News Update
April 8, 2016
New Talon Internship
Accepting Applications
A new internship opportunity through the Angus Foundation and the Angus/Talon Youth Education Learning Program will pair motivated youth with working registered-Angus ranches to give a valuable hands-on educational experience for eight weeks during the summer starting in 2017.
Applications for Talon scholarship recipients will be available June 15, and applications for host breeders will be available July 1. Both applications are due Sept. 15.
Skilled people can sometimes be the limiting factor for production agriculture. Even if youth live or grew up on a working ranch, it is important to gain beef production experience, mentorship and insight from another operation.
Cam Cooper of Talon Ranch, who was a staunch supporter of agriculture’s youth, set up the Angus/Talon Youth Educational Learning Program Endowment Fund. Through application, both an interested college or graduate student, or even a recent graduate younger than 25 and a working Angus ranch will be paired by the endowment fund’s advisory committee, with preference given to students who have received a Talon scholarship.
For more information, please view the full Angus news release online.
Diversified, Yet Focused
Cattlemen Bart Beattie and Dave Schledewitz don’t take many trips through the pasture together.
With farming and swine-finishing enterprises in addition to his family’s 450-head cow herd, Beattie has plenty of different directions to go as he leaves the office each morning. That’s how Schledewitz earned the title of cow herd manager six years ago — he had the interest and ability to focus on the cows.
However, on this day they share a pickup cab and observe how good the grass looks on the rolling hills after a rain. They talk about specific cows and upcoming plans.
“Everything’s on rotational grazing,” Schledewitz says, pointing out the cross fences. “We try to get the cows through [each pasture] once early, for five to seven days, to eat the grass. Then they come back later on for a longer stay.”
To read more, please view the news article online.
Jump Start. Or Not.
Larry Barthle is having a heck of a time growing his fledgling Angus herd.
It isn’t because he lacks productive, quality cows or management experience, but rather, he faces a challenge most breeders would love to have. Buyers are snatching up the bull and heifer calves by the time their hooves hit the central Florida sod.
Okay, maybe not that soon, but close. “They buy the bulls when they are 5 to 7 months old,” says the Dade City cattleman.
“They are all gone by the time they are 8 months old. Most of the heifers are sold before weaning, all by the time they are 8 months old. The first year they were all sold by the time they were 10 months old.”
Read more in the complete Angus Journal article online.
Cold Snap Could Injure Wheat
Thanks to last month’s warmer-than-normal temperatures that sped up the growth of wheat crops across Ohio, this week’s cold snap could result in injury for some of those plants.
Just how damaging the colder weather will be depends on how advanced the wheat is in its growth stage, said Laura Lindsey, a soybean and small grains specialist with Ohio State University (OSU) Extension.
Temperatures that reached above 70° across Ohio caused much of the state’s winter wheat crops to progress quickly, Lindsey said, with some areas reporting wheat at Feekes growth stage 5 in March.
This week, some areas in southern Ohio reported wheat crops at Feekes growth stage 6, which is also known as jointing, and some wheat crops in northwest Ohio were already at early green-up in mid-March, she said.
For more information, please view the full OSU news release online.
Along the Trail: March 26
Along America’s Trails is redoubling all its previous efforts to be absolutely certain cattle people, and anyone else within the sound of my voice for that matter, are completely on guard when they hear of the old cliche, “Hi, I’m from the government and I’m here to help you.”
This basic premise is alive and well, as recently shown by the much-ballyhoo’d visit of Navy Secretary Ray Mabus and USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack to deploy the USS John C. Stennis Strike Group, aboard the USS Stockdale, to kick off what it called the Great Green Fleet, powered by beef tallow.
That’s right — what a great day for the cattle industry, at the first deployment of the ship using the beef tallow blend that replaces diesel fuel, with the PR flacks helpfully noting “that it’s sourced by farmers and ranchers across the Midwest.”
Continue reading this article on the Angus Media website.
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