News Update
Aug. 28, 2009

Angus Foundation Invests $75,000 in Research

Producing a quality product to satisfy customers has long been the goal of Angus breeders. Helping to fund research activities for the purpose of advancing the agricultural industry, benefiting Angus breeders and other beef producers has long been a goal of the Angus Foundation. By investing in two specific research projects aimed at helping Angus producers fulfill their goals, the Angus Foundation is doing its part to ensure the future of the Angus breed and the cattle industry are on the cutting edge of science and profitability.

One of the projects, spearheaded by Stephen Smith of Texas A&M University (TAMU), aims to create more of these satisfied customers.

The American Angus Association®’s Research Priorities Committee set similar goals last fall, and sought financial support from its nonprofit affiliate the Angus Foundation.

Smith, along with colleagues at the University of Idaho and Texas Tech University, submitted the proposal titled, “Regulation of Marbling Development in Beef Cattle by Specific Fatty Acids.” Read more.

MU Report: Corn Could Stay Below $4 Through 2014

U.S. corn prices are expected to average $3.47 per bushel (bu.) in the 2009-2010 marketing year beginning Sept. 1 then gradually increase annually to reach $3.98 by 2014-2015, according to a University of Missouri (MU) report cited by Meatingplace.com.

In newly updated projections, MU researchers forecast U.S. soybean prices will average $9.44 per bu. in 2009-2010, fall to $9.12 in 2010-2011 then climb incrementally to average $9.74 by 2014-2015. It predicted soybean meal prices will remain below $300 per ton during the next five years, according to Meatingplace.com.

Nebraska direct steers [1,100-pound (lb.)-1,300-lb.] were expected to average $85.07 in 2009, then increase annually to reach $101.93 by 2013 before tapering off to $100.05 in 2014, according to the article.

TIME Article Sparks Heated Reaction

The fallout continues this week from a recent Time magazine cover story titled “Getting Real about the High Price of Cheap Food.” Reaction has boiled from producers, industry organizations and agricultural media who argue the article was written with blatant factual errors and skewed reporting.

The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) says it provided a laundry list of experts and science to a Time magazine writer, but the production agriculture side was completely ignored in the cover story, Pork magazine reports.

NCBA’s Daren Williams told Pork, “In 20 years, I have not seen reporting sink to this kind of low.”

The article begins:

“Somewhere in Iowa, a pig is being raised in a confined pen, packed in so tightly with other swine that their curly tails have been chopped off so they won't bite one another. To prevent him from getting sick in such close quarters, he is dosed with antibiotics. The waste produced by the pig and his thousands of pen mates on the factory farm where they live goes into manure lagoons that blanket neighboring communities with air pollution and a stomach-churning stench. He's fed on American corn that was grown with the help of government subsidies and millions of tons of chemical fertilizer. When the pig is slaughtered, at about 5 months of age, he'll become sausage or bacon that will sell cheap, feeding an American addiction to meat that has contributed to an obesity epidemic currently afflicting more than two-thirds of the population. And when the rains come, the excess fertilizer that coaxed so much corn from the ground will be washed into the Mississippi River and down into the Gulf of Mexico, where it will help kill fish for miles and miles around. That's the state of your bacon — circa 2009.”

To read the full article click here.

To listen to an AgriTalk interview with NCBA’s Williams, click here.

Thompson Farm Field Day to Highlight Progress in Cattle Breeding, Sept. 22

Field day visitors will see the 300-cow beef herd used to perfect five nationally noted breeding protocols at the MU Thompson Farm in northwest Grundy County.

“There are dramatic changes in the cow herd. Dramatic in productivity, uniformity and carcass merit,” said David Patterson, MU Extension beef specialist, Columbia. He will tell of 10 years of breeding improvements.

The field day, Sept. 22, starts at 9 a.m. Registration and exhibits open at 8:30 a.m.

Patterson will describe the latest research to simplify timed artificial insemination (AI). The protocols allow producers to breed all cows, or heifers, in their herd on the same day, which eliminates labor for heat detection. Read more.

Preparing for Fall Forage Planting

The timely rains provide a great opportunity to fall-seed forages. The most successful time to seed forages in northwest Missouri is the first two weeks of September. This is the ideal target. Before and after these dates, the seeding success is reduced.

Typically, we want new forage seedlings to have about 6 to 7 weeks of growth before the first killing frost. Late seeding often has the problem of winter survival.

Correcting the soil pH level and fertilizing with appropriate levels of phosphorus and potassium are best made before seeding. Soil-test and select the appropriate recommendation for the type of forage being grown. Different forage types require different fertilizer recommendations for establishment.

Also, one should control any weeds present. One of our problem weeds in alfalfa is curly dock. We often have to move to a new field and start a new field when we have this weed problem. Winter annuals and other weeds should be controlled before seeding.

Fall seeding is best handled no-till. This has the advantage of maintaining soil moisture. If tillage is used, be sure that the new seed has good soil to seed contact. Be sure to plant at the recommended seeding rates and at a depth of 1/4 to 3/8 inch.

Once a new planting is established, monitor the new seeding for insect damage especially around the field border. Grasshopper and other insect pests like new legume seedlings such as alfalfa and can kill the new forage plants.

If you have weeds competing with the forages, then herbicides may be used to control weeds. Also, clipping the new planting can be used to prevent shading of new forages from weeds. Adjust the mower height so as to cut above the forages while cutting the weeds.

Do not fall harvest or cut seedlings. Let the new seedlings get established so they can survive the winter and be prepared for rapid growth next spring. Next spring; manage the stand as you would your other established stands.

For more information, contact Wayne Flanary at 660-446-3724 or Heather Benedict at 660-425-6434, University of Missouri Regional Extension Agronomists.

— by Wayne Flanary, agronomy specialist, from the August 2009 Northwest Missouri Extension News.

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