Annual Membership Meeting and Fall Female Sale Scheduled in October

The annual Membership Meeting for the A*L*O*T Angus Association will be held on Friday, October 13, 2006. The meeting will be conducted at the Titus County Fair Sale Facility in Mt. Pleasant, TX and will begin at 5 PM.

The meeting will be held the night before the Fall Female Sale which will begin at noon on October 14, 2006.

Sale Secretary, Beth Wicker, reports that 100+ lots from 33 members are consigned. The auctioneer is Lakin Oakley from DeKalb, TX. The consignment period closed on August 11, 2006.

Consignors should already be conditioning their cattle for the sale. It takes about a hundred pounds of gain to add one Body Condition Score to a mature animal.

Make plans to attend the sale and pass the word to any friends and neighbors who have not attended in the past. Stress to them that there will be plenty of quality Angus seed-stock for sale and they will be served a good meal as well.

Consignors should remember that all cattle are to be accompanied by current pregnancy status determined by a practicing vet, and a health certificate for interstate shipment. All animals over 12 months old must have a negative TB test within 30 days of the sale. The sale committee asks that you have your animals at the sale facility by 2 PM on Friday, October 13, 2006.

Please call If you have questions, if you have unforeseen problems crop up and you need to call to let us know you will be delayed, or if you would like for us to bid for you: before sale day: 903-667-5581; Friday before and Saturday-Sale Day: 903-577-9545

AAA & TAA Unite to help Members

RESERVE THESE DATES: New Members (0-2 years) of the American Angus Association will be meeting with area Angus organizations and the American Angus Association representatives to acquaint you with the American Angus Association and what they have to offer you the Angus breeder and or commercial breeder. The meetings are expected to last approximately 4 to 5 hours with a meal being served during this time frame. Invitations to these newest members are being sent out with full details, but anyone wanting to find out more about the American Angus Association is welcome to attend.

The meeting will cover such topics as "What do I want my program to accomplish?", the paperwork necessities, AHIR, contemporary groups, utilizing data, nutrition, body condition scoring, routine maintenance, marketing, grouping member cattle for ultrasound and AI. Plus there will be a time set aside "To Meet Your Peers and Mentors".

Sponsors for the meetings and dates are listed below. Times and locations will be announced later.

• Friday Oct 6th - Luling Foundation
• Saturday Oct 7th - Mid-Tex
• Saturday Nov 4th - Red River
• Tuesday Nov 28th - West Texas(during Farm Show)

The meeting is also for the Arkansas, Oklahoma, Louisiana and Texas area newest members of the American Angus Association.

Contact Robbie D. Bean, Director, Texas Angus Association, elmcreekangus@yahoo.com for more information.

About 50 members met at the Titus Civic Center on August 18, 2006 and on August 19, 2006 at Twin Lakes Ranch, Fairfield, Texas another large group of members met to learn about the American Angus Association, Texas Angus Association and what these organizations as well as the local organizations can do for the member. If you haven't attended a meeting, encourage new members and old alike to attend. You will come away with a better understanding and appreciation of AAA and TAA. WE CAN HELP!

Youth Corner

The 2006 Texas Junior Angus Association held their state show in Fredericksburg, Texas 3-4 Jun 2006. Junior Champion and Grand Champion Bred-and-Owned Female was DAJS Joyce 77 owned and shown by Katy Satree from Montague, Texas. Calf Champion and Reserve Grand Champion Bred-and-owned Female was Selma Manning Lady 1205 owned by Austin John from Schertz, Texas. Bred and Owned Reserve Heifer Calf Champion was TbarN 5164 16 NF M904 owned and shown by Tylee Williams of Lockney, Texas.

Twenty Texas Junior Angus members and 46 head of cattle traveled to the National Junior Angus Association 's national meeting held in Indianapolis, IN in July. Not only did the quality of cattle play a big part in the Texas representation for the national meet, but these 20 Junior Angus members also represented Texas in non-cattle events. In case you missed news in the Texas Angus Newsletter, we wanted to recognize these Junior Angus Members again.

Here is how our Texas Juniors did in the non-cattle events:

• Showmanship: Represented by Kyle Kemp and Kevin Gleason. Kevin received Honorable Mention.

• Cook-off: (using CABTM) the Intermediate team was 1st and the Junior team was 3rd.

• Photography: Karly Wicker placed 1st and AAJ Editor's Pick.

• Creative Writing: Katy Satree placed 2nd.

• Project of the Year: Placed 2nd.

• Prepared Speech: Taylor McQueen placed 2nd.

• Poster Contest & Graphic Design: Gretchen Ettredge placed 1st in each.

• Team Sales: Intermediates placed 4th and the Juniors placed 3rd.

• Quiz Bowl: Intermediates placed 2nd and the Juniors placed 3rd.

• Gold Award: Mark Gleason and Katy Kemp.

• Team fitting: This was the first year for this contest and the Texas team had a great time trying to "fit" a calf with no hair.

A*L*O*T would like to congratulate each of these Juniors and all Juniors who participated in these events and to those who showed cattle. We salute you. You are the future of the Angus Cattle business as well as the future of farming and ranching; agriculture & agri-business.

Items of Interest

• Volunteers are needed to help run the kitchen and serve lunch during our sales. Please contact Learon Roberts to volunteer your time.

• Texas continues TB testing and as of late August, TB tests have been conducted on more than 1,300 of the 2,400 targeted purebred and seed stock herds in Texas. Testing of the state’s dairy herds was completed last year. For more information regarding TB testing of purebred and beef seed stock herds in Texas, please contact your TAHC area office or the TAHC headquarters in Austin at 1-800-550-8242. Information also is available on the TAHC website at http://www.tahc.state.tx.us.

• Check your mailing label. Your membership expiration date is included on the mailing label. A notation of EXP 01/01/06 indicates that your dues are good until January 1, 2006.

• All animals consigned that are over 12 months of age must have a complete set of individual performance EPDs (BW, WW, Milk, YW). Interim EPDs will be allowed, but we will no longer publish sire and dam EPDs in the catalog.

• Beginning with the 2004 Fall Bull Sale, all bulls must achieve a score of 1 to 15 on the LSU Bull Scoring System (here). Bulls scoring 16 or higher at the sale site will not go through the sale ring. The consignment fee for any cataloged bull that fails to meet the LSU standard will not be refunded.

• Going to the new Electronic Storage Option? Sale Secretary Beth Wicker wants members to know that paper Registration Certificates will still be required for consigning cattle to our sales. The AAA says that consignors who have chosen to use Electronic Storage will have an option when they view certificates on the web to "Put to Paper". If they check this option, the next day a paper certificate will be put in the mail to them. Those who plan to consign cattle to the sale will need to do this a week or two prior to the consignment opening date.

• A*L*O*T has a large banner and a collection of Angus promotional literature for loan to members. The package is a great way to promote Angus cattle and the A*L*O*T Association. Contact Ernest Shelton to arrange for these items to be shipped to you in time for your next event.

Sometimes when drought is imminent or has hit an area, cattle producers struggle with what possibilities exist that might help in handling the situation. To say the least, drought is stressful on the cattle, but can also put a great deal of mental and economic stress on the manager. Below are 10 suggested strategies that may assist producers in coping with the job at hand.

1. Develop a plan before conditions are out of hand and force you to do something that is extremely costly.

2. Consider splitting your pastures and rotationally grazing the paddocks. This allows a rest period for the grass and if rain does come it is likely to respond quicker. Also, rotational grazing reduces selectivity in a cow’s grazing habit, enhances forage utilization rate and can improve pasture carrying capacity by 10% to 30%.

3. Consider early weaning your calves. This strategy can reduce pressure on the pasture by 25% to 35%. Additionally, this practice will reduce the cow’s nutritional demand by 30% to 40%. Identify late calving, unsound and poor producing cows and cull them from the herd. Prices this year are favorable for culling.

4. If pastures become extremely short, consider weaning the calves and drylotting the cows. During early- and mid-pregnancy the non-lactating beef cow can be fed on as little as 10 to 12 pounds (lb.) of corn, 2 to 3 lb. of hay and 2 lb. of protein supplement.

5. Consider creep feeding calves to maintain gain in short pasture situations. Be aware this is not an efficient way of putting gain on calves. Creep feeding will also reduce some pressure on pasture, but does not have the effect of the early weaning strategy.

6. Look ahead and plan your fall and winter feed supply. Ask yourself, "How can I best utilize my feed with minimal waste and supplement it at the lowest cost possible? What feeds are available at lowest cost? Will tub grinding and putting together total mixed rations stretch my feed supply and reduce my overall wintering costs?"

7. In low rainfall years there many times are opportunities to harvest low yielding corn fields in the form of silage. Plan ahead where and how this feed can be stored. Also, look ahead at finding a custom harvester and possibly consider storing this crop in a sealed bag to minimize storage loss and maintain feed quality.

8. Grazing standing corn may be a more cost-effective method of providing winter feed for the cows than trying to buy higher priced hay. Daily strip grazing controls waste and limits the risk of acidosis with the cows. Cattle need to be adjusted to grain prior to exposure to standing corn. Demonstration using this technique with cows has shown 100 to 200 cow days per acre depending on the amount of corn grain yield.

9. When pastures get short, the best management practice may be to drylot cows or restrict them to 10% of the pasture area. This prevents damage to the pasture stand and allows faster recovery of the pasture once rains return.

— prepared by Daryl Strohbehn and Dan Morrical, Extension beef specialists, Iowa Beef Center at Iowa State University.

Published by the Texas Agricultural Extension Service, publication B-1213 “Management of Replacement Heifers for a High Reproductive and Calving Rate” and a publication “Guidelines for Uniform Beef Improvement Programs” published by the Beef Improvement Federation (BIF).

The most appropriate approach to effective heifer development in a planned program concept is to age associate the necessary records and performance practices relative to the developing heifer with both age and weight references. This will start with the identification and singular handling of the heifer at weaning time (1) followed by the post weaning growth period to target yearling puberty weight(2) then the breeding season of 60 days followed by pregnancy determination (3) followed by the post-breeding management recommendations (4).

1. Heifer Selection at Weaning
   • Only heifers of known genetic composition should be selected based on controlling mating type. This allows various types of crossbred and straight-bred heifers to be recommended but does not allow heifers from unknown cows or cattle of mixed breeding without a defined mating plan.

   • Cattlemen are recommended to carefully follow the selection of genetic potential to match the production environment. This is attached in Table * as published by the BIF in matching, which breeds types and genetic traits should generally be considered. It is the responsibility of each cattleman to make this assessment based on the production environment to be most cost effective.

   • Select weaning age heifers (in a 90-day maximum age range in a contemporary group) that are born in the first half of the calving season (older heifers). These heifers should be heavier than average or no heifers below a 90-index rank of weaning weight should be retained. A general guideline to desired weight should be based on expected mature cow size. A frame score based on hip height of any defined age is a good indicator of potential mature size. Generally heifers of Frame 3 or less are Small and reflect a mature cow size at 1,050 pounds or below. Frame score 4 and 5 heifers relate to a 1050-1250 mature size and are Medium. Large frame heifers score from 607 and relate to 1,250-1,30 pounds at maturity. Heifers scoring 8 or greater are X-Large and will be a greater than 1,350 in mature size. The better weaning weight related to mature cow size is about 45% of the mature cow size. If Small cows are preferred, then .45*1050 = 472.5 pounds or the average weaning weight should be close to this number. It is recommended to ratio the actual heifer’s weaning weight to this guideline and it will define how far below or above an individual heifer record relates.

   • Cull all structurally unsound, nervous or unruly heifers and avoid any attempt to select on visual characteristics or femininity.

2. Post-weaning Management
   • Based on expected mature cow size from frame scores, calculate the targeted yearling breeding weight needed as 67% of the mature cow size. For example, Small heifers are 1050 pounds mature weight should weigh 682.5 pounds at 14 months of age. The breeding age is expected to be at 14-15 months in a 60-day breeding season (recommended breading seasons May-June and/or Nov-mid Jan). This will relate to calving at 23.5 to 24.5 months of age or slightly earlier if gestation is shorter due to use of early maturing breed of bulls.

   • Calculate the needed average daily gain (ADG) between the actual weaning weight and target breeding weight for a breed-contemporary heifer group. Assuming a 7-month weaning age and a 14-month breeding age then the producer has a 7-month period to make the needed gain. If a group averages 475 pounds at weaning and needed to weight 682.5 at breeding then the gain needed is 207.5 pounds over 7-months or 210 days. The calculated ADG is 207.5/210 or 1.0 pounds per day. Since heifers can grow slowly with the time allotted or be fed supplemental feed or grazed on improved pastures based on forage management programs, there is great flexibility available on how to grow heifers. The emphasis is to recommend only forage programs with protein or protein-energy supplements at low daily intake levels of roughly 2 pounds per day or less on lower quality forages. If grain supplementation is required due to forage failure, it is recommended to be fed at $-% bodyweight with the remainder of the diet from stored forages or in the form of a high fiber product. Considering that post weaning heifers can gain in excess of 2.0 pounds per day, confined feeding programs can be short and concentrated.

3. Breeding Management
   • Plan the 60-day breeding season at 14-15 months of age. Bulls used should be selected for low birth weights (EPD) or for Calving Ease Scores. Most commercial cattlemen should use early-maturing breeds of bulls of smaller mature size on heifers to avoid dystocia (calving difficulty). Natural service sires should be younger bulls to avoid major size differences in the actual mating that might injure heifers. It is generally recommended not to use bulls that are heifer than 1.8 times the mature size of cows. If Small cows are expected (1,050 pounds at maturity) then the maximum sized mature bull should not exceed 1,890 pounds. However, use of relatively smaller mature-sized bulls is recommended.

   • Prior to the breeding season heifers should be observed for estrous activity and supplementation considered insuring heifers are gaining prior to and in the breeding season.

   • Use of AI can be helpful and estrous synchronization considered for timed group mating of a breed-age contemporary group.

   • Any unthrifty, injured or ill heifers should be removed or culled prior to the breeding season.

   • The recommended Body Condition Score (BCS) should be 5,6, or 7 or relate to actual fatness of 2,3 or 4 inches of fat over the rib measured by ultrasound.

4. Post-breeding Management
   • Pregnancy testing of exposed heifers should be completed 60 days post-breeding or at 17 months of age.

   • Open heifers should be removed and marketed at palpation time.

   • Heifers should be managed to achieve a minimum of 85% of their estimated mature size based on frame score at calving. Assuming a mature size of Medium (1,150 pounds), then the 23-24 month old heifer should weigh roughly 975 pounds. If her breeding weight was at 65% of mature size (1,150*.65 = 747.5 pounds), then the bred heifer must gain about 225 pounds in 180 days. The ADG minimum is 225/180 or 1.25. This should be based on a combination of weight and fatness. Here again the acceptable BCS should be from 5-7 at all times during the development periods.

Upon attaining a group of breed-age developed bred heifers, these cattle can be sold at anytime desired. Generally producers should avoid selling last trimester-bred heifers (greater than 7 months bred). Those held beyond this pregnancy stage should be calved and sold as pairs. Again, it is recommended to sell pairs when calves are minimum at 45 days of age.

This allows sufficient time to rebreed and insures the calf has a proper start early in life. Probably the most critical aspect in brood cow development is getting the first-calf heifers and carefully monitor gains and development. Supplemental feeding or access to the best forages is needed on these lactating young cows. Most research indicates a 75% conception rate in first-calf heifers is likely. Continued management and monitoring of BCS is crucial in improving on rebreeding rate. First-calf heifers should be placed in the herd with older brood cows when palpated safe in calf with the second calf or at weaning time.

This was prepared as a general guide for the Texas Forage and Grasslands Council to assist in the development of a commercial heifer development program emphasizing maximum utilization of forages and to assist beef producers of all herd sizes to effectively develop and market quality replacement beef heifers.

For more information on heifer development using forage contact your local extension office. or the state Forage and Grasslands Council or go to www.texasforages.org.