News Update
November 22, 2017
Offices Closed
In observance of the Thanksgiving holiday, the American Angus Association and Angus Production Inc. offices will be closing at 2 p.m. (CST) today, Nov. 22, and will be closed Nov. 23-24. Normal office hours will resume Monday, Nov. 27.
Our warm wishes to you and your family for a wonderful holiday!
Saddle & Sirloin Honors Tom Burke
Tom Burke of Platte City, Mo., has been selected as the 2017 inductee into the Saddle & Sirloin Portrait Gallery, largely considered the highest honor in the livestock industry. The Saddle & Sirloin Gallery was established in 1903 and recognizes one individual each year for their lifetime of exceptional service to the livestock business, both nationally and internationally.
Burke, a fourth-generation cattleman, was raised on his family’s registered Angus operation in southeast Minnesota. His great-grandfather used the first registered Angus bulls in the late 1800s and early 1900s on the Burke Farm, which was homesteaded more than 130 years ago.
Burke has spent more than 50 years of his life traveling the country as a sale manager for the American Angus Hall of Fame, which is also home to the world’s largest collection of Angus memorabilia. Among his many accolades as a lifelong sale manager, USA Today named him “America’s Most Traveled Person” in 1994. Burke also served on the American Angus Association Board of Directors from 2013-2016.
“I was born into an Angus family, and I am proud of it,” Burke said.
Continue reading this Angus news release online.
New Tool is Available to Help Farmers
Understand When Temperature Inversions Occur
Kansas State University (K-State) is offering a new tool to help farmers assess when temperature inversions occur in their region. The information can be useful in assessing the risk for herbicide drift when applying products such as dicamba, an herbicide used to kill weeds in genetically modified soybean and cotton crops. Accidental drift of dicamba into neighboring fields damaged millions of acres of crops this year.
According to a Nov. 1, 2017, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) report, more than 3.6 million acres of soybeans, including 100,000 acres in Kansas were damaged by dicamba this year. Other crops including tomatoes, watermelon, cantaloupe, vegetables, plus trees and shrubs were also adversely affected. The EPA listed temperature inversion as a factor that contributes to the unintentional spread of dicamba into areas that weren’t targeted.
Temperature inversion is a weather phenomenon in which the air at the earth’s surface is cooler than the air above it — a situation different than the norm, said Christopher “Chip” Redmond, manager of Kansas Mesonet. During times of temperature inversion, which usually happens at night or on cloudy days, the risk that dicamba can drift onto nearby fields and damage other crops is heightened.
For more information, read the full K-State news release online.
USDA Provides More Than $10 Million
to Help Caribbean Area Farmers After Hurricanes
USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) is providing $10.9 million in technical and financial assistance to help farmers in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands repair damage and rebuild following hurricanes Irma and Maria. This investment through the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) , a Farm Bill conservation program, is one more option available through USDA to aid with recovery.
“USDA remains committed to helping the people of Puerto Rican agriculture with every means at our disposal. With this funding, we can assist local farmers in repairing damages to their land and existing conservation practices caused by Hurricanes Irma and Maria,” said Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue. “Through EQIP, we co-invest with farmers to repair and prevent soil erosion, address flooding and other water quality issues, as well as any other resource concerns resulting from high rainfall events and flooding.”
To expedite disaster recovery, NRCS is issuing waivers allowing farmers to receive payment and begin implementing key conservation practices prior to contract approval. Practices can include the disposal of dead livestock, the construction of animal mortality facilities, replacement of roofs and covers on agricultural buildings and debris removal.
Read more of this USDA news release online.
Cook Receives Honor for Advancing Rangeland Management
Noble Research Institute pastures and range consultant Rob Cook has been selected as the 2017 Texas Section Society of Range Management (SRM) Association Outstanding Young Range Professional award recipient. Cook was honored at the society’s 2017 annual meeting Thursday, Oct 12.
Cook was selected for the award because of his dedication to improving rangeland management. “Rob is a tremendous asset to the Institute,” said Hugh Aljoe, Noble Research Institute director of producer relations. “He is a knowledgeable advocate for rangeland management issues, and he is effective in communicating those issues to producers and others in the agriculture industry.”
Cook joined the Noble Research Institute in 2015 after working as a Natural Resources Conservation Service rangeland specialist for 11 years. He is a member of the Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas sections of SRM. Cook serves on the board of directors for the Oklahoma Section. He is active in the National Grazing Lands Coalition and is a member of the American Forage and Grassland Council and The Wildlife Society.
Learn more in the news release online.
From Gate to Plate in 30 Minutes
The No. 1 request from foodservice professionals when they arrive at the Certified Angus Beef LLC (CAB) Culinary Center is, “Can we go see cows?” For most groups, a farm visit is out of the question due to long travel times, weather and ranchers’ busy schedules.
Until now.
Recently CAB partnered with the Atterholt family at nearby Jeromesville, Ohio, to help provide that on-farm experience for nearly all Culinary Center visitors. Brothers Aaron and Mike Atterholt, along with their wives, both coincidentally named Mandy, raise Angus seedstock, corn and soybeans just a 30-minute drive from CAB headquarters in Wooster.
“If we don’t tell our story, someone else will,” says Aaron’s wife Mandy. “You can see the excitement the moment people step off the bus, and most can’t stop taking pictures. At the end of the visit, people tell me, ‘I can’t wait to tell your story. This is going to help me sell more beef!’ ”
Together, the group shares the story of their family farm and Angus breeders around the country to help connect the hard work that happens on the ranch with the CAB brand’s exceptional eating experience.
Read this full Angus Journal article online.
Editor’s Note: The articles used within this site represent a mixture of copyrights. If you would like to reprint or repost an article, you must first request permission of Angus Productions Inc. (API) by contacting the editor at 816-383-5200; 3201 Frederick Ave., Saint Joseph, MO 64506. API claims copyright to this web site as presented. We welcome educational venues and cattlemen to link to this site as a service to their audience.