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August 20, 2010
Kent Andersen

The Beef Improvement Federation (BIF) named Downey Ranch Inc. (DRI) of Wamego, Kan., as its 2010 Commercial Producer of the Year. Joe Carpenter and Barb Downey, DRI managers, accepted the award during the 42nd BIF Research Symposium and Annual Meeting, June 28-July 1, in Columbia, Mo.

Downey Ranch Honored as 2010 BIF Commercial Producer of the Year

The Beef Improvement Federation named Downey Ranch Inc. (DRI) of Wamego, Kan., as its 2010 Commercial Producer of the Year. Located just southeast of Manhattan and nestled in the Flint Hills, DRI has ensured the proper handling of its cattle since its formation in 1986 by Joe Downey.

Joe Carpenter and Barb Downey, DRI managers, accepted the award from BEEF magazine Senior Editor Burt Rutherford during the 42nd BIF Research Symposium and Annual Meeting, June 28-July 1, in Columbia, Mo. The Kansas Livestock Association (KLA), located in Topeka, proudly nominated the ranch. Read more.


Vern Frey

Vern Frey

Association Perspective

After all you've done, one of the most important things left to do is market your calf crop.

Work is all but finished, and now is the time to put this year's calf crop in the bank. You've selected the genetics to make a profitable calf crop, and ensured that you've had enough bull power to get the cows bred to calve in a timely manner. You've followed a health program to assure a healthy calf crop, you've watched the cows calve, and you've worked long hours without rest to save as many as possible. Read more.


Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica Inc.
Announces Sponsorship

New partnership honors the service and sacrifice of today's soldiers.

Cydectin®, the leading pour-on cattle dewormer, announced Aug. 4 that it has become the industry's first sponsor of Wounded Warrior Project® (WWP), a nonprofit whose mission is to honor and empower wounded warriors.

Founded in 2003, WWP's purpose is to raise awareness and enlist the public's aid for the needs of injured service members, to help injured service members aid and assist each other, and to provide unique, direct programs and services to meet their needs. The vision of WWP is to foster the most successful, well-adjusted generation of wounded warriors in our nation's history.

The industry's first collaborative effort with Wounded Warrior Project, Cydectin's "Honor Our Troops" program, demonstrates support and gratitude for wounded veterans of today's wars on behalf of beef and dairy producers. Read more.


What’s Inside …

In this August 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:

Cow Camp Chatter: The second trimester: Opportunity!

Alfalfa Planting Is Around the Corner

Beef Talk: Feeding cattle adds balance to the cow-calf operation.

Ridin’ Herd: How much is enough?

Nutritional Influences on Reproduction: Energy and Protein

Fight Johne's Disease with Chlorine and Stainless Steel

The Source: Carcass Challenge winners announced for second quarter.

Competition in the Livestock Industry

Quality Cast: Looking for opportunities in a high-quality beef target market.


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 a summary of recent news and links to the newsrooms of the American Angus Association and Certified Angus Beef LLC and the Angus e-List archive.


Your Health
Shining a Light on Thoracic Aortic Disease

Potentially deadly thoracic aortic aneurysms easy to miss,
says
Harvard Heart Letter.

The body's main pipeline for blood, called the aorta, is a sturdy, muscular blood vessel. But if a section of its outer wall weakens, the aorta can bulge out at that spot, forming an aneurysm. If an aortic aneurysm bursts, the massive internal bleeding that follows is often deadly. Bulges in the thoracic aorta — the upper part near the heart — are often neglected, overlooked, and misdiagnosed, reports the August 2010 issue of the Harvard Heart Letter.

Thoracic aortic disease develops slowly and silently, usually without any symptoms. And it often flies under doctors' radar, in part because no single medical specialty lays claim to the aorta, leaving it in medical limbo.

Most thoracic aortic aneurysms are found by chance on CT scans or echocardiograms done for another reason. This hit-or-miss approach misses most people who have a thoracic aneurysm. That's a shame, because finding them early can prevent most deaths.

New guidelines from the American College of Cardiology, American Heart Association, and other organizations aim to make doctors more aware of thoracic aortic disease and to improve the identification and treatment of people with it.

Checking everyone for a thoracic aneurysm doesn't make sense, notes the Harvard Heart Letter. But a more structured approach to looking for them could save lives. A good place to start is in people likely to have the condition. This includes individuals with any of the following:

A bicuspid aortic valve. That's an aortic valve that has two flaps instead of the normal three flaps.

Certain genetic conditions. Marfan, Loeys-Dietz, vascular Ehlers-Danlos, and other syndromes are linked to thoracic aortic aneurysm.

Family history. If you have a thoracic aneurysm, urge your siblings, children, and parents to be checked for one. The reverse holds as well.

Read the full-length article here.

2010 Summer Cattle Industry Convention

NCBA Members Vote on Policies to Address
Border Security, Other Industry Challenges

Members of the National Cattlemen's Beef Association (NCBA) on July 31, 2010, approved a number of resolutions to guide the association's policy efforts in Washington, D.C. The resolutions were passed during the membership meeting at the culmination of the annual Cattle Industry Summer Conference.

"One of the pressing issues facing our members right now is the out-of-control situation at the U.S.-Mexico border," said NCBA President Steve Foglesong. "The lack of border security has and continues to pose a serious threat, not only to those living and working along the border, but to the entire nation, in terms of personal safety, health, economic welfare and the environment." Read more.

2010 Summer Cattle Industry Convention

Beef Board Approves Fiscal Year 2011 Budget

The Cattlemen's Beef Board (CBB) unanimously approved a $40.6 million budget for fiscal year (FY) 2011, down 7.4% from the FY 2010 budget and representing a decline of about 24% in the last five years.

The approval came during the Beef Board's meeting July 31 at the close of the 2010 Cattle Industry Summer Conference in Denver, Colo. The 2011 budget still must be approved by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), but includes the following budget components: Read more.

2010 Summer Cattle Industry Convention

Environmental Stewardship Awards ProgramRegional ESAP Winners

Environmental Stewardship Award Program honors seven U.S. cattle operations.

Seven diverse U.S. cattle operations were recognized July 29 as regional winners of the 2010 Environmental Stewardship Award Program (ESAP), a program that has honored farm and ranching families for outstanding resource management since 1991. Winners were announced at a reception during the 2010 Cattle Industry Summer Conference in Denver, Colo., July 28-Aug. 1.

Winners are chosen from each of the seven regions of the National Cattlemen's Beef Association (NCBA). Regional winners will compete for the national award, to be presented at the cattle industry's winter meeting in February 2011. Read more.


Texas Budget Woes Cause AgriLife Extension Service Job Losses

Leaders strive to maintain program statewide.

By mid-July, officials had completed the difficult task of notifying employees whose jobs with the Texas AgriLife Extension Service will end between now and Oct. 31.

The personnel cutback affects 94 jobs — 31 vacant positions that will not be filled and 63 occupied positions that will be eliminated agencywide. The downsizing results from a 5% state budget reduction, according to Ed Smith, AgriLife Extension director.

Leaders of the state agency, which has offices in 250 Texas counties, said their decisions were based on maintaining core programs statewide. Read more.


 

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