Marbling to Top the Market
It was a case of good news, bad news when Donny Stephens got the closeout sheets from his first experience with retained ownership. About eight years ago, the Marion Junction, Ala., producer and his wife, Pat, sent a load of steers to Decatur County Feedyard, a Certified Angus Beef LLC (CAB)-licensed feedlot near Oberlin, Kan.
“They gained great but didn’t grade as well,”Stephens recalls. “We had a lot of Selects and not as many Choice cattle. That headed us in the direction of Angus.”
The base herd at Stephens Farm was Limousin and Limousin-cross, inherited from Stephens’ father. “His thinking was the American public wanted lean meat. Now we know that isn’t the whole story.”Read more.
Welcome
Welcome to the Angus Beef Bulletin Extra. As publishers of Angus Beef Bulletin,® we at Angus Productions Inc. (API) join with the American Angus Association® and Certified Angus Beef LLC (CAB) to broaden our commitment to the commercial cattleman. Click here to learn more about API's newest e-mail news service, Angus Beef Bulletin Extra, or to sign up for the free service if you have not already done so.
Barack Obama Sworn In
How will agriculture fare under President Obama?
In a historic ceremony today, Sen. Barack Obama became President Obama on the steps of the nation’s Capitol. The 44th President of the United States will no doubt have much work ahead of him in the coming weeks, and healing the nation’s economic turmoil and instability will be priority No. 1. But in the next few months — and years, for that matter — how will agriculture fare under the influence of the former Illinois senator? Read more.
Learn the Facts:
Arthrogryposis Multiplex
Producers having questions regarding arthrogryposis multiplex (AM), commonly referred to as curly calf syndrome, may visit the American Angus Association’s web site for complete information about the genetic defect, common questions, authorized testing labs, and a list of AM-tested carrier animals and AM-tested free animals. Click here for further information.
Ty Groshans
Association Perspective
Bull selection
Selecting bulls for breeding season can be both exciting and stressful. While looking through sale books at various pedigrees, performance records and photographs, cattlemen begin to analyze which bulls will work in their operation and which bulls will meet their goals relative to positive directional change. Read more.
News Briefs
• New Conservation Agency
• Vilsack, Salazar Appointed to Office
• COOL Labels Coming Soon
• Cellulosic Ethanol — the “Q microbe”
• NCBA Names New CEO
Utah researchers are:
Giving Beef a Future
Rangeland beef producers face higher production costs and questions about the future of grazing on public land. In Utah, university researchers are studying irrigated pasture as an alternative to the increasingly complex issue of grazing on public lands. The results thus far have surprised some. Read more.
New Day in the Sun
The 2009 Cattle Industry Annual Convention & NCBA Trade Show will take place next week, Jan. 26-31. Cattlemen will gather in Phoenix, Ariz., for the annual event, themed “A New Day in the Sun,”which features the joint and individual meetings of five industry organizations — the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA), the Cattlemen’s Beef Promotion and Research Board (CBB), the American National CattleWomen Inc. (ANCW), Cattle-Fax and the National Cattlemen’s Foundation (NCF).
Click here to visit Angus Productions Inc.’s (API’s) meeting coverage site for news before, during and after the conference. You may also visit NCBA’s convention site for the schedule, meeting previews and pre-conference materials.