News Update

August 8, 2017

Vintage Angus Donating Heifer for 2018 Angus Foundation Heifer Package

The Angus Foundation is pleased to announce that Jim Coleman, Vintage Angus Ranch, Modesto, Calif., is donating the heifer that will anchor the Angus Foundation Heifer Package.

“It is an honor for Vintage Angus Ranch to donate the 2018 Angus Foundation heifer,” says Jim Coleman, Vintage Angus Ranch owner. “We are selecting a very elite female to represent the very best of Vintage Angus Ranch that truly delivers upon our goal of producing ultimate Angus genetics. Again, we are humbled by this prestigious invitation from the Angus Foundation and consider it a privilege to give back to the Angus breed.”

The Angus Foundation Heifer Package will be auctioned on Jan. 10, 2018, at the National Western Stock Show (NWSS) in Denver, Colo.

“We are honored that Vintage Angus Ranch has stepped up to donate the female for the 2018 Angus Foundation Heifer Package,” says Milford Jenkins, Angus Foundation president. “This heifer will provide the lucky buyer with some of the best genetics in the Angus breed while simultaneously generating funds for educational, research and youth activities advancing the Angus breed.”

Continue reading this Angus news release online

— Adapted from a release by Milford Jenkins, Angus Foundation.

Daily Livestock Report Aug. 7, 2017

U.S. meat exports were higher in June, but the trends were more positive for beef than for pork and chicken. Below are key highlights and implications for July and August:

Beef: Sharply higher U.S. beef prices in May and June have done little so far to slow down the pace of U.S. exports. Total shipments of fresh/frozen and cooked beef for the month were 78,708 metric tons (MT), 11.7% higher than a year ago. The gains in exports were broad based. Exports to Japan, the largest market so far this year, were 22,794 MT, 12% higher than a year ago. Higher tariffs for U.S. beef have the potential to nick demand for U.S. beef in this market in the coming month but that is not entirely a given. Fed cattle prices are lower than in Q2 and a weaker U.S. dollar has the potential to offset the impact from higher tariffs. Exports to Mexico in June were 10,898 MT, 16% higher than last year while exports to South Korea at 13,813 MT were up 13% from a year ago.

Read the full report online at www.dailylivestockreport.com.

— Adapted from a release by Len Steiner, Steiner Consulting Group.

Cattle Prices Hit Summer Swoon

Fed-cattle prices took another step lower to end June, finishing up in the low $120s per hundredweight (cwt.) across fed-cattle country. Prices dropped about $17 per cwt. over the course of the month. While the average price for the week remained just above last year’s price, the ratcheting down of cattle prices looks a lot like last year’s price chart pattern. Not only have cattle prices declined, but the Choice beef cutout is down about $25 per cwt. during the same time period.

Why lower prices? One reason is getting all the beef orders filled for the early summer holidays of Memorial Day and Independence Day. Now that those big demand holidays are past, some pressure is off. It’s a long time until Labor Day. Following relatively tight supplies, fueled by a rapid pace of slaughter earlier in the year and fed-cattle weights well below a year ago, supplies are starting to increase seasonally. Steer slaughter remains slightly above last year’s pace, while heifer slaughter in recent weeks has run close to 10% above last year.

Read this Angus Beef Bulletin EXTRA article online.

— Adapted from an article by David Anderson, Texas A&M University.

Livestock Industry Reacts to
Greater Sage Grouse Conservation Report

On Aug. 7 the Public Lands Council (PLC) and the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) responded to the release of the Department of the Interior report on Order 3353, Greater Sage Grouse Conservation and Cooperation with Western States.

“During an initial review of the report, I was encouraged by several key priorities including the compatibility of proper grazing management and conservation,” said PLC President Dave Eliason. “The report acknowledges the need for a more collaborative approach between grazing permittees and federal leadership, as well as a reexamination of the Habitat Objectives Table and its application — both key elements to successful conservation efforts for the Greater Sage Grouse. The report also reinforced the need to pursue outcome-based grazing demonstration projects and targeted grazing pilot projects, two critical tools for responsive management of ecosystems and fuel loads. The Public Lands Council and National Cattlemen’s Beef Association stand ready to collaborate with the Department of the Interior moving forward.”

— Adapted from a release by the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association.

Adopting Technology

The beef industry’s greatest challenge and greatest opportunity are actually one and the same, said the University of Missouri’s Dave Patterson at the National Association of Animal Breeders (NAAB) Symposium hosted May 31 as part of the Beef Improvement Federation (BIF) Symposium in Athens, Ga., May 31-June 3.

Patterson, creator of Missouri’s Show-Me-Select™ replacement heifer program, said the industry’s greatest challenge is producer reluctance to adopt new technology. Its greatest opportunity? On-the-shelf technology not being used — that works.

Nearly 70% of cow-calf enterprises are reported by producers as being a secondary income source. Only 10%-15% of all beef cattle enterprises utilize artificial insemination (AI). That can and should be improved, Patterson said.

“In many respects, it’s a value-added program,” Patterson said of the Show-Me-Select program. AI adds value.

What Patterson called “the technology problem” is well-intended. As more research is conducted, more advanced technology results, leading to greater complexity and sophistication. Fewer people understand it, fewer people trust it, and progress is slowed, he said.

Learn more in the full Angus Beef Bulletin EXTRA article online.

— Adapted from an article by Shelby Mettlen, Angus Media.

— Compiled by Paige Nelson, field editor, Angus Media.