A record turnout of 630 registered participants soaked in the late summer scenery of southern Montana at the National Angus Conference and Tour, held in Bozeman, Montana, Sept. 15 to 17.

This year's 4-H grand champion steer at the Iowa State Fair looked a lot like the 2008 winner.

That's no surprise — it's a clone.

"Doc" is the first cloned animal to win a 4-H livestock blue ribbon at the fair.



Progressive Cattleman's interviews and excerpts from the Texas A&M University Beef Cattle Short Course, held Aug. 2-4, 2010.

The following is a summary report of the August cattle supply marketings as reported by USDA Livestock & Grain Market News. August feeder cattle movement was seasonally light as usual, but marketing calves and yearlings late this summer was especially difficult with extremely high heat and humidity plaguing most of the central portion of the U.S. Dangerously high heat indexes caused tremendous shrink on cattle being moved to market with heat stress sapping flesh and fill conditions and even deathloss in several cases before purchases made their new destinations. Calf demand was only moderate early in August during the hottest portion of the summer, but yearling feeder cattle interest never wavered as feedyard inventories are extremely “green” and buyers continue aggressively for feedlot replacements as the finished cattle market remains brisk.

As the breeding season approaches, generally everyone is thinking about getting cows and heifers in shape for the breeding season. A nice, tight breeding season results in a nice, tight calving season, which generally is the most economical for producers. However, the cow is only half of the equation. Don’t forget about the bulls!

The American Gelbvieh Association (AGA) introduces its Southern Balancer hybrid, a Gelbvieh heat-tolerant composite specifically targeted to Southern beef producers. Registration certificates and performance data will be offered this fall, AGA said.

A potentially fatal condition called “frothy bloat” is afflicting Kentucky cattle herds and prompting state officials to ask the U.S. Department of Agriculture to include the condition in a program allowing farmers to request reimbursement for losses.

Brazil-based JBS Swift, the world’s largest beef producer, announced plans in early July to acquire the McElhaney Cattle Co. feedyard of Welton, Arizona. McElhaney has a one-time capacity for 130,000 head of cattle, according to a company press release.