News Update
August 20, 2013
Policy Established for
DD Genetic Condition
The American Angus Association announced Aug. 12 that a genetic condition has been identified and documented in Angus cattle through research initiated in Australia with Jonathan Beever at the University of Illinois. This condition, inherited as a simple recessive, has been designated as Developmental Duplication (DD). The Board of Directors convened by phone Aug. 12 to consider the implications of this genetic condition. At the conclusion of that meeting, President Phil Trowbridge appointed a Task Force and directed it to report to the full board as soon as practical how the Association should respond to this condition considering the best interests of the breed and the membership, the evolving scientific advances in the field of genetics, members’ ability to manage such conditions, and the likelihood that the scientific community will continue to identify genetic conditions in all breeds with increasing frequency in the future.
Trowbridge announced and explained the policy established with regard to DD in a letter to Angus breeders posted on the Association’s classic website (www.angus.org/angus.aspx) Aug. 14.
Artificial insemination (AI) organizations requested the Association provide to the membership the identity of and preliminary test results for 1,099 Angus bulls tested by Beever to determine whether they were carriers or free of the mutation identified for this genetic condition. The Association Board of Director’s decision to provide that information to the membership is based in part on its understanding that the test used here was run on a set of animals requested by Beever from the AI organizations for research purposes and therefore remains preliminary in nature. (For an update on the research by Beever, the list of the animals and their preliminary test results, please click here.)
Commercial availability of a test for DD status (carrier or free) is expected within weeks and will be announced on www.angus.org/angus.aspx.
Beef Quality Assurance Program
Slated for Sept. 5 at Alpine, Texas
A Texas Beef Quality Assurance (BQA) program is set from 8:30 a.m.-2 p.m. followed by a live-cattle handling demonstration from 2:15 p.m.-3:30 p.m. Sept. 5 at Sul Ross State University’s Everett E. Turner Range Animal Science Building in Alpine, Texas.
The Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service offices in Jeff Davis/Brewster, Presidio and Pecos counties are partnering with Sul Ross State University, the Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association (TSCRA) and the Texas Beef Council to conduct the program aimed at helping cattlemen produce a safer, more wholesome food product, said Logan Boswell, AgriLife Extension agent for Jeff Davis/Brewster counties.
There is no charge for the program, but attendees should RSVP by Aug. 31 to the TSCRA at 1-800-242-7820, Boswell at 432-249-0265, or to the AgriLife Extension office in Brewster County at 432-837-6207, so an accurate lunch count can be made. More information is also available from the AgriLife Extension office.
Boswell said BQA is a national program that provides guidelines for beef cattle production. The goal is to raise consumer confidence through proper management techniques and a commitment to quality within every segment of the beef industry.
The morning topics will include talks on the BQA program, industry updates, recordkeeping, environmental stewardship and proper management practices associated with genetic selection, cattle handling, culling, vaccination, drug use and other production-related topics.
“How cattle are managed and treated while on the ranch to a large degree governs their eventual quality,” Boswell said. “So our afternoon program will focus heavily on stockmanship and stewardship.”
Three Texas Department of Agriculture continuing education units, one integrated pest management and two general, will be available to those with a valid private applicator’s license. For more information, please view the Angus Journal Virtual Library calendar of events here.
— Adapted from a release by Steve Byrns for Texas A&M AgriLife Extension
New Cookbooklet Showcases All-time Beef Favorites
Forty of the Beef Checkoff Program’s best recent recipes have been highlighted in a new 80-page cookbooklet now available. Beef. It’s what’s for dinner. Our All-Time Favorites: Fabulous and Nutritious Lean Beef Recipes was coordinated by the Federation of State Beef Councils for use by state beef councils nationwide in their outreach to nutrition and health professionals, as well as consumer audiences.
Recipes in the booklet are divided into several categories, including breakfast; salads; soups; stews and chilis; small plates and appetizers; sandwiches and burgers; grilling; skillet dishes and stir-fries; and slow cooking. Each of the recipes has been triple tested in the beef checkoff’s test kitchen. Nutrition information is also included.
The durable 6.25 × 9-inch full-color booklet contains photos of the recipes and handy cooking information. It is spiral bound and UV-coated for repeated kitchen use, and includes a foldout page that can be used as a place marker.
Development of the booklet was a collaborative effort of checkoff professionals in the culinary, food communications, nutrition and federation services areas.
“The booklet features recipes with a wide variety of flavor profiles and cooking methods,” according to Don Waite, senior director, federation state services at the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA), a contractor to the Beef Checkoff Program. “They are recipes the entire family can enjoy all day long. This makes a great gift, as it is a terrific kitchen tool and resource for cooks everywhere.”
In addition to being available from state beef council offices, the booklet can be purchased for $5.99, plus shipping and handling, at www.beefstore.org.
Fall Field Day Planned Sept. 4 in Hays
Everything from food-grade sorghum to wheat breeding to cover crops and more are features of the 2013 Fall Field Day planned for Wednesday, Sept. 4 at the Kansas State University (K-State) Research and Extension Agricultural Research Center in Hays, Kan.
A highlight of the day is a tour and presentation on the center’s new greenhouse and the benefits it will bring to K-State researchers and ultimately producers. The field day begins with registration at 8:30 a.m., followed by the program at 9 a.m.
K-State Research and Extension specialists will give presentations in the field and auditorium, including: New Greenhouse for Research: Bugs, Weeds and Stronger Plants; Systems Approach to Managing Weeds in Soybeans; New Herbicide-tolerant Traits in Soybeans; Sorghum Breeding: What’s in the Pipeline?; Twenty-first Century Tools for Western Kansas Wheat Breeding; Adding Value: Food Grade Grain Sorghum; Plant-to-Plant and Field-to-Field: Insect Movement and Consequences for Pest Management; and the Importance of Fallow and Fallow Alternatives: Cover Crops and Annual Forages.
A complimentary lunch will be served.
For more information, please view the Angus Journal Virtual Library calendar of events here.
Ag Secretary Announces Projects to
Improve Farm and Rural Business Energy Efficiency
Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack announced funding Aug. 15 for 631 projects across the nation — including 45 in North Carolina — that will help agricultural producers and rural small businesses reduce their energy consumption and costs, use renewable energy technologies in their operations and/or conduct feasibility studies for renewable energy projects. Grant and loan funding is made available through the USDA Rural Energy for America Program (REAP), which is authorized by the 2008 Farm Bill.
With the announcement, USDA is making investments of more than $21 million in energy projects nationwide. Despite budget uncertainties, USDA remains focused on strengthening the rural economy.
“As part of the Obama Administration’s ‘all-of-the-above’ energy strategy, USDA continues to work with America’s farmers, ranchers and rural businesses to help them save energy and improve their bottom line,” Vilsack said. “This program and others like it would not be available without a Food, Farm and Jobs Bill, and again I urge members of Congress to pass a bill when they return to Washington next month.”
Farmers, ranchers, business owners and agriculture producers in 41 other states, the U.S. Virgin Islands and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico will also receive funding. For example, Iron Mountain Nursery in Stagecoach, Nev., will use a $12,476 grant to install a 7 kW solar photovoltaic system to provide power for its farm and nursery. This project is expected to generate 13,000 kW of energy annually.
Under the terms of REAP, up to 25% of an eligible energy production or conservation project can be funded through a grant, and additional support can be provided in the form of a loan. Since the start of the Obama Administration, REAP has helped fund nearly 7,000 renewable energy and energy efficiency projects nationwide.
For more information, please view the full release here.
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