News Update
November 7, 2011
Angus Education Sessions Planned for
North American International Livestock Expo
The American Angus Association has announced six planned programs as part of its Angus Education Center at the North American International Livestock Exposition (NAILE) in Louisville, Ky. The sessions will be hosted Sunday and Monday, Nov. 12 and 13, in the South Wing C — Room 201 of the Kentucky Fair & Expo Center (KFEC). The sessions include:
Sunday, Nov. 12
- 10 a.m. – Breeder Feedback Session: AAA Login & Member Services
- 11 a.m. – Opportunities for Reproductive Traits: Pathfinder Plus
- Noon – Board Mixer: One-on-one with the Directors
Monday, Nov. 13
- 10 a.m. – Selection Tools: DNA for You and Your Customers
- 11 a.m. – Heterosis: A Free Lunch, But At What Cost
- Noon – Board Mixer: One-on-one with the Directors
Original C.J. Brown Print to
Commemorate Auxiliary’s 60th Anniversary
In 2012, the American Angus Auxiliary will celebrate 60 years of promoting the Angus breed and supporting Angus youth. The yearlong celebration will kick off this coming Sunday, Nov. 13, at the Auxiliary’s annual breakfast hosted in conjunction with the North American International Livestock Exposition (NAILE) in Louisville, Ky. To commemorate the celebration, an original, brand new C.J. Brown print, “Proud Past, Bright Future,” will be auctioned off at the breakfast. In addition to the original, a limited number of prints and limited edition artist proofs will be available for $60 and $75, respectively, in the Angus Gift Barn. Be sure to stop by, visit with the ladies and support the Auxiliary as it celebrates 60 years.
Kansas Junior Beef Producer Day Planned
for Jan. 7, 2012, at K-State
Jan. 7, 2012, is the date for the Kansas Junior Beef Producer Day to be at Kansas State University (K-State) Weber Arena in Manhattan.
The day will bring together youth, parents, beef project leaders and others to increase their knowledge about beef production and management.
Registration begins at 9 a.m., with the program starting at 9:30 a.m.
Featured speakers and K-State faculty and staff will cover such topics as:
- Selecting Your Youth Beef Project
- Facilities and General Care
- Breeds and Beef Identification
- Meat and Carcass Evaluation
- Selecting Your Next Show Heifer Project to be a Great Cow
- Nutrition
- Showmanship Clinic
- Nose Printing, Tattooing, Fitting Demonstration and Ultrasound
All participants will receive a T-shirt and a complimentary lunch. The event is sponsored by K-State Research and Extension; the Kansas Beef Council; Valley Vet Supply; and Land o’ Lakes/Purina Feed LLC.
The cost to register is $15 per person if postmarked by Dec. 9; $20 if postmarked after that date. Participants who register after Dec. 9 cannot be guaranteed a T-shirt. More information and printable registration forms are available by contacting Chelsea Tomascik (tomascik@ksu.edu or 785-532-1264) or Scott Schaake (simmi@ksu.edu or 785-532-1242) or online.
Source and Age Premium Expected to Decline
According to an article in CattleFax Trends, premiums paid by packers for cattle that are age-verified as being under 21 months of age will decline in 2012. During the past several years premiums have ranged from $12 to $45 per head depending on the packer and time of the year. Premiums declined this spring and are expected to decline even more next year.
Following the bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) case in December 2003, the Beef Export Verification (BEV) program was put into place after negotiations with countries to which the U.S. exported beef. In particular, the BEV had to meet one of two requirements for U.S. beef to be exported into Japan: 1) beef had to be sourced from cattle younger than 21 months of age, and 2) beef carcasses evaluated by USDA meat graders had to be from cattle identified as A40 (about 18 months) physiological maturity or younger. USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) estimates that about 8% of the cattle graded meet this latter requirement.
Both of these factors have affected the premium paid for source- and age-verified cattle at the feedlot level. Furthermore, some of that premium has been passed back to producers of age-verified feeder cattle based on market prices received. The packer-paid premiums have been larger in the winter and spring months when numbers of age-verified cattle are fewer. Once the calf-fed cattle began being harvested in greater numbers (late spring and summer) from feedlots, the premiums paid by packers declined.
In my July article, I indicated that feedlot buyers needed to increase the premiums paid for age-verified cattle if they wanted more loads of mostly commingled age-verified cattle from the Southeast. Based on later reported information, packers are getting more age-verified cattle, so cattle buyers may well not see the need to pay larger premiums to producers of feeder cattle. Data from the Superior Livestock Auction calf sales indicated that the percentage of source- and age-verified calves has increased from 6.6% in 2005 to 48% in 2010. Data for 2011 are not complete, but it appears that the percentage of source- and age-verified calves will easily top 50%. In addition, more packers are working closely with the USDA to identify A40 carcasses, lessening the demand for source- and age-verified cattle. CattleFax expects the premiums for source- and age-verified cattle next spring to be the smallest since the program began in 2005, due to the larger population of cattle qualifying for export. Producers retaining ownership should anticipate source and age premiums to be one-half of what they received in 2011. For feeder cattle sold in Tennessee, premiums for age-verified calves would also likely decline, if the reduction is seen at the feedlot packer level.
Distillers’ Grains Research Initiative
Yields Know-How More Quickly
A three-year initiative that created a beef cattle advisory committee to oversee a research partnership between the Nebraska Corn Board and the University of Nebraska resulted in a number of important breakthroughs when it comes to feeding distillers’ grains to cattle.
The initiative, which wrapped up this year, allowed an advisory committee to work with university researchers to more quickly identify research projects that would benefit cattle producers. The Nebraska Corn Board provided funding for the projects. This reduced the lag time between research projects and doubled the amount of research conducted during the initiative.
“We were very pleased with how everything came together, as it allowed the corn checkoff to fund key research and more quickly advance the understanding of feeding distillers’ grains to cattle,” said Kelly Brunkhorst, director of research for the Nebraska Corn Board. “While this initiative has ended, the Nebraska Corn Board continues to fund research and further expand our knowledge and understanding of feeding distillers’ grains to cattle. We believe distillers’ grains, which are produced by ethanol plants, give Nebraska cattle producers a tremendous advantage in the marketplace, so the more we know the better.”
Some of the key results for feedlot cattle include:
- Drying distillers’ grains increases production cost, greenhouse gas emissions and does not have as positive an impact on cattle performance compared to using wet distillers’ grains. Modified distillers’ grains, meanwhile, is intermediate to wet and dry distillers’ grains. Understanding this has huge implications for Nebraska as Nebraska cattle producers can utilize wet distillers’ grains due to the proximity of corn, cattle and ethanol plants. “The research provided excellent results on comparing these types of distillers’ grains,” said Galen Erickson, a beef feedlot specialist with the University of Nebraska.
- A rumen degradable sulfur concept was established and better explains hydrogen sulfide production, which can cause the polio observed with high-sulfur diets from distillers’ grains feeding. “Based on metabolism work on sulfur funded through the research initiative, we have degradabilities for different distillers’ grains, and hydrogen sulfide production in different feedlot diets containing distillers,” said Erickson. “Likewise, we have recommendations on polio incidence as dietary sulfur and rumen degradable sulfur increase in feedlot diets.”
Some of the key results for cattle on forage include:
- The energy value of distillers’ grains in forage based-diets was relatively unknown and a major need by the industry. “Thanks to research conducted through the initiative, this is now known and is well-established,” said Aaron Stalker, a beef range specialist with the university. The comparison was also made to other major energy supplements in forage diets, such as corn.
- Research also found that replacing nitrogen fertilizer by supplementing distillers’ grains to grazing cattle will have major implications and has been effective in intensely grazed pastures. “Plus, supplemented cattle have greater removal of nitrogen, from supplement compared to fertilizer, and perform better,” Terry Klopfenstein, professor of animal science, added.
While many important strides were made during the last three years, the Nebraska Corn Board recognizes that additional research needs remain when it comes to distillers’ grains.
“Ethanol production technology continues to advance,” Brunkhorst said.
For example, some ethanol plants are extracting corn oil for other uses and that changes the distillers’ grains. “We need to understand that and devote resources to additional research,” Brunkhorst said, “but we have limitations simply because our budget is limited by what is available via the corn checkoff, which is the lowest of all leading corn states.”
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