News Update
January 26, 2018
Angus Foundation Hires
New Development Director
The Angus Foundation announces the addition of Rod Schoenbine as the development director. He started Jan. 8, 2018, during the National Western Stock Show, and he is responsible for fundraising and relationship building to help achieve the organization’s mission of advancing education, youth and research for the Angus breed and American Angus Association members.
“Rod’s education, industry knowledge and professional career experiences in marketing animal health products to beef cattle producers and customer service roles, combined with his extensive network and familiarity with Angus breeders and allied industry, makes him a perfect fit for our new director of development fundraising position,” said Milford Jenkins, Angus Foundation president.
He continued: “From his volunteer service on Angus Foundation scholarship selection committees; influencing industry support for our organization’s fundraising events; and advocating our mission of education, youth and research in his engagements with producers over the past decade, Rod’s understanding and appreciation for the Angus Foundation’s work is unequaled. We are very fortunate to have recruited an individual of Rod’s caliber and professional abilities to help raise funds.”
Continue reading this Angus news release online.
Beef Board’s 2017 Annual Report Released
The 2017 Cattlemen’s Beef Promotion and Research Board (CBB) Annual Report is now available to provide results of Beef Checkoff programs to the beef producers and importers who invest in this national self-help program. A summarized version of the report is available here, with links to download the full report available within.
Included in the annual report is a letter from CBB Chairman Brett Morris and an overview of revenues and expenditures for fiscal 2017. In addition, you’ll find summaries of results from each Beef Board budget category; these include promotion, research, consumer information, industry information, foreign marketing and producer communications.
The goal of the publication is to provide financial transparency to beef producers and importers who invest into the checkoff and disclosure about all that was accomplished with the funds received. In addition to the direct link above, all CBB annual reports since the start of the national checkoff program are here.
“As a producer, I couldn’t have understood all the thought and process that goes into the consideration of every single dollar invested if not for this honor of being your chairman,” said chairman Morris.
For more information, read the release online.
Use a Calf Puller Properly
Most calves can be pulled by hand after correcting any abnormality of position, but occasionally a mechanical calf puller is needed. It is important to first determine whether the calf can be safely pulled, or if it should be delivered by C-section.
Mark Alley, North Carolina State University College of Veterinary Medicine, says a calf jack is a great tool when used appropriately, but if used incorrectly it can cause severe damage. Don’t apply more force than what two strong men can do, pulling by hand.
Never utilize steady maximum pull. Pull when the cow strains, and stop while she rests. Chain placement is crucial, he adds. The puller puts enough force on a leg to pull joints apart or fracture bones. Put one loop above the fetlock joint and a second loop in a half hitch below it for two points of pull, spreading the pressure so it’s not all in one place — or blood flow may be cut off. Pull slowly and gradually, using lots of lubricant.
If you can get the calf’s head and front legs into the pelvis without traction and get your hand between the calf’s forehead and the cow, the calf can probably be pulled. If the calf’s head is hitting the cow’s pelvis, it should be delivered by C-section.
Keep reading this Angus Beef Bulletin EXTRA article online.
Ag Broadband Coalition Hails
Precision Agriculture Connectivity Act
The Agricultural Broadband Coalition applauded bipartisan leaders in the House and Senate for introducing the Precision Agriculture Connectivity Act of 2018 on Thursday Jan. 25, a milestone piece of legislation that will help to revolutionize farming across the United States.
The legislation, which was introduced in the Senate by Sens. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) and Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and in the House by Congressmen Bob Latta (R-Ohio) and Dave Loebsack (D-Iowa), will help to facilitate the deployment of broadband Internet across rural America — including ranchland and cropland, where broadband connectivity is increasingly essential for production agriculture.
“Bringing together the Agriculture Department, the Federal Communications Commission and public and private stakeholders to address the needs of precision agriculture ensures current and future generations of farmers and ranchers will have the necessary connectivity to achieve optimal yields, lower environmental impact and maximize profit,” American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall said. “Broadband deployment in unserved and underserved croplands and ranchlands is essential to farmers and ranchers who produce the food, fuel and fiber across the United States and around the world.”
Learn more in the full Farm Bureau news release online.
Alliance Plans Fescue Schools to Teach Replacing Toxic Grass
Ways to replace toxic tall fescue pastures keep improving as renovations move across the Fescue Belt from Missouri to Georgia.
Five grazing schools in five states in March will clarify a complex system, says Craig Roberts, University of Missouri Extension forage specialist.
This started with two schools in Missouri in 2012. Now a cooperative alliance has refined ideas on how to kill old stands of tall fescue and replace them with nontoxic novel-endophyte fescues.
“We’ve gone regional, away from a state-by-state approach to solve a messy problem,” Roberts says. He tells of new schools put on by the national Alliance for Grassland Renewal.
“Over the last few years, we’ve become organized with help from all sectors of tall fescue businesses,” Roberts says. “Each state had its own councils and its own approaches. Each told different methods, told in different ways. After working together and many conference calls, we became better at what we do.”
At first, a couple of extension specialists — an agronomist and an animal scientist — would go out to teach. Now there are more people.
For more information please view the full release online.
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