Show-Me-Select Heifers Set to Sell Nov. 21 in Southwest Missouri

The first of five Show-Me Select sales will feature replacement heifers Nov. 21 at Joplin Regional Stockyards, Carthage.

The bred heifers, guaranteed pregnant when sold, are from a yearlong heifer management program overseen by University of Missouri (MU) Extension specialists. The heifers are bred to sires with high accuracy on calving ease in the top one-third of their breed.

Copies of the sale catalog are available from Livestock Specialist Eldon Cole at 417-466-3102.

The number of heifers consigned this fall is up, with 320 head from 20 producers in the catalog. “About three-fourths of the heifers are Angus or Angus-cross, with a fair number of red heifers this year,” Cole said. “More of the heifers than usual are bred by artificial insemination.”

The sale will start at 7 p.m. The heifers will be on display the afternoon before the sale, sorted into pens according to similarities and calving dates.

Other sale dates, locations and regional coordinators are:

• Nov. 29, 11 a.m.: Kingsville (Mo.) Livestock Auction; David Hoffman, 816-380-8460;
• Dec. 6, 1 p.m.: Fruitland (Mo.) Livestock Sales, Inc.; Roger Eakins, 573-243-3581;
• Dec. 6, 1 p.m.: Green City (Mo.) Livestock Market; Jim Humphrey, 816-324-3147; Chris Zumbrunnen, 660-265-4541; and
• Dec. 13, 12:30 p.m.: F&T Livestock Market, Palmyra, Mo.; Al Kennett, 573-985-3911.

The heifers are pregnancy-checked twice, with the last check within 30 days of the sale. Livestock graders from the Missouri Department of Agriculture inspect the heifers as they arrive at the sale barn. Heifers that do not meet the standards of the sale are sent home.

The program, which has operated in the state for 12 years, is now overseen by a private group of producers as a nonprofit organization.

For more information about the program, visit http://agebb.missouri.edu/select/.

Get the Facts on Selling and Buying Manure in Iowa

“Selling and Buying Manure in Iowa,” a fact sheet developed by members of the Iowa Manure Management Action Group (IMMAG) is now available. This fact sheet is the 10th fact sheet in the series and is written to assist producers in Iowa who want to sell or buy animal manure. The series of fact sheets, including the newly released “Selling and Buying Manure in Iowa,” is available at http://www.agronext.iastate.edu/immag/pubsimms.html.

“This valuable tool comes at a time when more farmers are considering the application of manure as an alternative to high-priced commercial fertilizers this fall,” said Angela Rieck-Hinz, Iowa State University Extension program specialist. “The fact sheet discusses selling regulated and nonregulated manure sources as well as things to consider when buying manure.”

— Release provided by Iowa State University.

Daily Livestock Report

Beef and pork exports for September, while full in volume, hint at troubling trends, according to the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) Daily Livestock Report.

Beef exports received a strong boost in September from the resumption of beef trade with South Korea, the report notes. Korea is the second-largest destination for U.S. beef, following Mexico, which decreased in export volumes from last month by 18%. Exports to Mexico have bounced back, however, from October.

PETA Pushing Higher Insurance Premiums for Meat Eaters

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) is urging a Vermont insurance company to raise health insurance premiums for people who eat meat and to lower premiums for vegetarians.

According to NBC news affiliate WPTZ in Vermont, PETA sent a letter earlier this week to Bill Milnes Jr., president of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Vermont, asking the company to raise rates on meat eaters due to heart disease, diabetes and other diseases “conclusively linked to the consumption of meat and other animal products” as well as an increased risk for E. coli contamination.

According to WPTZ, however, Blue Cross won’t likely take PETA’s suggestion soon.

“Under Vermont law, we would not be allowed to vary rates based on the dietary and nutritional habits of various members,” said Kevin Goddard, Blue Cross’s vice president of external affairs. He did, however, say that Blue Cross is always looking to have the healthiest members possible, but “we have no information one way or the other if vegetarians are more healthy.”

compiled by Crystal Albers, associate editor, Angus Productions Inc.