchase Angus genetics, while simultaneously raising money for Angus youth and our organization,” says Milford Jenkins, Angus Foundation president. “Without the Ames’ help and that of all of our package donors and buyers, we would not be able to raise these levels of funds that will impact the Angus Foundation’s initiatives to advance the future of our breed.”

For more information, please view the full Angus news release online.

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

Alltech Acquires Masterfeeds

Alltech has acquired 100% of the outstanding shares of Masterfeeds Inc. in a share purchase agreement with Ag Processing Inc. (AGP). Masterfeeds, a leading commercial animal nutrition company in Canada, is now part of the Alltech family of companies, which includes 12 other companies that Alltech has acquired globally since 2011.

The addition of Masterfeeds to Alltech’s existing Canadian operations and other Canadian acquisition, EMF Nutrition, brings the companies’ total presence to approximately 700 Canadian employees. Together they operate 25 feed manufacturing and premix facilities, nine retail locations and seven distribution centers in a business spanning the entire country. Alltech has a strong presence in all regions of the world with more than 4,700 employees worldwide.

For more information, please view the Alltech news release online.

— Adapted from a release by Alltech.

Avian Influenza

Bird flu is back. According to USDA and media reports, the highly pathogenic H7N8 Avian Influenza was found present in a number of commercial turkey flocks in Dubois County, Ind. The virus was confirmed in a 60,000 head turkey farm on Friday, Jan. 15, but then on the 16th reports indicated that another eight farms around the initial location also were affected.

At this point we do not have total figures for all the turkeys affected by the disease, but it would appear that the number is over 100,000 head. The fact that the disease strain found is different from the one that caused so much destruction last spring does not appear to make much difference. They are both highly pathogenic, which means that aggressive culling of affected flocks is the best way to contain the spread of the disease. Neither of these two strains, H5N2 and H7N8, has in the past been associated with human deaths. Rather, the primary impact of the virus is economic, causing significant losses for the affected farms.

For more information, please view the Daily Livestock Report online.

— Adapted from a release by Steve Meyer and Len Steiner, Inc.

AgriLabs Unveils Website

AgriLabs has announced the rollout of their completely redesigned website at www.agrilabs.com. Cari Evans, creative services for AgriLabs, said, “The new site is designed from the ground up to help producers and other site visitors more easily find a solution to their animal health needs.”

Visitors to the site can easily access relevant information about a broad range of products available, plus learn how other AgriLabs customers are using products, such as VetGun™, to improve their animal care. The site also adopts a fresh, bold visual design for a more user-friendly experience with improved navigations and functionality.

For more information, please view the full news release online.

— Adapted from a release by Adam Yankowsky, AgriLabs.

NIAA Annual Conference Focuses on Biosecurity

Animal disease epidemics are a significant concern to the animal agriculture industry. The National Institute for Animal Agriculture (NIAA) will facilitate a discussion on this crucial topic, at its next annual conference, April 4-7 at the Downtown Marriott in Kansas City, Mo.

The biosecurity emphasis of the Conference, themed “From Farm to Table — Food System Biosecurity for Animal Agriculture” concentrates on identifying risks, challenges and solutions and ways producers can be proactive in protecting their animals from illness.

Plenary session speakers at the Conference will look at biosecurity from the federal and regulatory standpoint and at the economic and human impact of disease and prevention. Speakers on this imperative and timely topic include industry experts, regulatory agency authorities, academic specialists and animal agriculture professionals who deal daily with the issues.

For more information, please view the Angus Journal Virtual Library calendar of upcoming events here.

— Adapted from a release by the National Institute for Animal Agriculture.

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

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