“New Horizons – 2001” Sale Draws Near

The A*L*O*T spring female sale, “New Horizons – 2001,” will be held on May 12, 2001 at the Titus County Sale Facility in Mt. Pleasant, Texas. A*L*O*T members filled the catalog with 83 superior females in just two days. In keeping with our policy of first come – first cataloged, consignments received after the catalog filled were returned to members. The consignment period for the fall sale is July 20 – August 17, 2001. Start planning your consignments for that sale now.

We are pleased to have Col. Jerry Lehman return as the auctioneer for the spring sale. Jerry is one of the premier auctioneers in the country and is an authority on Angus cattle. In an effort to hold down sale expenses, A*L*O*T members will be asked to help with the sale as ringmen, to move the cattle in and out of the ring, to load and unload etc.

A Continental breakfast of coffee, milk, orange juice, donuts, sweet rolls, toast and jams will be served beginning at 8:00 a.m. Lunch is at 11:00 a.m. and is on us!

Those who have not received sale catalogs by the first of May contact Beth Wicker by telephone 903-667-5581 or e-mail eswicker@aol.com.

See you at the sale!!

A*L*O*T Leadership Meets

The A*L*O*T Board of Directors met with the A*L*O*T Officers on Feb. 9, 2001. The main topic of discussion was the Fall Bull Sale. The Board decided that we should continue to put a quality bull sale together, and that such a sale would take time and commitment on the part of consignors. The leadership requests that any members interested in consigning bulls to the sale, contact any of the A*L*O*T officers or directors with your commitment by June 1, 2001.

The Board approved prices for ads to be published in the newsletter. Contact Gerald Franklin, FranklinAngus@hotmail.com, for more information.

The Board also approved the purchase of a software tool for our website manager to use in website housekeeping.

President’s Notes

In order for any organization to succeed, especially a volunteer organization such as A*L*O*T, you must have dedicated officers, directors and members willing to sacrifice their time and expertise for virtually no reward and sometimes an earful from a disgruntled person.

Thank goodness we have just that - people willing to give their time and labor to help A*L*O*T progress. Just look at our organization now, we lost our sales management team, we thought we had to have a professional sales manager but everywhere we turned - no such luck. So, the officers and directors voted to manage our own sale. This has not only saved on sale expenses for our members but also provided the opportunity for other members to help out.

Bull sale numbers were down so in order to cut expenses for our consignors, members decided to forego the expense of sale day cattle handling and prepared and served the meal ourselves. The result of this was a reasonable sale expense on the bulls even though we only had 39 bulls to sell.

Doing our own sale management, handling the cattle without having to hire outside help, preparing and serving the meal are ways your organization works for you.

Our upcoming May sale, with as many lots as we have, could result in a very reasonable sale expense due to the dedication of members. The more people involved the stronger the organization.

A*L*O*T is strong financially but most of its strength comes from the working membership. Even though we have the bases covered, we are always eager to find someone else who is willing to help. If you want to be a part of one of the strongest regional Angus organizations in the United States and help yourself develop a market for your cattle - give any of the officers or directors a call.

Thanks,

Bill Stone

The View from Mt. Pleasant ... by Learon Roberts

The beef business has survived many scares - mad cow disease, hoof and mouth disease, tainted meat panics and other such scares - to still be the choice meat of most households.

Thank goodness we have responsible cattlemen, veterinarians and an inspection system in our packing plants to make sure that American beef is the safest, cleanest and most disease free beef served anywhere in the world! American people enjoy the luxury of 100% USDA inspected beef where other countries either don't inspect all of their beef or, in many instances, none of their beef. Most U.S. beef consumers don't question beef cleanliness or safety as long as it is American beef, but they do question the quality of the beef. That's where we come in as Angus breeders! QUALITY!

As I have stated many times, Angus breeders already know they breed and raise the best beef breed as far as calving ease, mothering ability, black-hided, fast growing, etc. is concerned. We are going to have to keep setting and attaining new and lofty goals as far as quality is concerned. We are going to have to weigh more and measure more and research more to keep our No. 1 beef breed status!

And thanks to the American Angus board, and to our agricultural colleges and institutions that co-operate with us, we now have the knowledge to accurately predict the outcome of a matchup even before the calf is born. It is up to us as Angus breeders to use the tools we have in place. We are No. 1 now, and we can widen the gap even more if we "keep on keeping on" with what we have available.

The Angus cow is the right cow, but she cannot select the genetics she needs to "progress" the breed - it is up to us to use the EPD's available and mate each cow to the proper sire.

Of course, there are only my Views from Mt. Pleasant.

See you at the sale –

Learon

A*L*O*T Sale Dates

Spring Female Sale – May 12, 2001: Consignments Closed Fall Female Sale – Oct 13, 2001: Consignments postmarked from Jul 20 to Aug 17, 2001. Bull Sale – Nov 24, 2001: Consignments postmarked from Sep 1 to Oct 1, 2001.

Items of Interest:

• The A*L*O*T newsletter is accepting ads to help defray the cost of publication. For rate information, comments or suggestions on the newsletter, contact Franklin Angus via email at FranklinAngus@hotmail.com, write to Route 3, Box 239J, Duncan, OK 73533, or call us at 580-252-6002.

• Another big A*L*O*T “thank you” to Harris Hideaway Ranch - Tom, Nancy & Amy Harris for their cash donation to in February 2001.

• The North Central Texas College Beef Evaluation Center completed the A*L*O*T Bull Gain Test on Friday, March 3, 2001 with 26 head finishing. Leland Dodd of LD Farms, Texarkana, TX had the high gaining bull with an average daily gain of 5.12. A Shelton Farms, New Boston, TX bull was the high weight per day of age bull with 3.63. As a group the bulls had an average daily gain (ADG) of 3.91 lbs. and an average weight per day of age (WDA) of 3.11 on the 84 day test.

• Franklin Angus, Duncan, OK had the co-high gaining bull on Oklahoma Beef, Inc. (OBI) test #03 at Stillwater, OK. The bull, a B/R New Design 036 son, gained 5.43 lbs. per day on the 112-day test.

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