News Update
January 23, 2018
NJAA Announces STAR Conference
The inaugural State Training and Angus Retreat (STAR) Conference is set for March 22-25, 2018, in Saint Joseph, Mo. The STAR Conference will focus on building strong leadership skills, creating networking opportunities and strengthening communications between state and national Angus associations.
“The National Junior Angus Board of Directors initiated the STAR Conference to help enhance the leadership skill sets within state associations,” said Bailey Palmer, Association event coordinator. “We hope the conference will strengthen the state association teams and create a network of great leaders.”
The three-day schedule is jam-packed with activities, workshops and presentations to promote state junior officer and advisor growth. Only National Junior Angus Association (NJAA) state presidents, vice presidents, secretaries and treasures are invited to attend. All state advisors are welcome to register.
“Along with unique workshops, we will have the opportunity to tour American Angus Association and hear from the people who make the association all that it is,” Palmer said. “Most of the attendees have probably never been to the headquarters; this is an opportunity to get a behind-the-scenes look at what happens every day.”
Read the full Angus news release online.
Cattle on Feed Estimates
USDA will release on Friday, Jan. 26, the results of its monthly feedlot inventory survey and just about everyone agrees that the inventory will be much bigger than it was a year ago. The regular monthly report will be then followed by the semi-annual cattle inventory survey, which offers details not just on feedlot supplies but also the number of cattle and calves at various stages of production.
One of the components of the cattle inventory survey is the number of cattle on feed in all feeding operations. It is always useful to compare the feedlot numbers from the annual survey with the monthly data, since the latter only covers the inventory in feedlots with +1,000 head capacity. Ample feed supplies and a cyclical increase in calf numbers has likely encouraged more country feeding. The annual survey should give us a better understanding of the supply of feedlot cattle that will be available for marketing in the first half of 2018.
Analysts polled by Urner Barry ahead of the USDA report said they expect the Jan. 1 on feed supply to be 7.7% larger than the previous year.
Read the full report online at www.dailylivestockreport.com.
Angus Stakes
USDA revealed 32,500,000 beef cows in inventory July 1, 2017 — back on par with 2008 inventories. Add to that the increase in average carcass weights, and supply is, frankly, booming.
As Troy Smith points out in his summary of Blach’s presentation in the Angus Convention Newsroom, cattle prices are expected to trend lower, tightening cow-calf margins.
Increasing heifer slaughter numbers, Blach said, indicate expansion of the national herd is slowing. Common sense would say that means the needed expansion of the bull battery required to breed those cows would also be slowing. Common sense would reason that the average price of any segment of the beef industry — calves, fed cattle, replacement heifers, cows, bulls — will likely trend lower.
That’s not a reason to be negative about your future. In fact, it gives you — as a registered Angus breeder — and your customers an edge in the years ahead. All you have to do is commit to providing the premium-quality product and documenting the advantage you provide.
Read more of this Angus Journal column online.
Inspiring the Inspired
Sell more beef. Sell more beef.
It wasn’t a chant, a published focus or even a hashtag, but it was the underlying theme of the conference that brought more than 600 stakeholders from all parts of the beef community together in Nashville, Tenn., this fall.
“We want you to feel challenged,” said John Stika, Certified Angus Beef® (CAB®) brand president during the company’s annual conference.
Taking the stage in a Porter Wagoner-inspired sport coat in Music City, he was dressed for the challenge: “We want you to feel pushed to extend yourself, or at least your thought process, outside the limits of your traditional comfort zones.”
The rest of the program continued to drive that point. “You just had a great 12 months, but we have to stay agile and hungry,” said futurist Anders Sorman-Nilsson. He gave attendees a look at how technology will change life in the future, and how ignoring change today could make your business extinct very soon.
“Claiming that your business is customer-centric will be impossible unless you’re data-centric,” he said.
Learn more in this Angus Journal article online.
Growing Alfalfa and Stored Forage Efficiency,
One Conference at a Time
The 37th annual Kentucky Alfalfa and Stored Forage Conference will be hosted Feb. 22 by the University of Kentucky and the Kentucky Forage and Grassland Council. This daylong conference will extend from 8:00 a.m. until 3:30 p.m. Central at the Cave City Convention Center in Cave City.
The conference focuses on teaching ways to maximize both production and utilization of alfalfa. With presentations from University of Kentucky (UK) College of Agriculture, Food and Environment specialists and other industry representatives, participants will hear topics such as alfalfa establishment and export markets for alfalfa hay.
Intermittent breaks and opportunities for discussion are provided. The event also offers lunch and a silent auction for attendees. Attendees are welcome to browse exhibits during breaks.
Registration is $30 per person before Feb.15 and $40 afterwards.
For more information please view the Angus Journal Virtual Library calendar of upcoming events.
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