News Update
June 1, 2016
Interns Join American Angus
Association Team
Looking to gain experience and advance the beef cattle industry, three summer interns recently joined the American Angus Association in Saint Joseph, Mo. Throughout their internship experiences, the college students will work alongside professionals and will assist with planning and coverage of major events such as the National Junior Angus Show (NJAS).
Bridget Beran, a journalism and mass communications graduate from Kansas State University (K-State), joins Angus Media as the editorial intern; and JD Rosman, an agricultural communications senior from Oklahoma State University, serves as Angus Media’s communications intern. Emily Hasenauer, an agricultural business graduate from the University of Arkansas, is the Association’s events and education intern.
A 2016 K-State graduate, Beran joined Angus Media on May 23 and works extensively in the production of the Angus Journal and Angus Beef Bulletin.
Rosman began his internship with Angus Media on May 9. While working with the team, Rosman will be involved in video production, photography and writing assignments on behalf of the Association’s media company.
Hasenauer started her internship May 23, and her time at Angus will be spent coordinating and attending Association events and activities, such as the NJAS, LEAD conference and several regional Angus shows.
For more information, please view the full Angus news release online.
Supreme Court Upholds Landowners Rights
Challenging WOTUS Jurisdiction
On May 31, the Supreme Court in United States Army Corps of Engineers v. Hawkes Co. Inc., set a precedent that landowners may challenge the Corps’ jurisdictional determination specifying that a piece of property contains a “water of the United States (WOTUS).” The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) filed an amicus brief in support of Hawkes. NCBA President Tracy Brunner said this is a major victory for landowners across the country.
“This case highlights the issues landowners and land-use stakeholders have with the Clean Water Act,” said Brunner. “Neither of the options provided to landowners are realistic under the current regulatory environment. Applying for a 404 permit is expensive, exhaustive and time-consuming. Gambling on EPA enforcement and risking civil and criminal penalties is foolish. This case strikes a balance that at least gives us some measure of regulatory certainty in the notoriously unclear Clean Water Act.”
For more information, please view the full NCBA news release online.
BCI Provides Online Resource for Upcoming VFD Changes
Striving to provide the most up-to-date information on upcoming changes in regulations related to the Veterinary Feed Directive (VFD), the Beef Cattle Institute (BCI) at Kansas State University (K-State) is offering a new online resource — for free.
The BCI partnered with animal health experts Mike Apley of the K-State College of Veterinary Medicine and Brian Lubbers of the Kansas State Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory, to create an online informational module that answers frequently asked questions regarding the VFD issued by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Changes to the regulations as a result of the directive are scheduled to take place Jan. 1, 2017.
According to Lubbers, K-State has been heavily involved with face-to-face meetings regarding the VFD, but the online modules will give producers and veterinarians an opportunity to gain foundational knowledge on their own time.
“The biggest thing for producers and veterinarians is really the planning,” he said. “We don’t want people to get to January 1 and be surprised by what they can and cannot do.”
For more information, please view the full K-State news release online.
The Center for Food Integrity Expands to Canada
The Center for Food Integrity (CFI) has expanded north with the launch of the Canadian Centre for Food Integrity (CCFI).
With a growing membership representing a diversity of the U.S. food system, CFI is a not-for-profit organization founded in 2007 to help today’s food system earn trust. The new Canadian affiliate, a division of Food & Farm Care Canada, shares that mission.
“Canada faces many of the same challenges we do here, and with an increasingly interconnected global food system, expanding our North American presence will allow us to better serve members with international interests and locations as we help the food system align with consumer expectations,” said Terry Fleck, CFI executive director.
“Public demand for transparency is growing, and consumers want to know more about how their food is produced and who’s producing it,” said Crystal Mackay, Farm & Food Care Canada executive director. “The new Canadian Centre for Food Integrity will work with its members and the Canadian food system at large to share information and demonstrate our values when it comes to outstanding animal care, environmental stewardship and producing safe food.”
For more information, please view the full CFI news release online.
NDSA Feedlot Tour to Feature Central North Dakota
North Dakota beef producers interested in the state’s growing feedlot industry can take a firsthand look at several newly constructed facilities during the North Dakota Stockmen’s Association’s (NDSA) 14th annual Feedlot Tour.
The tour will focus on central North Dakota with stops at Heim Cattle Co. near Bismarck, N.D.; Weigel Cattle Co. near Kintyre, N.D.; Braun Feedlot near Tappen, N.D.; and the Schlecht Feedlot near Medina, N.D.
The tour bus is filling up, but those wishing to reserve a seat can still do so by contacting NDSA environmental services director Scott Ressler at 701-223-2522 or sressler@ndstockmen.org before June 15. Preregistration is not a requirement, but it is appreciated for planning purposes. The bus will depart from the Bismarck K-Mart parking lot at 8 a.m. CST, and return at approximately 5:30 p.m. CST.
The NDSA Feedlot Tour, a project of the NDSA Feeder Council, is free to attend and includes lunch at Napoleon Livestock Auction in Napoleon, N.D.
Founded in 1929, the NDSA is an 86-year-old cattle producer’s trade organization that works to unite, protect, promote, educate and serve North Dakota’s beef industry.
For more information, visit the Angus Journal Virtual Library calendar of upcoming events.
Editor’s Note: The articles used within this site represent a mixture of copyrights. If you would like to reprint or repost an article, you must first request permission of Angus Productions Inc. (API) by contacting the editor at 816-383-5200; 3201 Frederick Ave., Saint Joseph, MO 64506. API claims copyright to this web site as presented. We welcome educational venues and cattlemen to link to this site as a service to their audience.