Seedstock

Cattle genetically verified through the AngusSource® program have been eligible for the Certified Angus Beef® brand since June. Soon producers might start seeing premiums for those Angus-based fed cattle.

National Beef Packing Company LLC has filed paperwork with the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to allow AngusSource cattle to be considered for its premium Angus programs. National will be the first packer to use this additional means to identify "Angus-type" cattle, historically defined by the phenotypic 51 percent black-hided criteria.

Art Wagner, vice president of procurement, expects the system to be operational shortly. "We're working through all of the fine details," he says. "We are currently working with USDA to get preliminary approval and schedule plant audits."

For more than a year, AngusSource has led in the Angus genetic- and source-verified arena. The USDA Process Verified Program (PVP) requires calves to be sired by a registered Angus bull. Cattle are enrolled at the ranch of origin and documented by month, day and year of birth for the firstborn calf in the group.

Upon final USDA approval, Wagner expects National to begin accepting AngusSource cattle into CAB first at Liberal, and then in its Dodge City, Kan., plant. The packer will limit harvest to specific dates, yet to be determined, only load lots will be evaluated for the brand.

"We need to learn to walk before we run," says Wagner, who predicts a fairly seamless flow of information. "With age-verified and all-natural cattle, we have experience in handling this type of information. We just have to make sure the communication goes all the way through."

He explains that a buyer will visually confirm a set of cattle as AngusSource, and then give the producer instructions for the needed paperwork on delivery.

Mark McCully, director of supply development for Certified Angus Beef LLC (CAB), says implementation of the program presents new opportunities.

"This will obviously affect the producers who are using registered Angus bulls on a set of cows that might not produce black calves," he says, citing a smoky Charolais-Angus cross. "Now that we know the genetics, those cattle that were previously not eligible will be evaluated for CAB and its premiums."

2007 Gelbvieh Sire Summary Available

The American Gelbvieh Association (AGA) has released its 2007 Sire Summary. The Summary contains information on genetic trends for the breed, breed averages for Gelbvieh and Balancer cattle, as well as an explanation of how to use expected progeny differences (EPDs) in selecting sires.

The 2007 Gelbvieh Sire Summary is available free on the AGA Web site, www.gelbvieh.org. Individuals may print it from their own computer.

Another option is to request a CD of the Gelbvieh Sire Summary in a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet form or a printed copy for $5 shipping and handling costs. The CD includes all of the animals in the Sire Summary and Microsoft Excel allows producers to sort by various EPD traits.

If you wish to receive the Gelbvieh Sire Summary on a CD or a hard copy printed version, please contact the American Gelbvieh Association, 303/465-2333, info@gelbvieh.org.

Woodstone Angus Makes NACC Comeback

The most unusual cattle in the National Angus Carcass Challenge (NACC) made a stunning comeback in 2006, setting an all-time high 94.7 percent CAB® and Prime mark. "If these 38 heifers, really the tail-enders from Woodstone Angus, of New UIm, Texas, had more size, they would have risen higher than reserve grand," says Mark McCully, NACC coordinator and CAB director of supply development.

In fact, they were only a penny behind the champion pen on the NACC grid. Harvested in a single group at the Swift & Co. plant in Dumas in November, carcasses weighed a relatively light 682 pounds, but there were no discounts.

The ranch made news with NACC champion steers in 2004, and also came back with thirdplace steers in 2006. Fed again at Cattlemen's Choice Feedyard, Gage, Okla., by managers Dale and Mary Moore, the calves came from a herd of Irish-origin cows that trace back to the very first registered Angus cattle.

Bill and Yvonne Woods keep half of their 500 linebred cows in Texas, the other half near Hackett, Ark., with managers John and Angela Wiggins. The Woods family accepted the $3,500 NACC award for the two pens in Denver.

Groups of at least 38 steers or heifers sired by registered Angus bulls were fed in CAB-licensed feedlots. "We harvested about 5,600 cattle this year," says McCuIIy "That was 1,300 head fewer than last year, but the competition was greater." One measure is the number of pens finishing more than $4/cwt. above the $100 base. There were 28 of those pens in the 2006 contest, compared to 16 in 2005, 11 in 2004 and 4 in 2003.

Geeslin to Serve as 2007 NALF President

North American Limousin Foundation (NALF) members reelected Bob Millerberg, Draper, Utah, and Bob Mitchell, Wauzeka, Wis., to second terms as directors. Jack Glendenning, Lebanon, Mo.; Richard Heftier, Seminole, Okla.; and Jay Straight, Logan, Iowa, also won seats on the 2007 board, which met afterward to elect officers.