News Update

April 3, 2017

Joe Bill Meng Benefit Auction
to Raise Scholarship Support

The late Joe William (Joe Bill) Meng Jr. enjoyed a lifetime of happiness as a devoted Angus breeder. He worked and lived on the Meng family farm in Woodburn, Ky., for many years and built their Angus herd into a nationally respected seedstock producer.

He was known throughout the purebred cattle industry as an expert in Angus pedigrees and cow families and was a respected judge, consultant and breeder. Meng served on the boards of both the Kentucky and American Angus Association, and was an inductee in the Angus Heritage Foundation. He managed the American Angus Futurity for many years and promoted the breed with fervor.

To honor Meng’s legacy, many friends and fellow Angus breeders are sponsoring the Joe Bill Meng Scholarship Benefit Auction via Angus Live, on April 4. To view the sale, visit www.anguslive.com.

“This is a tremendous opportunity for Angus breeders to add outstanding genetics to their herds while simultaneously supporting Angus youth,” says Angus Foundation President Milford Jenkins.

For more information, read the Angus news release online.

— Adapted from a release by Chris Stephens, Angus Foundation.

Angus Members: Check Voting Eligibility Before April 7

American Angus Association members wanting to participate in the election of board members and other business this fall need to meet three eligibility requirements before 4:30 p.m. Central Daylight Time (CDT), April 7.

According to Association bylaws, only eligible voting members can nominate, be nominated, vote or be elected in the annual election of delegates. To be considered an eligible voting member, individuals must meet all of the following requirements.

Active regular or life membership (dues current and paid in full)
18 years of age or older
Registered at least one animal or completed at least $250 of business with the Association or Angus Genetics Inc. within the preceding 12 months from when the nomination period begins (from April 10, 2016 to April 7, 2017)
Members can determine their eligibility status through AAA Login at My Account > Your American Angus Association Information. During the nomination period, members can also access their AAA Login accounts to view an alphabetical listing of delegate nominees, by herd state only, which will be posted as nominations are verified.

Learn more in the Angus news release online.

— Announcement from Crystal Albers, Angus Media.

Ag Groups on Immigration Reform

The Agriculture Workforce Coalition (AWC) emphasized the importance of immigration reform for America’s farmers and ranchers in a letter sent to President Donald Trump. Seventy groups representing a variety of crops grown in every region in the country joined in sending the letter that calls for reforms to ensure that American agriculture has a legal, stable supply of workers — in both the long and short term — for all types of producers.

“[T]he economic health of food and fiber producers, and the rural communities in which they live, is threatened by the lack of a reliable, stable and legal workforce. Our farmers face growing shortages of legally authorized and experienced workers each year,” the groups state. “This shortage of labor negatively impacts our economic competitiveness, local economies and jobs. Reforms are necessary to address the agricultural labor shortage.”

Read the full news release online.

— Adapted from a release by the Agriculture Workforce Coalition.

K-State, ‘Little Apple’ to Host National Ag Student Conference

An extra swarm of students will descend on Kansas State University (K-State) when K-State’s College of Agriculture hosts the 2017 North American Colleges and Teachers of Agriculture Judging Conference April 6-8 in Manhattan.

More than 800 college students and faculty from 49 public and private two- and four-year institutions will compete in agriculture-related competitions, including agribusiness, agricultural communications, crops, dairy judging, equine management, horticulture, livestock judging, livestock management, computer applications, meat judging, precision agriculture and soils.

K-State agronomy professor Kevin Donnelly is coordinating the event.

A highlight of the competition, Donnelly said, is the Knowledge Bowl, in which teams from each school field questions from across categories.

Learn more information in the news release online.

— Adapted from a release by Mary Lou Peter, K-State Research and Extension.

Estimating Forage will be Topic of April 6 Range Webinar

“How Much Forage Do I Have?” will be the topic of the April 6 natural resources webinar conducted by the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service ecosystem science and management unit.

The webinar is a part of the Texas Range Webinar Series scheduled the first Thursday of each month from noon to 1 p.m., said Pete Flores, AgriLife Extension webinar coordinator in Corpus Christi.

Emi Kimura, AgriLife Extension agronomist in Vernon, will be the presenter. She said the webinar will help producers determine how much forage they have available for livestock and different methods of monitoring forage resource throughout the year.

“Understanding the forage availability in your field is critically important for stocking rate decisions and helps avoid over- or under-stocking of livestock,” Kimura said. “I will discuss when, where and how to effectively quantify your forage supply for sustainable utilization of forage resources.”

This webinar and others in the series can be accessed at http://naturalresourcewebinars.tamu.edu. For more information on the webinars, contact Flores at Pete.Flores@ag.tamu.edu.

— Adapted from a release by Kay Ledbetter, Texas AgriLife Communications.

— Compiled by Paige Nelson, field editor, Angus Media.