News Update

April 26, 2016

Strong Demand for Angus Genetics

Registered-Angus genetics continue to enjoy healthy marketshare. Figures from the American Angus Association through February 2016 show female sale averages are up 25% year-to-date, at $5,300. The number of bulls sold at sales reported to the organization is up 39% — with an average nationwide price of more than $6,300, down slightly from a year ago.

The bull business, particularly the Angus bull business, continues demand growth with commercial buyers targeting quality beef.

“The commercial cow industry 12 months ago was the greatest prices in the history of the beef business. Fast forward to today, in general, these are second highest prices in history,” said Mark Gardiner, Gardiner Angus Ranch of Ashland, Kan. “So when I look at the bull business, if you have used all the tools available with the genomics, like the i50K that American Angus provides, to increase that accuracy, there’s more females out there to breed. I look at that as an opportunity.”

See Gardiner’s full interview on this week’s episode of The Angus Report. Catch 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.

Ag Appropriations Bill Contains Key Provisions

The House Appropriations Committee this week passed the Fiscal Year 2017 Agriculture Appropriations bill, which contained several things of importance for cattlemen and women.

First, Rep. Andy Harris (R-Maryland) offered an amendment that would defund any effort by USDA to re-open the proposed GIPSA rule, which was a result of the 2008 Farm Bill. The amendment passed by a vote of 26 to 24. GIPSA has been a major concern for NCBA for many years as the proposed rule would have destroyed the alternative marketing arrangements our industry has worked to implement.

Second, Congress included language in the Fiscal Year 2016 Omnibus bill that requires USDA to submit a report to Congress on how they plan on changing Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) protocols when it comes to approving other countries to export product into the United States.

For more information, please view the NCBA website.

— Adapted from a release by the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association.

BIF Annual Meeting and Symposium

Registration is now open for the 2016 Beef Improvement Federation (BIF) Annual Meeting and Research Symposium. Themed “Progress on the Prairie,” this year’s event will be June 14-17 in Manhattan, Kan., and headquartered at the Hilton Garden Inn and Conference Center.

Early registration deadline is May 15. Attendees can save $100 by preregistering. Online and pdf registration options are available at www.asi.k-state.edu/events/2016bif.

This year’s BIF symposium features two and a half days of educational programming and a full day of tours. The first morning’s general session — “Opportunities for the Beef Value Chain: Can we become more coordinated and more profitable?” — will feature Ted Schroeder and Glynn Tonsor, Kansas State University (K-State); John Stika, Certified Angus Beef LLC; Brad Morgan, Performance Food Group; and Keith Belk, Colorado State University (CSU).

The second day’s general session, “Protecting producer profit for the future,” will include David Lalman, Oklahoma State University; Chip Ramsay, Rex Ranch; Mark Enns, CSU; and Clay Mathis, King Ranch Institute for Ranch Management. The afternoon breakout sessions will focus on a range of beef-production and genetic-improvement topics.

For more information, access the K-State news release online.

— Adapted from a release by Angie Stump Denton, K-State Research and Extension.

Missouri Beef Referendum

Missouri Department of Agriculture Director of Agriculture Richard Fordyce announced that the state will not establish a new beef checkoff. This announcement comes after the director approved a petition to conduct a referendum of Missouri cattle producers, at the request of the Missouri Beef Industry Council and pursuant to section 275.352 RSMo as amended, to establish a $1 per head state beef checkoff assessment on Dec. 23, 2015.

On April 4, 2016, ballots were mailed to the 8,480 Missouri beef producers who registered during the registration period. Of those, 6,568 valid ballots were returned to the Missouri Department of Agriculture postmarked no later than April 15. 1,663 producers (25.33%) voted for the checkoff and 4,903 producers (74.67%) voted against it.

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

— Adapted from a release by the Missouri Department of Agriculture.

ABS Global Announces Annual Photo Contest

ABS^® Global Inc. announces its annual dairy and beef photo contest.

ABS is searching for outstanding photos to use in both dairy and beef promotional materials, including, but not limited to the yearly calendars, posters, brochures and company website. All photos must be submitted through the online entry form and must be received by May 31. Entries will be judged and some preference will be given to photos that include ABS-sired cattle and products.

For more information, please visit this website to view the submission form.

— Adapted from a release by ABS Global Inc.

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

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