The-Ledger-Spring2018

LOGIST ICS  NE I L EFFERTZ A Bright Future for Aberdeen Cattle W hat an informative week in Denver at the National American Aberdeen Show and Sale! Tonya Perez with AgTown Technologies gave a wonderful presentation about the new promotional

While describing his final drive in the female division, Budler said he learned some new terms when coming to America, such as “freaky-fronted, cool, llama-necked heifer.” He said you won’t hear him say those words when describing Aberdeen females because we need to feed 7.5 billion people in this world and freaky-fronted heifers will not help us do that; Aberdeen heifers will help us feed the world. “These are real cattle, they’re beautiful but they’re real,” he said. His comments were accurate, and he made positive remarks as he evaluated every animal in the show. It was refreshing that each animal got a thorough evaluation, whether it placed first or last. The National Aberdeen Sale saw renewed interest among non-Aberdeen commercial breeders who paid $6,750 and $4,100 for Aberdeen Plus and Moderator® bulls, and $5,000 for a fullblood bull. There has been a serious uptick in commercial interest in Aberdeen F1 Moderator females for use in commercial beef herds from North Dakota to Texas. This is going to spell excellent demand for quality, breeding-age Aberdeen bulls that are coming two year olds, ready to service full size, non-Aber deen heifers. A commercial producer told me he sold his late-spring born calves sired by a Moderator bull the last week of De cember at the sale barn weighing more than 670 pounds; these calves brought him more than $960 per head – all with zero assisted births, lots of vigor and no death loss. He bought two more Moderator bulls this spring. Stay positive, share the good news and promote more pounds of beef per acre. Go Aberdeen! TL BIF TO CELEBRATE 50 YEARS For 50

materials and videos that have been produced for the American Aberdeen Association; these are available on our website to all breeders. What spectacu lar stuff! I would encourage you to go to the website, watch and share the videos, and print and distribute the brochures. Spread the good word! Eric DeVuyst, Ph.D., professor in the Department of Agricultural Economics at Oklahoma State University, gave an outstanding presentation at the Annual Meeting that illustrated the overwhelm ing efficiencies of a smaller beef cow versus a larger framed, heavier, more modern American beef cow. When you do the math, the dollars are heavily

weighted in favor of the 300-pound-lighter F1 Aberdeen cross cows, especially when you calculate dollars per acre. If you watched the National Aberdeen Show and lis tened intently to the comments of our judge, PJ Budler from Fort Worth, Texas, you had to be pleasantly surprised how obviously and sincerely impressed he was with our Aberdeen cattle. He commented multiple times about how these cattle, with their outstanding conformation, body composition, muscling and structural soundness, can posi tively contribute to more efficient global beef production. The steer feed-out program is gearing up to start in Fort Lupton, Colo. Aberdeen-influenced steers have been arriving and going through a warm-up period. The steers and heifers will be fed and sold on the grid to evaluate Aberdeen’s true worth in a feedlot situation. Look for updates on our website, www.westernaberdeenbreedersas sociation.com. The Kootenai Classic is a junior livestock show held in Cour d’Alene, Idaho, June 15-17, 2018. This show has grown every year and will include pigs and sheep this year. The show also has Aber deen-influenced steer classes. Many young exhibi tors come together in a great environment and build lasting relationships. WABA is excited to see how much this show has grown over the years and is proud to be one of the foundation members. The Aberdeen breed has many different direc tions in which these cattle are being marketed. It is a very diverse breed with an even more diverse set of owners. WABA is committed to promoting this breed to anyone and in every way possible. If you don’t agree with how someone is promoting our breed, always remember, they may be right. TL REGIONAL NEWS Continued from page 9

years the Beef Improvement Federation (BIF) has hosted an annual research tion to facilitate discussion and provide educa tion on current issues facing the beef indus symposium and conven

try, with a focus on beef cattle genetics. The 2018 convention will celebrate this anniversary at the base of the Rockies in Loveland, Colo. With a motto of “Improving the beef industry through perfor mance evaluation,” the convention is always a time where cutting edge research and genetic advancements are discussed, explored and presented. The 2018 Annual Beef Improvement Federation Convention will be held June 20-23 and is hosted by the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association, the Colorado Livestock Association and the Colorado State University Department of Animal Sciences. For more infor mation and registration links, visit www.beefimprovement.org. TL

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