The Angus Journal® is a monthly magazine known for in-depth coverage of American Angus Association® programs and services; the Angus business; herd management; and advertising reflecting genetics and herd philosophies.
Issue link: http://angusjournal.epubxp.com/i/801717
20 n ANGUSJournal n April 2017 The event features two and a half days of educational programming and a full day of tours visiting regional seedstock and commercial producers. The conference will open with a Young Producers Symposium on Wednesday, May 31, designed to network and equip young cattle producers with essential knowledge as they grow their role in the business. Thursday morning's general session is titled "The Promise of Genomics for Beef Improvement" and will be led by Keith Bertrand and Daniela Lourenco of the University of Georgia. Friday's general session will focus on "Profitability using the tools we have." Afternoons are filled with breakout sessions focusing on a range of beef production and genetic improvement topics. The conference will wrap up with a tour of the Georgia beef industry on Saturday morning. Early registration deadline is May 1. Attendees can save $100 by preregistering. Online and PDF registration options are available at www.beefimprovement.org. For more conference details, including registration information, complete schedule and lodging information, visit www.beefimprovement.org or contact University of Georgia host Ronnie Silcox at rsilcox@uga.edu or 706-542-9102. Angus Media will provide online coverage of the event at www.bifconference.com. CAB/NJAA Scholarship application due May 1 A long-standing scholarship awarded through the Angus Foundation is the $1,000 Certified Angus Beef LLC (CAB)/NJAA Scholarship. Applicants must have at one time been an NJAA member and must currently be a junior, regular or life member of the American Angus Association, along with being an incoming sophomore, junior or senior in college majoring in animal science, meat science, food science, agricultural communications or a related field of academic study. Applications are due May 1. A recipient will be honored at the NJAS in Des Moines, Iowa, in July. Visit www.angusfoundation.org for additional eligibility requirements and guidelines. Future Angus Stockmen, Select Sires offer sponsorship to AI school Future Angus Stockmen is offering a sponsorship for one enrollee to attend artificial insemination (AI) school, courtesy of Select Sires. Applications are available online at www.angus.org/Performance/ Documents/FAS_ AISchoolApplication.PDF and are due April 30. A recipient will be announced by May 16. Future Angus Stockmen is aimed toward college-age or recent graduates who want to raise high-quality Angus-based commercial cattle. The program offers educational opportunities that teach participants how to thrive in the cattle industry, social networking to connect them with fellow producers, and leadership development to instill an entrepreneurial spirit and drive to improve their businesses. Future Angus Stockmen enrollment can be completed at any time, and enrollment forms can be found in the commercial programs section at www.angus.org. Cattle Industry Convention coverage available online The 2017 Cattle Industry Annual Convention & National Cattlemen's Beef Association (NCBA) Trade Show was in Nashville, Tenn., Feb. 1-4. Full event coverage by the Angus Media communications team is available at www.angus.media. Coverage includes general session business; keynote speakers; Cattlemen's College® summaries; CattleFax outlook summaries; policy updates from NCBA, the Cattlemen's Beef Board (CBB), the Federation of State Beef Councils, the American National CattleWomen Inc. (ANCW); and much more. Note these junior deadlines The Events and Education Department has announced several upcoming deadlines and event dates of note for NJAA members. @ April 1-2 — Western Regional Junior Angus Show, Reno, Nev. @ April 6-9 — Raising the Bar, Des Moines, Iowa @ April 15 — Atlantic National Junior Angus Show ownership and entry deadline @ May 1 — Gold Award applications due @ May 1 — Outstanding Leadership Award applications due @ May 1 — Ownership and entry for the Northwest Regional Preview Junior Angus Show @ May 1 — CAB and Angus Foundation scholarship applications due @ May 1 — Entry deadline for the Eastern Regional & All-American Angus Breeders' Futurity Junior Angus Show Visit www.angus.org/njaa for more information and deadlines. Please note there are no exceptions to any of the ownership and entry deadlines. Fewer hurdles to better feet The American Angus Association announces its collaboration with participating universities to assess foot structure on behalf of breeders who seek help in assessing their herds. The new service allows animal science students and judging team participants to collect foot scores as they visit Angus operations. It is available to all Association members, and compensation is voluntary and at the discretion of breeders. AGI Genetic Service Director Kelli Retallick says it's a helpful step in acquiring the valuable data needed to develop genetic selection tools for selecting animals with proper foot and leg structure. Retallick says producers should first think about collecting foot scores when they're collecting yearling data — then maintain records on those animals as they age. The American Angus Association began accepting foot scores in 2014 to eventually develop an EPD for structure. To date, approximately 7,700 foot scores have been collected, with approximately 75% of these scores derived from yearling-age animals. More holistic data across the population will allow the Association to develop a reliable tool for commercial users of Angus genetics to select the right bull for their operations, Retallick notes. To get started, breeders can simply reach out to a participating judging coach to request a student's assistance for on-site collection. "Students then gain valuable contacts within the Angus industry and familiarize themselves with data management and performance programs," Retallick says. The Association's simple foot-scoring system characterizes cattle for two traits: foot angle and claw set. Both scores are ranked on a 1-9 scoring system, with 5 being ideal. Contact information and scoring materials are available at www.angus.org. Contact the Association's Performance Programs department at 816-383-5100 with further questions about foot scoring or the university partnership. Go to www.angus.org/ performance/footscore/footscoreentryhelp.pdf to view the list of participating universities. Custom Cattle Tags offers affordable ID Cattle producers looking for affordable ways to identify their herd should visit www.customcattletags.com, a service provided by the American Angus Association. Anyone can order ear tags, applicators, syringes and accessories. Custom Cattle Tags provides high-quality, low-cost, customized ear tags, blank tags and prenumbered tags for cattle producers across the United States. z ASSOCIATION HIGHLIGHTS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 19