News Update
February 19, 2016
Can We Get More Cows Bred?
Cattlemen understand that getting more cows bred means the opportunity to produce more calves, which in turn equates to more beef to sell. While increasing the economic return to the rancher, it also plays an important role in increasing domestic and global beef supplies.
Looking into the future, producing more beef is especially important with the projection for the global population to add 2 billion more people to the planet during the next 35 years. As a result, the world is racing to address the grand challenge of the 21st century: “How do we feed more people?”
George Perry, South Dakota State University (SDSU) professor of animal science and beef extension reproduction specialist, is conducting research that may contribute to the solution. Perry’s research during the past decade has focused on reproduction efficiency in beef cattle. It goes back to that basic premise of more cows bred means the opportunity for more calves and more beef to be produced.
Read how his research aims to meet the challenge in this Angus Media news article online.
Business Start-up Tips
Starting any business is often a challenging proposition — especially in the cattle industry where equity is a big part of the equation. Brandon Peterson, a South Dakota Angus rancher, offers these tips for young people who have a passion for raising cattle but need help getting started.
“It’s just so important to have a plan, to write your business plan, to have your dreams and your goals and set out a vision that really meets what the market wants,” Peterson said. “Do some research and find out what the market is demanding of you, and mesh it with your vision and your goals. So your passion can be something that’ll lead to profit eventually.”
Peterson says there are many paths to get into the cattle business. There’s always the traditional lending method, but there are other niche markets to look into, as well. He mentions custom calving heifers as one way to generate some cash flow.
For all of Peterson’s tips, watch his full interview on this week’s episode of The Angus Report. You can also tune in to the show at 1:30 p.m. CST Saturday, 7:30 a.m. CST Monday and 5 p.m. CST each Wednesday on RFD-TV.
Succession and Estate Planning
Not many things in life are as sticky for families as a half-eaten lollipop on blacktop in July. Estate planning is one of the few. However, there aren’t many things as important, either.
Bill Sheets, senior director of development for gift planning at Colorado State University, presented the subject during an Angus University session at the National Angus Convention in Overland Park, Kan. A member of a fifth-generation farm family in Indiana, Sheets knows agriculture. With 30 years’ experience in estate planning, he knows how to advise families, but only recently did Sheets actually experience firsthand the steps of transitioning the farm.
Last year, his father-in-law passed away, and 28 days later, so did his mother-in-law. Sheets said because the family worked together to put the tools in place, the arrangement for transitioning the farm was smooth and completed in less than a year.
He credited the smooth transition to family participation and meeting with a third-party planning agency to arrange the details, followed by meeting with an attorney to sort out any legalities.
For more information, view the full Angus Media news article online.
Association Bylaw Changes
Members should be aware that a few important bylaws of the American Angus Association were amended at the National Convention of Delegates in November 2015. Most notably, two amendments affect who can serve as voting delegates and the timing and duration of the nomination period.
The biggest change affects who can be an eligible voting member — those who are able to nominate, be nominated, vote or be elected in the annual election of delegates. According to the approved amendment, eligible voting members must be regular or active life members of the American Angus Association and 18 years of age or older.
The second change is that eligible voting members must have either registered at least one animal or have done a set amount of business, not counting membership fees, with the American Angus Association or Angus Genetics Inc. (AGI) within the last year before the start of the nomination period.
For all the details, please view the full Angus Media news article online.
Ridley Block Operations Expands Production
Ridley Block Operations (RBO), a division of Ridley Inc., an Alltech company, has recently expanded its livestock feed supplement low moisture block (LMB) manufacturing. LMB manufacturing in addition to RBO’s existing blocks, tubs and mineral supplements will now be available out of Flemingsburg, Ky.
Customers can now source a broader selection of RBO feed supplement products from a single location and redeem the benefits of full truckload orders.
For more information, please view the full Ridley news release online.
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