News Update
January 18, 2018
Phenotype and Genotype Show to be Hosted at Eastern Regional Junior
Angus Show
National Junior Angus Association (NJAA) members will have another avenue of competition at the 2018 Eastern Regional Junior Angus Show (ERJAS) from June 14-16 in Lima, Ohio. The Phenotype and Genotype Show (PGS) creates an additional competitive opportunity while also allowing junior members to learn the value of expected progeny differences (EPDs) as part of the process in selecting quality seedstock.
A judge will utilize a scoring system that requires both phenotypes and genotypes to be considered in evaluation. Results from the system will be a composite score where the genotypic EPDs and phenotypic placings will be equally weighted at 50%.
Following check-in, the judge will receive judge’s cards split in classes that include entry number, birthdate and EPDs, including: calving ease direct, birth weight, weaning weight, yearling weight, milk, marbling, ribeye area, weaned calf value index, beef value index, along with a percentile chart. For the PGS, the same judge will evaluate the EPDs and the phenotype classes. Prior to the phenotype portion of the show, the judge will place the class based on their weighing of both objective and subjective traits. Results will be turned in to the Association staff to compile prior to the show.
Continue reading this Angus news release online.
Pinnacle Asset Management to Acquire
JBS USA Five Rivers Cattle Feeding
Affiliates of Pinnacle Asset Management L.P., a leading commodities and natural resources investment firm, announced Jan. 17 they have entered into an agreement to acquire the U.S.-based cattle feeding assets and farms, collectively known as Five Rivers Cattle Feeding, from JBS USA, a leading global food company, for approximately $200 million.
Five Rivers Cattle Feeding is the largest cattle feeding operation in the world, with roots in the United States dating back to the 1920s. The transaction includes 11 feedyards across Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas, with feeding capacity of more than 900,000 head of cattle and a long-term agreement to supply cattle to JBS USA beef processing plants. The current Five Rivers management team will remain in place, led by president and CEO Mike Thoren, to ensure business continuity and build upon Five Rivers’ strong track record of innovation and stewardship.
“The sale of the Five Rivers Cattle Feeding assets and farms is a strategic move that will allow JBS USA to more efficiently deploy working capital and focus on the company’s core food and value-added products businesses,” said Andre Nogueira, CEO of JBS USA.
Read the full news release online.
Hay and Cattle Reports
The USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) monthly Crop Production report (released Jan. 12, 2018) contained their survey-based hay stocks as of Dec. 1, 2017. At 86.2 million tons nationally, hay stocks were smaller than expected. U.S. stocks were 10% below a year earlier and the lowest since Dec. 1, 2012, when severe drought limited hay production and increased late summer and fall usage. Note that the Dec. 1, 2017, stock level was the second lowest since 1976. Year-over-year declines in stocks were associated with states impacted by drought, wildfires and hay destroyed by hurricanes and flooding.
The arctic air mass that settled over much of the United States, and in recent weeks even brought significant snow to southern states, has likely caused much more hay to be fed to beef cattle than typical. That combined with a cow herd that is larger than a year ago resulted in the Livestock Marketing Information Center (LMIC) estimate of U.S. hay stocks to begin the new crop year (as of May 1, 2018) as the smallest since May 1, 2013.
Read the full report online at www.dailylivestockreport.com.
Cattlemen Campaign to Prevent Farms, Ranches
from Being Regulated like Toxic Superfund Sites
The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) Jan. 16 kicked off a media campaign aimed at spotlighting and correcting a recent court decision that will require livestock producers to comply with laws that are only meant to apply to highly toxic Superfund sites.
The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) was enacted to provide for cleanup of the worst industrial chemical toxic waste dumps and spills, such as oil spills and chemical tank explosions. The Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA) was enacted to ensure that parties who emit hazardous chemicals submit reports to their local emergency responders to allow for more effective planning for chemical emergencies. Both of these laws include reporting requirements connected to the events at hand.
Neither of these laws was ever intended to govern agricultural operations, for which emissions from livestock are a part of everyday life. To make this clear, in 2008, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finalized a rule to clarify that farms were exempt from CERCLA reporting and small farms, in particular, were exempt from EPCRA reporting, given that low-level livestock emissions are not the kind of “releases” that Congress intended to manage with these laws.
Learn more in the NCBA news release online.
New Mexico State University hosts
35th Annual San Juan Basin Beef Symposium
Herd health is vital for a cattle producer to build and maintain a successful business.
Cattlemen in the Four Corners region will have an opportunity to learn the latest on the economics of herd health at the 35th annual San Juan Basin Beef Cattle Symposium Wednesday, Feb. 7, at McGee Park Fairgrounds in Farmington.
The daylong event is presented by the New Mexico State University (NMSU) College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences’ Cooperative Extension Service in San Juan County in collaboration with Colorado State University Extension offices in Archuleta, La Plata, Montezuma and Dolores counties.
“This beef symposium is a tradition in the Four Corners region,” said Bonnie Hopkins, NMSU San Juan County agricultural agent. “Educational programs are important to help us sustain this way of life. This year’s focus is primarily the economics of herd health and ways to maintain profitability during a fluctuating market.”
The program will include:
- The economics of trichomoniasis, by John Wenzel, NMSU Extension veterinarian.
- The economics of reproductive management, by Craig Gifford, NMSU Extension beef specialist.
- The economics of herd health, by Bruce Voyles, Merck Animal Health.
For more information please view the Angus Journal Virtual Library calendar of upcoming events.
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