Angus — The Business Breed


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Spring Blizzard Strikes Heartland

Oklahoma’s Cimarron County reports 1,700 head of cattle dead after April weather event.

On April 29-30, 2017, an unexpected spring snowstorm plastered parts of eastern New Mexico and Colorado, the Texas and Oklahoma panhandles, and western Kansas and Nebraska with 12 inches (in.) to 24 in. or more of snow and 60 mph wind gusts.


While this region of cattle country is no stranger to harsh and sometimes erratic weather patterns, the devastation of the storm surprised most people in its path. The storm’s mid-spring timing and cocktail of wet snow and harsh wind left a trail of dead cattle, lost cattle, power outages, downed tree limbs and, in some places, 8-foot (ft.)-high snow drifts. Read more.


Radale Tiner

Radale Tiner

Association Perspective

Building a brand.

We have all heard the phrase “building a brand.” What does this truly mean? Does it mean an actual character that is branded onto your animals? Does it mean a slogan or logo that you have created? Does it represent the quality of product that people automatically think of when they hear your name? I am going to try to describe what I think “building a brand” truly means.


As human beings, we subconsciously relate quality to a name when we hear it. For example, when we hear the word Cadillac, we automatically think of a luxury car. When we hear the name Michael Jordan, we think of a phenomenal basketball player. As cattlemen and cattlewomen when we hear the words Certified Angus Beef®, we think of a high-quality steak. We have an automatic reaction in our minds when we hear each of these names. Read more.


Answering Consumer Questions

New tools available to answer consumer questions about beef production.

Do your consumers ever wonder what the difference is between grass-fed and organic beef? Confused by terms like “antibiotic-free” and “raised without antibiotics?” New tools are now available to help consumers answer these and many other questions about today’s beef production.


“Today’s consumer demands transparency and more information about how their food, including beef, is raised and grown,” Mandy Carr, senior executive director of science and product solutions for the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA), a contractor to the beef checkoff. “Cattle farmers and ranchers are committed to providing answers to their questions.” Read more.


Ag Secretary Moves to Provide
Nutrition Flexibility for School Meals

Perdue gives more local control of whole grains, sodium and milk to make meals healthful and appealing.

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue May 1 announced that the USDA will provide greater flexibility in nutrition requirements for school meal programs in order to make food choices both healthful and appealing to students. Perdue made the announcement during a visit to Catoctin Elementary School in Leesburg, Va., to mark School Nutrition Employee Week.


Perdue signed a proclamation, which begins the process of restoring local control of guidelines on whole grains, sodium and milk. Perdue was joined by Kansas Senator Pat Roberts, chairman of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, and Patricia Montague, CEO of the School Nutrition Association. Read more.


What’s Inside …

In this May edition of the Angus Beef Bulletin EXTRA, you'll find valuable articles devoted to the management, marketing, and health and nutrition of your beef enterprise. Select from the tabs at the top of the page to access this month’s entire offering by category. A few select features include:


News Briefs …

The American Angus Association and its subsidiaries generate a wealth of information to keep members and affiliates informed of what's happening within the industry, as well as with the programs and services they offer. Click here for easy access to the newsrooms of the American Angus Association and Certified Angus Beef LLC and the Angus Journal Daily archive available in the API Virtual Library.


Livestock Industry Shines Spotlight on the
Use of Grazing to Prevent Wildfires

NCBA and PLC launch website as part of a new campaign.

The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) and the Public Lands Council (PLC) on May 10 kicked off a media and advertising campaign that will shine a spotlight on how grazing on public lands helps to mitigate the risk of catastrophic wildfires — the leading threat to species like the greater sage grouse. The campaign will be centered around a new website, www.grazingpreventswildfires.com, and will run through May.


“Coming off the wet winter we had across much of the West, ranchers are on the sidelines as new spring growth explodes and adds to residual grasses from prior grazing reductions,” said Ethan Lane, executive director of the PLC and NCBA’s Federal Lands. “These fuel loads are building at the same time that livestock numbers on federal grazing permits continue to shrink due to misplaced priorities, political pressure, and a lack of regulatory flexibility for BLM (Bureau of Land Management) and Forest Service staff to make the right management decisions on the ground.” Read more.


 

Your Health

AgrAbility Raises Awareness
of Medicines’ Side Effects

Pharm to Farm fills health care gaps for farmers.

All medicine has side effects. Even minor side effects can be deadly for farmers, says Kelly Cochran of the Missouri AgrAbility Project’s Pharm to Farm program.


The statewide outreach program helps farmers identify medical risks through their local pharmacist. In many rural Missouri areas, pharmacists fill health care gaps. They are the first line of defense in farm health and safety.


Medicines’ side effects put farmers working with equipment and livestock at risk. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the National Safety Council list farming as one of the riskiest occupations for injury and death. Read more.