News Update
March 29, 2018
Angus Offices Closed for Good Friday
The offices of the American Angus Association and Angus Media will be closed Friday, March 30, in observance of Good Friday. Regular business hours will resume Monday, April 2.
Angus Foundation Hosts 18th Annual Golf Tournament
While you’re packing the trailer for the National Junior Angus Show in Madison, Wis., make sure to include your golf clubs! It’s time for the 18th Annual Angus Foundation golf tournament.
The tournament will take place Monday, July 9, at Pleasant View Golf Course in Middleton, Wis. Registration for adult golfers is $100 and $75 for junior golfers (National Junior Angus Association members). Registration includes 18 holes of golf, golf cart, continental breakfast and Certified Angus Beef® lunch. Make sure to send in your registration forms by June 22 for your chance to participate.
Click here to download the registration and sponsorship form.
Secretary Perdue Announces Third
‘Back to Our Roots’ RV Tour
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue will kick off his third “Back to Our Roots” RV tour next Tuesday, April 3 to hear ideas and concerns from local farmers, agriculture students and researchers, business owners, community leaders, and USDA employees. Perdue will also be joined by Administrator Linda McMahon, the head of the Small Business Administration (SBA), for part of the tour. The tour spans from Tuesday to Friday and includes stops in Michigan, Ohio and Kentucky.
“As always, our ‘Back to our Roots’ RV tour is an opportunity to get out of Washington, D.C., to hear directly from the American people in the agriculture community,” Perdue said. “While Congress continues its work on the Farm Bill, rural prosperity and many other agriculture priorities, USDA stands ready to assist in any way possible and to be a voice for America’s farmers, ranchers, producers and foresters.”
This is Perdue’s third “Back to Our Roots” tour since taking office just under a year ago. On his first tour, in August of 2017, Secretary Perdue toured Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, Illinois and Indiana.
For more information, read the full USDA news release online.
Traits of a High-functioning Family Farm
In his work as a county extension agent, Glenn Newdigger works with a lot of farm families and has come to recognize that successful farm operations tend to have common attributes. Among them is the willingness to accept differences in family members’ and employees’ backgrounds and experiences, and to communicate openly and with respect for one another, said Newdigger, who is based in Stafford County, Kan., with Kansas State University (K-State) Research and Extension. Many are willing to be flexible and take some amount of risk.
He, along with co-presenters Katelyn Barthol, extension agent in the Marais Des Cygnes District, and Mark Ploger, retired extension agent from Pratt County, spoke on the subject at the recent Women Managing the Farm conference in Manhattan. Other common threads of successful family farms are a willingness to share leadership, a focus on being in the business for the good of the whole operation, and the understanding that successes should be celebrated as a team.
Newdigger spoke about the stages farms go through and noted that even high-functioning farms can find themselves in places they don’t want to be, such as when a key family member or employee dies or leaves.
Continue reading this Angus Beef Bulletin EXTRA article online.
Secretary Perdue Statement on Agreement i
n Principle on KORUS
On March 28 Perdue said regarding the agreement in principle reached by U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Republic of Korea Minister for Trade Hyun Chong Kim regarding modifications to the U.S.-Republic of Korea Free Trade Agreement (KORUS):
“I applaud President Trump, Ambassador Lighthizer, and the U.S. trade team for partnering with the Republic of Korea to modernize KORUS and protect the strong agricultural components that were built into the pact. Korea has long been an important trading partner for U.S. agriculture and currently ranks as our sixth-highest value market. U.S. agricultural exports to the country have increased 95% over the past decade, and we look forward to continued growth. Through this new agreement in principle, progress was also made with regard to Korea’s customs verification procedures, which have been a substantial concern related to exports of U.S. agricultural and industrial goods.”
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