News Update
July 10, 2017
Don’t Miss the Action at the 2017 NJAS
Angus juniors and their families are gathering in Des Moines, Iowa, this week for the 2017 National Junior Angus Show (NJAS) at the Iowa State Fairgrounds. Activities begin Monday, July 10 and will continue through Saturday, July 15. The six-day event is full of cattle shows, showmanship competitions and a variety of educational contests.
Whether Angus juniors and their families are at the event or following along from home, they can keep up with the latest show news and information using the following resources:
- Watch live coverage, brought to you by Walton Webcasting, online at www.njas.info.
- Opening Ceremonies Monday, July 10, starting at 6 p.m. Central.
- Bred-and-owned heifer show, Wednesday, July 12, starting at 8 a.m.
- Cow-calf pairs, bred-and-owned bulls, steers, bred-and-owned best five head and showmanship preliminaries Thursday, July 13, starting at 8 a.m.
- Owned heifers Friday, July 14, starting at 8 a.m.
- Showmanship finals and owned heifers Saturday, July 15, starting at 8 a.m.
- Download the Angus Mobile smartphone app for instant news updates, show results, videos and other Angus news.
- Follow Angus social media profiles for continuous updates:
For more information, read the Angus Media news article online.
Angus Hires Director of Communications
The American Angus Association announces Clint Mefford, a native of Central Point, Ore., as the organization’s director of communications. Mefford began his new role July 5, after previously serving as an executive marketing associate at the Association headquarters in Saint Joseph, Mo.
As the director of communications, Mefford is responsible for establishing strategy for all communication elements, both external and internal, for the Association and its entities, Angus Productions Inc. (API), Angus Genetics Inc. (AGI) and the Angus Foundation.
“During his time on the Angus team, Clint has demonstrated the ability to work cohesively within teams across the organization, an outstanding work ethic, and the ability to communicate and connect with a variety of audiences,” says Allen Moczygemba, Association CEO. “He is a talented young professional with great enthusiasm for our breed and membership.”
Mefford played an integral role in the National Western Angus Bull Sale in January 2017, which resulted in a record crowd in the historic Stadium Arena in Denver, Colo., and he has been the organization’s lead contact for the upcoming Angus Convention in Fort Worth, Texas.
Read the Angus news release online.
Implications of Japan/EU Economic Partnership Agreement
In the weekend Daily Livestock Report (DLR) issue we will give an update on the status of U.S. beef, pork and chicken exports in May (they were up) and what the latest weekly export data implies for the volume of trade in June and July. Today, however, we thought it would be appropriate to cover a development that has the potential to negatively impact U.S. beef and pork trade for many years to come, namely the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) between Japan and the European Union.
We say it has the potential not that it will immediately impact our trade since the principle agreement will be slowly implemented over a number of years. Still, this agreement and the previous Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between Japan and Australia put U.S. livestock producers at a significant disadvantage, with U.S. product facing stiff tariffs while tariffs on product from our main competitors slowly fade away. Japan is one of the largest buyers of U.S. beef and pork, accounting for 26% of all U.S. beef and veal volume in 2016.
Read the full Daily Livestock Report online at www.dailylivestockreport.com/.
Long-term Advantages of High-Health Herds
Although it would be impossible to prevent all instances of disease or injury in a beef herd, high-health herds benefit from having few animals that require veterinary care and carry those advantages through the life of each animal and into the next generations. It is easy to identify the short-term costs and problems associated with a sick or injured animal — veterinary expenses, decreased weight gain, and possibly reduced likelihood of becoming pregnant or more likelihood of dying, but longer-term costs are easier to miss. Even though cattle that become sick can recover and resume a healthy life, sometimes there are negative carryover effects.
Both cows and calves involved in a difficult birth are more likely to have problems in the following months compared to cows and calves that had an uneventful birth process. Cows that experienced a difficult birth are more likely to have uterine infections and fail to become pregnant, or they become pregnant later in the following breeding season than cows that delivered their calves quickly and without problems.
Learn more in the Angus Media news article online.
Adopting Technology
The beef industry’s greatest challenge and greatest opportunity are actually one and the same, said the University of Missouri’s Dave Patterson at the National Association of Animal Breeders (NAAB) Symposium hosted May 31 as part of the Beef Improvement Federation (BIF) Symposium in Athens, Ga., May 31-June 3.
Patterson, creator of Missouri’s Show-Me-Select™ replacement heifer program, said the industry’s greatest challenge is producer reluctance to adopt new technology. Its greatest opportunity? On-the-shelf technology not being used — that works.
Nearly 70% of cow-calf enterprises are reported by producers as being a secondary income source. Only 10%-15% of all beef cattle enterprises utilize artificial insemination (AI). That can and should be improved, Patterson said.
“In many respects, it’s a value-added program,” Patterson said of the Show-Me-Select program. AI adds value.
What Patterson called “the technology problem” is well-intended. As more research is conducted, more advanced technology results, leading to greater complexity and sophistication. Fewer people understand it, fewer people trust it, and progress is slowed, he said.
In 1996, Patterson created the Show-Me-Select program to create an understanding of the importance of heifer development based on reproductive outcomes.
Read the Angus Media news article online.
— Compiled by Paige Nelson, field editor, Angus Media.
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