News Update
September 12, 2016
Fall Marketing
The fall sale season is full of anticipation this time of year in the Angus business.
Breeders across the country will host production sales, and interested buyers will line the stands looking for genetics to improve their herds. For those selling cattle this fall, it’s important to plan ahead when it comes to genomic testing and marketing your lots, American Angus Association Regional Manager Casey Jentz explains.
“It’s an exciting time in the Angus business, the fall sale season. In my territory, as well as a lot of others, the females are marketed primarily in the fall,” Jentz said. “For Angus producers marketing your cattle this fall, preparation is probably one of the best things you can do, whether that’s making sure your cattle are registered, getting the EPDs (expected progeny differences) turned in, whether it’s birth weights, weaning weights, or getting genomics turned in,” he advises.
For more fall sale tips, watch the full interview on this week’s The Angus Report online. You can also catch the show at 1:30 p.m. CST Saturday and 7:30 a.m. CST each Monday morning on RFD-TV.
EPA Violated Personal Privacy of Farmers, Ranchers
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has violated the personal privacy of tens of thousands of farmers and ranchers, according to a unanimous ruling issued by the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit.
The ruling in American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) and National Pork Producers Council vs. EPA concerned the federal agency’s 2013 release to three environmental groups of a vast compilation of spreadsheets containing personal information about farmers and ranchers who raise livestock and poultry in 29 states. The case also related to similar personal information from farmers and ranchers in seven additional states that had yet to be released.
The information included the names of farmers, ranchers and sometimes other family members, home addresses, GPS coordinates, telephone numbers and emails. EPA claimed that it was required to disclose the information under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).
“This was an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy by a federal agency in violation of law,” said AFBF general counsel Ellen Steen. “The court’s decision is a vindication of the right of farm families to control their own personal information.”
For more information, view the AFBF newsroom online.
College Aggies Online Scholarship Competition
The Animal Agriculture Alliance’s annual College Aggies Online (CAO) scholarship program will kick off on Monday, Sept. 19. CAO is designed to help college students with an interest in agriculture become confident, positive and proactive communicators while competing for scholarship funds. Competitors can register for the individual or student organization divisions by visiting: http://animalagalliance.org/connect/ - collegeaggies.
Since its inception in 2009, more than 4,000 students have competed in the program. Learn more about CAO by watching this brief video: https://vimeo.com/177546359.
During the program, students receive weekly assignments ranging from writing a blog post to creating an infographic, giving a public presentation about a hot topic in agriculture and more. Participants earn points by posting content promoting and explaining agriculture on social media.
For more information, view the Alliance news release online.
Beef Cattle Conference Set for Sept. 20
The Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service Haskell Ag Committee will host a Beef Cattle Conference from 8 a.m.-3 p.m. Sept. 20 at the Haskell American Legion Hall located at 507 Avenue E in Haskell.
“We have a great meeting lined up with some very timely topics to discuss,” said Jason Westbrook, AgriLife Extension agriculture and natural resources agent in Haskell County. “This meeting will follow up last year’s program discussion, which focused on range and pasture management, as well as economics and sire selection.”
Westbrook said producers who still have farm bill questions and concerns will be able to hear from and discuss those with Joe Outlaw, AgriLife Extension economist and co-director of the Agricultural and Food Policy Center at Texas A&M in College Station.
For more information, visit the Angus Journal Virtual Library calendar of upcoming events.
CenTex Beef Cattle Symposium
The 9th Annual CenTex Beef Cattle Symposium will be hosted Sept. 30 at the Groesbeck Convention Center, 106 E. Navasota St. in Groesbeck.
Registration is $25 and includes lunch provided by the District 8 County Agent Steak Cookers. There will be agriculture-related vendors during the mid-morning break and extended lunch period. Those interested in attending the symposium are encouraged to RSVP to the AgriLife Extension office for McLennan County by Sept. 25 for an accurate meal count.
The program will begin at 9 a.m. with Jason Banta, AgriLife Extension beef cattle specialist from Overton. His presentations will be Fundamentals of Pasture Leasing plus Weaning Options in Cattle Operations to Help Reduce Stress and Weight Loss. Jason Johnson, AgriLife Extension economist in Stephenville, will present Developing a Long-Term Farm and Ranch Financial Plan and Factors Affecting the Cattle Market.
For more information, visit the Angus Journal Virtual Library calendar of upcoming events.
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