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North Carolina hosts American Angus Boot Camp
Submitted by Suzanne Brewer, Executive Secretary, NCAngus Association
 The Angus Foundations goals are Education, Youth and Research. By educating Angus breeders of all ages, they help to build knowledge to the entire membership to secure a solid future for Angus cattle and the agriculture industry. A core funding focus of the Foundation is to support the youth involved in the agricultural industry and specifically the Angus breed. The Angus Foundation’s third funding focus is advancing research activities related to agriculture.
The Angus Foundation partnered with North Carolina State University to present the 13th Boot Camp in Raleigh on August 10-11. The 1 ½-day educational event was open to all cattle producers and was packed with speakers, educational presentations and hands-on labs. I know why it’s called “Boot Camp”, it was fast paced, moving quickly from one topic to another and covered a wide range of topics we as cattle producers should be concerned about.
Association, university and industry experts presented a variety of topics, including a business model in the beef industry; communicating a positive beef industry image; optimal nutritional management; improving reproductive performance; cattle behavior and handling; marketing through branded beef programs; and determining carcass value.
Other meat lab sessions focused on evaluating quality and yield grades as well as new beef products and value-added cuts.
A hands-on lab with NCSU experts explored identification basics; cattle processing; DNA and blood collection; body condition scoring; artificial insemination and palpation; and phenotypic selection. A case study examining bull type at sale time was worked on in groups after dinner on Tuesday evening, and the Association staff was open for questions-several times during the event.
We began early Tuesday morning at the North Carolina State University Beef Unit on Lake Wheeler Road in Raleigh with registration and promptly at 9:00 after welcome and introductions by David Gazda, Regional Representative of American Angus, we listened to Dr. Curt Lacy from the University of Georgia speak on Using a Business Model in the Beef Industry. Too many producers forget that raising cattle is a business and we should use the same standards we would in any other business. As in any business, we must first have a plan and decide if our plan is to sell feeder calves or seed stock, or are we going for the “value added” part of the puzzle by finding a “niche” market.
Shelia Stannard, American Angus Association, Director of Activities and Events spoke on communicating a positive image. We’ve all read and heard so much recently about animal rights and how we need to be careful what others think of the way we’re doing things; whether it’s working cattle or just our response to questions about cattle in general. We are representatives of our industry!
The morning continued with several members of the North Catolina State faculty speaking on various topics. Dr Matt Poore speaking on nutrition, grasses and pasture and hay management. Dr. Scott Whisnant and Dr. Gary Hanson spoke on reproductive performance. Dr. Mark Alley spoke on handling cattle and their behavior.
After lunch we divided into three groups and rotated visits between three labs for some hands on learning. Our first lab was with Dr. Mark Alley and Gary Gregory, we learned how to age cattle by their teeth, we watched the proper way to move cattle and catch then in the head gate, we learned about tattooing and branding cattle. Second stop was with Dr. Poore, Dr. Gary Hanson and Dr. Joe Cassady. Cattle were on display for us to body condition score and we had copies of EPDs and we learned phenotypic selection of cattle by different traits, both visual and on paper. Last was Dr. Scott Whisnant who spoke on DNA and the Biopryn blood test for pregnancy. He also spoke on AI and palpation. He had reproductive tracts for us to look at and examine.
Mark McCully, Director, Supply development Certified Angus Beef spoke on the CAB program and the various cuts of meat and how they’re helping develop more usage for some of the lesser known cuts. He talked on the importance of name recognition of the CAB brand.
Bill Bowman, American Angus Chief Operating Officer and Gary Gregory spoke on “Sale Time—Which bulls fit your needs”. We were given papers with several bulls listed and we learned how to select for different areas we might want to make changes in our herd. We divided up into small groups and were given a case study of a ranch performance and we picked a bull for their use and then gave our reasons why we picked a particular bull. It was interesting to hear the opinions of different producers.
Wednesday morning we met at the North Carolina State University Food Service-Schaub Hall. Our speaker was Dr. Gregg Rentfrow from the University of Kentucky. He was a very informative and entertaining speaker who you could tell loved his work and was good at it. He started with a carcass of beef and started cutting various cuts from steaks to roast. Again, we learned about some of the newer cuts that once would have been hamburger, but are now food service steaks. He showed the importance of correct vaccination procedures and the loss due to abscess from doing them wrong. To me this was the highlight of the camp, I guess it was because of seeing him cut out the different pieces and explaining where the best cuts came from and what you get from which part of the animal. The Angus Beef Cut Chart has a whole new meaning!
If you missed this opportunity, you really missed a great learning experience; if there’s another one close by, make plans to attend; you won’t regret it! |
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This
site is sponsored by... |
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NC Angus Association, Inc.
Suzanne Brewer, Executive Secretary
3942 North NC Hwy 150 • Lexington, NC 27295
Phone/Fax: 336-787-NCAA(6222) • Email:
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Mission Statement:
To provide
leadership, service
and educational programs
for the promotion of
North Carolina Angus cattle. |
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