News Update
August 17, 2017
Michigan Angus Auxiliary Creates New Scholarships Through Angus Foundation
In celebration of the Michigan Angus Auxiliary’s 50th anniversary, the auxiliary has donated $12,500 to the Angus Foundation to fund the Michigan Angus Auxiliary Scholarship & Educational Awards Endowment Fund.
“It’s an honor to help the Michigan Angus Auxiliary celebrate 50 years of success by assisting them in establishing this endowment fund,” says Milford Jenkins, Angus Foundation president. “The scholarships presented by this endowment will help young people in the Angus industry from Michigan in achieving their educational pursuits.”
The endowment fund will create an annual educational scholarship for a Michigan Angus youth. The scholarship amount will vary each year depending upon the number of applicants, but can be used toward an undergraduate degree at a university or technical school, or graduate school program. The fund will also support a $100 scholarship given annually to the Michigan Angus Queen to offset costs involved with promoting the Angus breed throughout Michigan. The group hopes to grow the Michigan Angus Queen scholarship in the years to come.
“We wanted to find a way to make a meaningful impact,” says Julie Thelen Conover, Michigan Angus Auxiliary president.
Continue reading this Angus news release online.
Future Angus Stockmen Scholarship Application Available
To ensure the next generation of commercial cattle producers are well-prepared with the knowledge and tools to become successful, the American Angus Association and Allflex USA encourage ambitious young cattle producers to apply for the Future Angus Stockmen scholarship.
The Future Angus Stockman program is aimed toward college-age or recent graduates willing to learn about utilizing expected progeny differences (EPDs), incorporating DNA technology to make data-driven decisions, developing recordkeeping plans using the Beef Records Service (BRS) or Maternal Plus® at a reduced cost and connecting with cattlemen from across the nation.
To be eligible to receive the $1,000 Future Angus Stockmen scholarship, applicants must be enrolled in the Future Angus Stockmen program and meet additional qualifications.
“Our goal is to recognize the efforts of a young producer and help them improve their Angus program through genetic tools and an educational scholarship,” says Scott Holt, North American marketing manager for Allflex USA. “The opportunity will undoubtedly advance their knowledge of new products and information available to commercial beef producers.”
The scholarship application deadline is Sept. 15, 2017.
Read more of this Angus news release online.
U.S., Canadian and Mexican Farm Groups
Support Modernized NAFTA
The American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF), The Canadian Federation of Agriculture (CFA) and Mexico’s Consejo Nacional Agropecuario (CNA) Aug. 16 sent a joint letter to Canadian, United States and Mexican government officials reiterating their calls that NAFTA re-negotiations should aim to modernize the agreement, rather than dismantle it.
The AFBF, CFA and CNA agree that agriculture represents one of NAFTA’s biggest success stories. Agricultural reciprocal trade between the three countries has grown exponentially since the agreement was implemented more than 20 years ago.
CFA President Ron Bonnett, strong in his support of the agreement, says that “NAFTA has boosted the incomes of millions of farmers and has facilitated the development of profitable export markets.”
In their discussions, the three presidents agreed on the need to build on the original agreement's success by looking for ways to increase trade volumes.
“When it comes to overall positive results for North America’s farmers and ranchers, NAFTA has proved itself as a solid foundation for trade. Just as farmers have new tools and technology for food and fiber production, we believe that an updated NAFTA agreement can help the three nations become even stronger trading partners,” AFBF President Zippy Duvall said.
For more information, read the AFBF news release online.
EPA Administrator Pruitt Urges Ranchers
to Submit WOTUS Comments
The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) Aug. 16 released a video featuring Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt, in which Pruitt urges farmers and ranchers to submit official comments on the repeal of the Waters of the United States (WOTUS) rule before the Agency’s deadline of Monday, Aug. 28, 2017.
“When comments are made a part of a record — as rule-making — we have an obligation to review them,” Pruitt says in NCBA’s video. “It helps inform our decision-making process; it helps us make better decisions. And so we want farmers and ranchers across this country to provide comments.”
The video was filmed during a visit that Pruitt and his senior staff made earlier this month to the Frasier Ranch, located just outside Last Chance, Colo. During the visit, part of the administrator's nationwide “State Action Tour,” Pruitt met with and solicited input from several dozen local ranchers about how to proceed after the Obama-era WOTUS (Waters of the United States) is repealed.
“We’re trying to fix the challenges from the 2015 rule, where the Obama Administration re-imagined their authority under the Clean Water Act.
Learn more in the full NCBA news release online.
Livestock, Dairy, and Poultry Outlook
Latest available U.S. trade data shows first-half exports of animal products year-over-year higher across the board. An increase in global demand and a decline in the U.S. dollar likely contributed to favorable conditions for exports. The value of the U.S. dollar has fallen 5.9% since December as measured by the Price-adjusted Broad Dollar Monthly Index reported by the U.S. Federal Reserve. With the exception of U.S. exports of beef and veal, the largest share of which went to Japan, Mexico accounted for the largest share of U.S. animal product exports. The figure depicts year-over-year growth of U.S. animal products exports.
Cattle/Beef: On July 1 the U.S. cattle herd expanded to 102.6 million head, the largest since 2008. More cattle are available outside feedlots, and a larger calf crop will provide an ample supply of cattle for placement into 2018. Commercial beef production is forecast higher in 2018 to 27.4 billion pounds. U.S. beef exports for 2017 are revised slightly lower, and 2018 is unchanged.
Dairy: With slower expected growth of milk per cow offsetting higher expected cow numbers, milk production forecasts are lower than last month’s forecasts.
View the full USDA Economic Research Service report online.
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