News Update

April 20, 2016

Juniors Take Note:
Upcoming Deadlines

Spring and summer are busy times of the year for members of the National Junior Angus Association (NJAA). As cattle competitions start to heat up across the country, the organization reminds Angus juniors to stay ahead of upcoming ownership and entry deadlines for regional preview competitions and the 2016 National Junior Angus Show (NJAS).

The NJAS is an annual highlight for many Angus families, and this year, the big event takes place July 3-9 in Grand Island, Neb. Themed “Stampede the Sandhills,” more than 1,000 head of Angus cattle are expected to compete at the Nebraska State Fairgrounds at Fonner Park. In addition to entry deadlines, NJAA members should also pay attention to contest deadlines in the coming weeks.

Go online to find a summary of what’s in store.

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

Playing with Fire

Cattle producers across Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska and Oklahoma are losing their cool with sericea lespedeza.

The notorious perennial herbaceous legume has wreaked havoc in some of the country’s most economically important and efficient areas of cattle production — namely the Flint Hills of Kansas.

Sericea lespedeza’s ability to grow just about anywhere and its tendency to crowd out more palatable forages has led to its classification as a noxious weed in Kansas. It’s heading down the same path in Missouri, Nebraska and Oklahoma.

In the Flint Hills, Clenton Owensby, professor of range management at Kansas State University (K-State), says burning pasture each year can result in an additional 32 pounds (lb.) of gain per yearling steer vs. gain from pastures that remained unburned. That makes the region a particularly important place for cattle to effectively utilize palatable forages.

Continue reading the Angus Journal article online.

— Adapted from an article by Shelby Mettlen, Angus Media.

Future Export Troubles for France

Last month, French officials detected the country’s first case of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE), in more than a decade. The disease was found in a 5-year-old cow in the country’s northern region.

A spokeswoman for the World Organization for Animal Health, says the finding shows that current surveillance systems in France and the European Union are effective.

While surveillance measures remain in place, the risk assessment level has risen from “Negligible” to “Controlled.” French officials anticipate that it’s only a matter of time before some importers ban beef from Europe’s largest producer. France exported more than $1 billion in beef in 2015.

Tune into this week’s episode of The Angus Report for more details. You can also watch the show at 1:30 p.m. CST Saturday or 7:30 a.m. CST each Monday morning on RFD-TV.

— Adapted from The Angus Report.

Raise or Buy Replacement Heifers?

Life, business and cattle operations are no different. We spend hours gathering information during the day, then we come home, enjoy some family time and continue to read articles growing our perspective and information base to make more-informed decisions each day.

We gather more information, reevaluate and execute new plans. Daily, technology changes and information at our disposal changes, so our perspective changes. The decisions we made yesterday using the best information we had at that time may not be the most logical decision today as we reevaluate and reassess our resources and understanding.

One question that I have been asking a lot lately is what makes more sense — raising replacements or buying them? I think this is a question that should be asked every so often as your operation, your resources and your information change over time.

Continue reading the complete Angus Media article online.

— Adapted from an article by Alex Tolbert, American Angus Association.

USCA Disappointed in House Appropriations

The United States Cattlemen’s Association (USCA) is disappointed that funding for a final Grain Inspection and Stockyards Protection Administration (GIPSA) rule has been revoked.

The House Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture approved an amendment to the Agriculture and Rural Development Appropriations bill, which bans the use of any funds for publishing a final rule providing needed clarification and change to the GIPSA rule. The Fiscal Year 2017 agriculture funding bill will now be sent to the Senate for debate and approval.

Despite language being passed in the 2008 Farm Bill dictating the need for clarification and review of contracting and marketing practices in the livestock industry, the GIPSA appropriations “rider” has consistently blocked the implementation of a final GIPSA rule. If passed by the Senate, the amendment will effectively freeze GIPSA’s authority to oversee a competitive marketplace, allowing anti-competitive buying practices to continue and weakening free market principles.

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

— Adapted from a release by the United States Cattlemen’s Association.

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