News Update

September 27, 2017

Angus Hires Senior
Communications Specialist

The American Angus Association is excited to add Rachel Robinson of Kansas City, Mo., to the communications group. She is a 2010 agricultural journalism graduate from the University of Missouri who began her new role Sept. 25. Prior to joining team Angus, Robinson served as a senior account executive at Woodruff in Kansas City, Mo.

Robinson brings more than seven years of marketing experience to the table. She has previously served as an account manager at Osborn Barr in Kansas City, Mo., as well as a freelance writer for Today’s Farmer and Farm Journal.

“Rachel brings a wealth of journalism and marketing knowledge to the communications team,” said Clint Mefford, Association director of communications. “Her expertise in these areas will only help further advance the Association’s communication efforts.”

As the senior communications specialist, Robinson will contribute to the team’s multimedia efforts by developing literature pieces and assisting the production of The Angus Report. She will also play a key role in crafting comprehensive communication plans to help execute the Association key strategies.

Read the full Angus news release online.

— Adapted from a release by Clint Mefford, Angus Media.

Finding Profit

Opportunity. It’s there, but you may have to look a little harder for it.

That’s what this year’s Feeding Quality Forum (FQF) attendees learned during the daylong meetings Aug. 29 in Omaha, Neb., and repeated in Garden City, Kan., Aug. 31.

AgResource Co. kicked off the forum with market predictions.

Dan Basse, president of AgResource Co., told Omaha attendees, “Ag is not at its bottom yet, but I think the worst is over.”

In the next few months, the analyst predicted, fed-cattle prices will hit bottom at $100 to $104 per hundredweight, then improve into the first quarter of 2018.

USDA’s corn yield prediction at 169.5 bushels (bu.) per acre is more optimistic than Basse’s estimate of 165 bu. per acre. Feeders might want to lock in feed costs now before there’s an incentive for a price increase, he said, noting $3.45 to $3.35 as an opportunity.

Continue reading this Angus Beef Bulletin EXTRA article online.

— Adapted from a release by Miranda Reiman, Certified Angus Beef LLC.

Piglets Might Unlock Keys to In Vitro Fertilization in Humans

It is estimated that parents seeking to have children through in vitro fertilization (IVF) spend between $12,000 and $15,000 each session plus the cost of medications, which could average between $3,000 and $5,000. Now, researchers at the University of Missouri (MU) publishing in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science have made a discovery that could decrease the costs associated with IVF in humans — and it all started with piglets.

R. Michael Roberts, an MU Curators distinguished professor of animal sciences and an investigator in the Bond Life Sciences Center, and Randall Prather, Curators distinguished professor of animal sciences in the College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources, work with pigs to research stem cells and the mechanisms these cells use to proliferate, communicate and grow in the body. During an attempt to improve how they grow these cells, researchers in their labs discovered a method that uses a special liquid medium and improves the success of IVF in pigs.

“It was a serendipitous discovery, really,” said Roberts.

Read the full Angus Beef Bulletin EXTRA article online.

— Adapted from an article by the University of Missouri News Bureau.

Implications from the Latest Cold Storage Report

Combined production of beef, pork, chicken and turkey in August was estimated by USDA to be 8.962 billion pounds (lb.), 318 million lb. (+3.7%) higher than a year ago and the largest amount of meat protein produced in a given month. More production days (23) certainly contributed to the increase in monthly output and when we adjust for production on a daily basis, there have been a number of other months, particularly last year, when output actually exceeded this year. One also needs to recognize the fact that from a pricing perspective, the rate of change rather than the absolute volume tends to be more important. Markets need time to adjust to shifts in supply, and sudden large shifts in output will lead to more dramatic price moves. In the last quarter of 2016 the combined daily output of red meat and poultry increased by an average of 5.3%. By comparison, in Q2 of this year daily average output increased by around 2% and so far in Q3 daily production is increasing by 3.2%.

Read the full report at www.dailylivestockreport.com.

— Adapted from a report by Len Steiner, Steiner Consulting Group.

More Mature Cover Crops Help Maintain Residue Longer

Often producers planting cover crops are worried about moisture use, but more important is the longevity of the crop residue and its beneficial results, said a Texas A&M AgriLife Research scientist.

Paul DeLaune, an AgriLife Research environmental soil scientist at Vernon, said when he talks about the residue management of cover crops, one question he is always asked concerns termination timing and the use of soil moisture by the cover crop.

Cover crops are designed to keep soil from blowing and improve soil quality. DeLaune has included Austrian winter field pea, hairy vetch, crimson clover, wheat, rye, turnips and radishes as cover crops in various studies.

Early cover crop termination can result in residue that rapidly degrades or blows away.

“We use neutron probes here to monitor soil moisture year-round, and, yes, the cover crop does use soil moisture,” he said. “But one thing we’ve found is that soil moisture is quickly recharged, and your crop is back to status quo if you get a rain between termination and the planting of your cotton.”

Learn more in the Angus Beef Bulletin EXTRA article online.

— Adapted from an article by Kay Ledbetter, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service.

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