Illinois Hosts 2007 Event

PEORIA, ILL. (Aug. 30, 2007) — Angus enthusiasts gathered in Peoria, Ill., Aug. 28 for the kickoff of the Heartland Homecoming 2007 National Angus Conference & Tour. Sponsored by Purina Mills, LLC, and Alpharma Animal Health, the conference was conducted at the Holiday Inn City Center.

About 30 early arrivers participated in Tuesday evening’s National Animal Identification System (NAIS) Premises Registration Workshop. Jim Shirley, American Angus Association vice president of industry relations, conducted the workshop to explain NAIS and encourage producers to enroll their premises.

Conducting such workshops is part of the agreement the Association, together with ABG Inc., signed with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) in early August. In return for assisting APHIS in educating producers about NAIS and premises registration, the Association and ABG will share a grant amounting to nearly $600,000. For more information see page 125 of the September 2007 Angus Journal.

Conference attendees were welcomed with a reception Tuesday evening.

The conference
Association president Jot Hartley of Vinita, Okla., welcomed producers to the conference Wednesday morning. A full slate of speakers tackled topics of reproduction, customer service, beef cattle efficiency and carcass end product.

Bill Beal of Virginia Tech explained the estrous cycle and provided an understanding of the components that lead to breeding success.

In tag-team fashion, Sally Northcutt, Association director of genetic research, explained the Association’s new heifer pregnancy (HP) expected progeny difference (EPD). Beal followed with comments about application of the EPD and offered some cautions to its overuse. Northcutt; Beal; and Bill Bowman, Association director of performance programs, then opened the floor to questions from the audience.
Regional Manager Jerry Cassady provided ideas for customer service.
The University of Illinois’ Doug Parrett discussed cow-herd efficiency. Larry Berger explained the difference between feed conversion and residual feed intake (RFI).

Tom Carr of the University of Illinois presented the basics of carcass grading and instrument grading. Afterward, Mark Polzer of Certified Angus Beef LLC (CAB) presented ideas for how producers could supply the Certified Angus Beef® (CAB®) brand with a higher percentage of cattle.
Representing conference sponsor Purina Mills, Marketing Manager Rod Nulik shared reasons for their now three-year partnership with the American Angus Association’s national conference and ways Purina Mills is helping increase producer efficiency.

Summaries of the presentations will be available on the news/audio page of www.nationalangusconference.com, along with the accompanying audio files and PowerPoints if available.

The tour
A trip to Weaver Angus Farm, Peoria, kicked off the tour Wednesday evening. The tour was planned and hosted by the Illinois Angus Association.

Thursday tour stops included Keystone Steel & Wire, Caterpillar Inc., Kickapoo Creek Winery, the Woodford County Fairgrounds in Eureka and Werner Angus. Friday’s tour stops included Dameron Angus, near Lexington; Prairie View Farm, north of Gridley; and Sauk Valley Angus, near Rock Falls.

Brief descriptions of the stops are available on the tour schedule page of the conference web site, www.nationalangusconference.com. Photo galleries will also be made available on the site.

Watch for coverage of the Heartland Homecoming 2007 National Angus Conference & Tour in the October 2007 Angus Journal.