News Update
November 17, 2011
I Am Angus Airs Nov. 21 on RFD-TV
A new episode of the American Angus Association’s I Am Angus television series will air Nov. 21 at 8 p.m. Eastern (7 p.m. Central) on RFD-TV. This month’s show is titled, “Ranching Matters: A Celebration of America’s Ranching Traditions.”
I Am Angus focuses on the heart of the Angus cattle business — its people, their heritage and why they’ve chosen to be in the Angus business. The documentary series explores each sector of the Angus breed and beef business, Angus heritage, and how animal agriculture meets the challenge of feeding a growing population.
People featured in the episode are:
- Bill and Kathy Hogue, Mission Valley Ranch of Topeka, Kan., share their efforts to preserve historic, homestead buildings that trace back to the 1860s, and why preservation of these things is important to society at large.
- Lawrence Erbes, Erbes Farms of LaCrosse, Kan., explains the history of barbed wire and its influence on American ranching.
- Janet Johannes, a Hays, Kan., historian, explores the first importation of Angus cattle — brought to the United States by Scotsman George Grant in 1873 — near Victoria, Kan.
- The Kempfer family, owners of Kempfer Land and Cattle Co., Osceola, Fla., discusses their use of Angus genetics to produce high-quality beef to sustain the world’s growing population.
- Nathan and Justin Spickler of Spickler Ranch, Glenfield, N.D., discuss why they use the Igenity® Profile for Angus to improve the genetics in their herd.
- Abbie Nelson of Five Star Land and Livestock, Wilton, Calif., shares her family’s ranching history, which traces back to the famed Escher and Ryan herd from Harlan, Iowa, in the early 1900s. Five Star Land and Livestock recently received the first-ever Century Award, presented by the American Angus Association, in honor of its 100 years in the Angus business.
- Marty Williamson, manager of Boston Ranch in Exeter, Calif., talks about how ranches not only feed the world, but also protect natural resources.
- Holly Foster of Robert Foster Ranch in Oroville, Calif., explains her family’s commitment to raising Angus cattle and preserving open spaces for her neighbors to enjoy.
The program is sponsored by the Igenity Profile for Angus and airs on RFD-TV. The network is distributed by more than 625 cable operators, and can be found on DirecTV channel 345 and Dish Network channel 231. Check local listings for more information.
For more information or to watch segments from past shows, visit www.angus.org.
Generate Farm Business Success and
Attend the Producer Summit
Enthusiastic producers and herdspeople are invited to attend The Producer Summit — Generating Success, scheduled for Dec. 9-11 at the Radisson in La Crosse, Wis.
This event is for all ages of dairy and beef producers looking for a way to generate further success of their farm business operation. It is a great event for multiple generations on the farm, farm partners, and herdspeople to attend together. This weekend is designed to engage conference-goers in educational seminars, while networking with other producers and having a great time.
Seminars for The Producer Summit include: The Balancing Act; Tough Questions in Tough Situations™; Renewable Energies Impacting Agriculture; and a Key Advisors Panel. The expert panel encompasses an accountant, an attorney and a financial advisor.
Back by popular demand from the Accelerated Genetics Young Producer Leadership Conference, but with a whole new angle and more great information to share is Jolene Brown. Brown is a farmer, author, professional speaker and champion for the family-owned business. She’s from West Branch, Iowa, and travels worldwide sharing leading-edge best practices that have the power to increase productivity, profitability and peace of mind. Her passion combined with her fun-filled spirit and valuable information brings humor, hope and helpful ideas to the people of agriculture.
Interested producers will also have the opportunity to run for the Young Producer Committee. This committee helps organize and lead the Young Producer program and activities.
All conference costs are covered for Accelerated Genetics customers with the exception of hotel rooms and travel expenses. Hotel rooms are available at the Radisson for both Dec. 9 and 10.
To register for the The Producer Summit or for more information, call 1-800-451-9276, ext. 5422, or email kstanek@accelgen.com. The deadline to register is Dec. 2.
Accelerated Genetics Offers College Scholarships
Youth are the foundation and next generation of agriculture. Accelerated Genetics is excited to present these scholarships to its customers’ families to ensure agriculture a bright future.
Youth scholarship. Accelerated Genetics awards four $500 scholarships to high school seniors planning to major in agriculture at a short course, vocational technical college or a four-year university. Any high school senior who has participated in FFA, 4-H, any of the various breed organizations or any other agricultural organization is eligible to apply.
To obtain a scholarship application, download it and/or fill it out online from the Accelerated Genetics website at www.accelgen.com, call 1-800-451-9275 or email kstanek@accelgen.com.
Collegiate scholarship. Two $1,000 scholarships are awarded to students currently enrolled in a short course, vocational technical college or a four-year university degree program. The collegiate scholarship is available to individuals who are currently in their freshman, sophomore or junior year and are majoring in any agricultural field. This scholarship program is supported by Accelerated Genetics and managed by the National FFA Foundation. This scholarship application can only be completed online at www.ffa.org. Click on Scholarships 2011.
Applicants or their parents must be currently active customers of Accelerated Genetics to be eligible for both types of scholarships. The application deadline for both is Feb. 15, 2012.
NMSU, Texas AgriLife Extension to
Host Southwest Beef Symposium in January
The Southwest Beef Symposium is a collaboration of New Mexico State University (NMSU) Extension specialists and the Texas AgriLife Extension Service. Location of the event alternates yearly between venues in West Texas and eastern New Mexico.
The eighth meeting of this annual symposium will be Tuesday and Wednesday, Jan. 17-18, at the Roswell Convention Center, 912 North Main St., Roswell, N.M.
“There were numerous lessons learned in 2011 across multiple avenues of the industry,” said Manny Encinias, NMSU Extension beef cattle specialist stationed at NMSU’s Clayton Livestock Research Center. “This year’s symposium will give attendees an optimistic insight of opportunities that lie ahead in the industry, as well as provide management framework to minimize risk back at the ranch.”
In the opening session, 1 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 17, Doug Southgate, an ag economist at Ohio State University, will discuss the challenge of meeting global demand for livestock products and other food.
Other topics to be addressed the opening day are “Cattle Marketing: Lessons Learned from Eastern Livestock” by Paul Colman of Frontera Feeders, “Market Outlook” by Paul Gutierrez of NMSU and “Record Cattle Prices: So Why Record Low Herd Numbers?” by Stan Bevers of Texas A&M University.
The first day will conclude with a panel of ranchers discussing “Fighting the Battle and Winning the Wars.” The panelists will be John Welch, CEO of Spade Ranches; Gene Whetten, ranch manager of Adobe Ranch in Magdalena, New Mexico; Houston McKenzie of McCamey, Texas; and Dennis Braden, manager of Swenson Ranches in Stamford, Texas.
Wednesday programs will be divided into a morning session focusing on putting the ranch back together after wildfire and the drought, and the afternoon session addressing nutrition management and challenges on ranches in the Southwest.
Dave DeBois, New Mexico state climatologist, will provide a glance at what the models and predictions suggest for 2012 weather in the Southwest. In other presentations, Nick Ashcroft, NMSU Extension range management specialist, will speak on how rangeland and natural resources are likely to respond after wildfires and prolonged drought; Bevers will discuss restocking and what a rancher can afford to pay for cows and bulls; and Brayden and Encinias will share what they each learned from their recent experiences managing resources, cattle and people during catastrophic wildfires on ranches they managed in Texas and New Mexico. Before lunch, John Wenzel, NMSU Extension veterinarian, will provide some helpful tips and ideas on preparing an emergency management plan for the ranch, which can be activated in case of a natural disaster or agriculture-related emergency.
Presentations will include:
- “Southwest Forage Quality: What we’ve measured over 20 years” by Kent Mills
- “How do I figure out what to feed?” by Ted McCollum
- “The FRAMS system: Drought management new technology on the horizon” by Bruce Carpenter
- “Grazing Behavior: What we are learning with GPS” by Derek Bailey
- “Dietary Interaction of Cattle and Elk Following Fire and Drought” by Sam Smallidge, NMSU Extension wildlife specialist.
Registration fee is $50, which includes a steak dinner on Tuesday night sponsored by the New Mexico Beef Council, lunch on Wednesday, refreshments, and a symposium proceedings book. Preregistration is requested by Jan. 11. For more information, contact Encinias at 575-374-2566 or Carpenter at 432-336-8585. A schedule of events, speaker information, lodging information and online registration is available at http://swbs.nmsu.edu after Dec. 1.
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