News Update
October 26, 2016
Legacy of Leading
In the Meier family, leadership isn’t just encouraged, it’s practiced. Brian Meier followed in his father’s footsteps to serve as Missouri Angus Association president. Brian is the fourth generation of his family to reside on their farm near Jackson, Mo. After his grandparents bought a registered-Angus calf for his father’s 4-H project, the family love of the Angus breed blossomed.
These days, Brian manages Butch’s Angus with his parents, Paul “Butch” and Eileen Meier. With 250 cows, almost all calving in the fall, as well as row-cropping and hay, they keep busy.
“There’s something to do every day,” Brian says. “Down in southeast Missouri, fall calving seems to work well. It fits with our schedule and, in our area, the majority of people are calving in the fall.”
Continue reading the Angus Journal feature article online.
The Matching Game
Cattle have changed. If your management hasn’t, animal scientist Robbi Pritchard suggests you take a look to be sure it’s still relevant.
The South Dakota State University emeritus professor addressed cattle feeders and allied industry at the Feeding Quality Forum in August.
“Genetics are better, and our growth enhancement tools are better, and we know a lot more about them,” Pritchard said, noting the term “precision ag” is typically reserved for row-crop discussions. It doesn’t have to be. “We could go that way in the cattle business and we could make big strides.”
That means matching cattle type to technology and ration.
“If they’re coming out of 1,600-pound (lb.) cows, they probably don’t need any implants,” the ruminant nutritionist said. “The DNA was there. The implants just fill in for a lack of DNA.”
Using those growth promotants in an animal with high growth potential will give you a “nitro-burning car that flames out. It’s not a good thing.”
But another class of cattle would benefit from the technology, as a single implant can add 75 lb. of carcass weight.
Read more in the Angus Media news article online.
New Tax Laws
The IRS recently proposed a new set of tax laws, which would eliminate farm tranfers at discounted rates. Under the current rules, the IRS allows each individual to transfer nearly five and a half million dollars worth of assets during their lifetime or at death without paying gift or estate tax.
In addition, a person can gift $14,000 per year to any individual without cutting into the lifetime exemption. However, under the new proposed regulations, the IRS would eliminate discounts when transferring farms and ranches.
The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association sent a letter to the treasury adamantly opposing and asking for withdrawal of the proposed estate tax regulations. Since then, the IRS has asked for public comment through Nov. 2, and has issued this as a priority, which leads many to project new regulations could be finalized by early 2017.
More about the proposed changes can be accessed at www.irs.gov.
Weaning Management, a Year in Advance
If the spring-born calves aren’t weaned yet, then the time isn’t far away now that fall is here. This month we’ll look at recent research from Philipe Moriel and others at North Carolina State University (NCSU) on the role of maternal nutrition in calf performance and health.
Veterinarians and ranchers know healthy weaned calves begin with a well-vaccinated cow herd long before calving, because high-quality colostrum minimizes disease exposure for nursing calves. All true, yes, but even the best established herd immunity can fall short if nutrition falls short in the days before calving.
Work from the 1970s told us calves born to nutrient-restricted cows were more likely to be treated for bovine respiratory disease (BRD) with greater death loss than calves from cows with adequate nutrition.
Continue reading in the Angus Media news article online.
Eight Declare Candidacies
Eight members have declared their intention to run for a position on the American Angus Association Board of Directors this November.
Tom Burke, Smithville, Mo.; Philip Howell, Winchester, Ind.; and Chris Sankey, Council Grove, Kan., are each seeking a second three-year term on the board. Richard Dyar, Crossville, Ala.; Dave Hinman, Malta, Mont.; Alan Miller, Gridley, Ill.; Jonathan Perry, Fayetteville, Tenn.; and Barry Pollard, Waukomis, Okla., are each seeking election to their first three-year term.
The delegates will elect five directors, a president and chairman of the board, and a vice president and vice chairman of the board, as well as vote on any bylaws amendments that may be presented at the Association’s 133rd Annual Convention of Delegates.
The convention will convene at 10 a.m., Monday, Nov. 7, at the Indiana Convention Center, Indianapolis, Ind., during the Angus Convention.
For more information, view the Angus Media news article online.
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