News Update

September 21, 2016

Mark Sims Joins the
American Angus Association

The American Angus Association announces Mark Sims of Edmond, Okla., as the organization’s newest member of the regional manager team. Sims begins his role Oct. 4 and will represent Region 13, which consists of the following states: Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi.

Regional managers are the boots-on-the-ground for the Association and serve throughout 13 membership regions across the United States. As a partner for Angus breeders and others who rely on Angus genetics, Sims will be responsible for helping cattle producers identify herd goals, learn new programs and services, and drive quality within their operations.

“Mark’s strong marketing background and industry knowledge will be a tremendous asset to the membership and commercial cattlemen in his territory and our organization,” says David Gazda, Association director of field services and regional manager in the southeast.

Sims currently serves as a livestock-marketing consultant for the High Plains Journal, where he travels throughout Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas. Read more about him online.

— Adapted from a news release by JD Rosman, Angus Media.

Feeding Toward Quality Premiums

As cattle prices continue to fall and margins become tighter, it’s important for cattle producers and feeders to strive for a high-quality end product to reach quality premiums and maximize profitability.

“As we go forward in the times of tight margins with the risks we have in the marketplace, anything which can be done genetically to narrow that down and to focus on some of the premiums possible can give the cow-calf producer an opportunity to capitalize and be rewarded for improving genetics,” says Allan Sents, McPherson County Feeders.

Feeders will typically pay extra for cattle with superior genetic backgrounds, landing additional money in the cow-calf producers’ pockets, which in turn allows the feeder to better market the cattle once fed out.

For more information, watch Sents’ interview on this week’s The Angus Report. You can tune in at 1:30 p.m. CST Saturday and 7:30 a.m. CST each Monday morning on RFD-TV.

— Adapted from The Angus Report.

Quantity Doesn’t Always Translate to Quality

The United States is expecting a record-breaking corn crop, projected to be more than 15 billion bushels, along with wheat yields to be at or near record levels in several classes. However, producers should be vigilant regarding the quality of their crop and be on the lookout for potential mycotoxin risks.

“The inventory of the 2015 crop is almost fed, and we look forward to the 2016 crop,” says Alltech mycotoxin expert Max Hawkins. “However, even with a huge crop awaiting, quantity does not indicate quality. Producers should be proactive in investigating and identifying potential issues that can impact herd performance and health.”

Alltech recently collected more than 100 total mixed ration (TMR) samples from the United States and analyzed them to determine mycotoxin presence and growth through the storage months. Of the samples, nearly 18% contained 6-7 mycotoxins, 42% had 4-5 mycotoxins, 35% had 2-3 mycotoxins, and less than 2% had either one mycotoxin or none.

Producers should frequently check their stored feed for high levels of mycotoxins to prevent cattle from suffering from an array of symptoms such as anorexia, diarrhea, reduced milk production, and stillborns, among other issues.

For more information, visit www.knowmycotoxins.com.

— Adapted from a release from Alltech.

Welfare Concerns at Packing Plants

Animal welfare is an important issue, and Mike Siemens, Cargill’s head of welfare and animal husbandry, said packing plants have as much of a stake in the game as cattlemen. Greater attention to welfare is an industry initiative, he emphasized.

It is not a marketing tool, because that creates a “close enough” mentality and makes for a meaningless and thoughtless supply chain. It is the right thing to do, and the cattle industry can’t just hide behind the science of performance, he asserted.

Consumer trust has eroded because negative stories have greater footholds, aided by many active activist groups.

Cargill has many areas of focus in regard to animal welfare. Of those, antibiotic resistance is a high priority. He said the company wants to reduce antibiotic usage by 20% in the cattle it owns, and plans to tie requirements to Beef Quality Assurance (BQA), the dairy industry’s Farmers Assuring Responsible Management (FARM), and Canada’s Verified Beef Production programs in terms of nutrition and humane handling.

Continue reading in the Angus Journal article online. Additional Angus Media coverage of the 2016 International Symposium on Beef Cattle Welfare in the October 2016 Angus Journal or online at http://bit.ly/2016-ISBCW.

— Adapted from an article by Kasey Brown, Angus Media.

Bridging the Gap with AngusSource

A fiery horse with the speed of light, a cloud of dust and a hearty, “Hi-ho Silver!” Who doesn’t remember the Lone Ranger and his faithful sidekick, Tonto? My brother and I loved to pretend we were these two characters when we were out riding our ponies. We rode for truth, honor and respect for all.

Sometimes I still feel like the Lone Ranger today. I still ride with the same values of truth, honor and respect, but I have added something called sustainability.

This industry buzzword had driven me crazy until I talked to a young millennial who really gets it. His thoughts on sustainability were very clear: Do not let the beef industry become chicken or pork. We started talking about how farmers and ranchers my age had not been concerned about the consumer because most consumers our age had a farm connection. Consumers in his generation do not have any or much connection to the farm.

How do we bridge the gap? Read more in this Angus Beef Bulletin EXTRA article online.

— Adapted from an article by Ginette Gottswiller, American Angus Association.

— Compiled by JD Rosman, Angus Media.