News Update
June 10, 2016
Forged by Fire
Standing beside a worn gravel road near Freedom, Okla., Angus breeder Ky Luddington describes the unimaginable.
He points east across the valley, tracing the fire’s path through the rugged horizon. To one side, the terrain is untouched: Dry grassland ripples under the wind’s strength, and clusters of cedar trees accent deep canyons and jagged hills.
The second perspective is scalded black. Luddington enters a fenced-in lot that once held 300 round hay bales, and with each step, small clouds of ashes ascend from the earth. Black soot and scorched ground crumble beneath his feet. Deep ash is all that remains, and the lot is completely empty.
The unforgiving landscape near the Oklahoma-Kansas border will hold the memory of the Anderson Creek Wildfire for seasons to come. Reported as the largest wildfire in Kansas state history, the flames engulfed more than 367,000 acres, and locals say it’s considered among the largest private-lands wildfires in the United States. Countless farms and ranchers were devastated in its wake, and hundreds of head of livestock were lost — all a reminder of what is at risk when fire conditions are high.
For more information, please view the full Angus Media news article online.
Hoosier Hospitality
Members of the Indiana Angus Association will host a preconvention tour Friday, Nov. 4, prior to the official start of the 2016 Angus Convention slated for Nov. 5-7 in Indianapolis, Ind.
“The National Angus Tour is an opportunity for Angus producers all over the country to come in and see how we do things here in the Midwest, here in Indiana,” says Clint Coverdale of Coverdale Angus, host of the tour’s final stop near Frankton, Ind. Participants, he adds, will get to meet people from all over the country, share ideas and experiences, and “see how we do things here in the Corn Belt.”
Indiana is as competitive with Angus cattle as anywhere in the country, says Ted Willer of Willer Timber Ridge, Greencastle, Ind., host of one of the day’s farm stops.
“We have show cattle, and we have performance cattle,” he explains of the state’s cow herd, adding that the cattle have to perform in a tough environment. Temperatures in Indiana can range from –20° F in the winter to more than 100° in the summer, with humidity that can reach 90% in August.
For more information, please view the full Angus Media news article online.
Work with Cattle, Not Against Them
Renowned animal handling expert Curt Pate was a recent guest on Angus Talk, a weekly radio program on Rural Radio, Channel 147. Tune in at 10 a.m. CST each Saturday morning on SiriusXM Radio.
- Q: How long have you been coaching beef producers on livestock handling practices?
- A: Probably 10 or 15 years I’ve been real interested in cattle handling. I was already horse training, so I just tied the two together.
- Q: How does the Beef Quality Assurance program align itself with good animal handling practices?
- A: Cattle handling is just one part of beef quality assurance, but it’s the total package, again. If the animals are all stirred up and don’t work right and go slamming into that chute, no matter where you place that vaccine and how good of care you’ve taken of it, it doesn’t have the effectiveness as if an animal walks in the chute calmly and ready to take that vaccine or antibiotic.
- Q: How does good animal handling influence consumer perception? Why do you think that’s important?
- A: I think the consumer is what’s driving our conversation today. The consumer is the one that we have to satisfy.
For more information, please view the full Angus Media news article online.
What Mineral Information is on a Feed Tag?
Vitamins are expressed in international units (IU). Commonly, vitamin A requirements are expressed as IU, sometimes referred to as USP units. These are the standard units of potency of a biologic, such as a vitamin, as defined by the International Conference for Unification of Formulae. Feed tags will include information on vitamins A, D and E. The B vitamins and vitamin K are synthesized by microbes in the rumen, so these vitamins are not added to supplements.
It may be difficult to determine if cattle are getting enough of a vitamin. The concentration of vitamins on a feed tag are given as IU per pound. If the concentration of vitamin A in a supplement is 8,000 IU per pound, Vitamin A intake can easily be determined.
As an example, if a protein supplement is fed at a rate of 2 pounds (lb.) per head per day, then the amount of vitamin A being ingested by the cow from this protein supplement is 16,000 IU (2 lb. x 8,000 IU per lb. = 16,000 IU).
For more information, please view the full Angus Journal article online.
Rolf, Tarpoff Join K-State ASI Department
Two new assistant professors have joined the Kansas State University (K-State) Department of Animal Sciences and Industry (ASI). Megan Rolf has joined the K-State ASI department as assistant professor of animal breeding and genetics, and Anthony John (A.J.) Tarpoff is the new assistant professor and extension beef veterinary specialist.
Rolf was raised on a cow-calf operation in east central Kansas and has been involved with livestock her entire life. She received a bachelor’s degree in animal science at K-State and a master’s degree in animal science at the University of Missouri–Columbia. She also earned her doctorate in genetics at the University of Missouri, where her research focused on the implementation of genomic evaluations in crossbred beef cattle.
Tarpoff was born and raised in Edwardsville, Ill. His family owned and operated a beef-processing plant and a steak house. He received his bachelor’s degree in animal science at K-State in 2010. In 2012, he received his doctorate of veterinary medicine and a master’s degree in biomedical science at K-State.
For more information, please view the full K-State news release online.
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