Jim Beastrom
President’s Message president’s message AGA Executive Committee
Keeping an Eye on Genetic Trends Mother Nature has sure thrown some challenges this year. Record snow falls this winter have caused record flooding that may take until fall to dry out. Other areas are facing tough drought and wild fire conditions. The stories of surviving the tornados that have swept the country have been unbelievable. It seems like everyone has been faced with one sort of natural disaster or another this year. Yet, I hope you are all able to recover and that we can look forward to weather patterns leveling off for the remainder of the year. At this half-way point of the year, it’s a good time to reflect on where we are at in terms of a breed and an association and what direction we need to take as we move into the decisions that will be made at the AGA budget meetings in August and as we look towards the next 40 years. The demand for Gelbvieh has been high this past sale season. We are seeing greater recognition for what Gelbvieh and Balancer® cattle can do for commercial cattlemen across the country. These are exciting times in the beef industry and our challenge as Gelbvieh seedstock breeders is to make sure we are continuing to provide industry-leading genetics. In taking a look at the genetic trends of the breed we see areas where we can be proud of the improvements we’ve made. The breed’s genetic trend for birth weight EPD has gone down, showing the progress we’ve made to lower birth weights and improve upon calving ease. Meanwhile, we see a significant increase in the carcass weight and ribeye area EPD genetic trends. The added pounds of carcass weight and increased ribeye size will be appreciated by cattle feeders as for them it means more total profit through more pounds of meat and higher yielding cattle. Our challenge, of course, is to keep our carcass weights within industry accepted standards and not to exceed the threshold of what packers can handle on the rail. With that increased ribeye size, we need to keep a critical eye on marbling. The AGA’s marbling EPD genetic trend has improved in the last ten years and for 8 | July 2011
that breeders are to be complimented. However, we must continue to select cattle that have shown higher marbling genetics though EPDs, ultrasound data and DNA profiles. As a breed, we cannot afford to become complacent on marbling; we need to continue to shoot for producing cattle that will at least hit the Choice or high Select target. When comparing the Gelbvieh breed’s genetic trend for yearling weight to the other major beef breeds, we see we have given a little ground in this area, however it is not a complete disadvantage. Where other breeds have increased yearling weight, they have also significantly increased mature cow size. The Gelbvieh breed’s advantage is we have added pounds of yearling weight while maintaining the moderate mature cow size that is desired in commercial cowcalf situations. Our challenge as seedstock producers is to balance yearling growth and mature cow size, while staying competitive with the other breeds. The Board of Directors is very excited to roll out the online registry system and start to finish the computer conversion process. This has been a big process and we appreciate your support throughout this entire conversion. The online registry is now up and running, and ready for your use. I encourage you to check it out and see what it can do for you and helping you manage your herd. I look forward to the second half of the year – to building the momentum we have created over the past 12 months and using it to propel the breed forward. Good luck to all the junior participants at the Twister Classic! Thank you to the Kansas and Nebraska Gelbvieh Associations for hosting the show and to all the sponsors. We can be proud of the progress we have made in the breed and as an association; we have a lot to be excited about. Jim Beastrom is the president of the American Gelbvieh Association. He owns and operates Beastrom Ranch in Pierre, S.D. Jim can be reached at jimbeastrom@mncomm.com or 605-224-5789.
President Jim Beastrom 605/224-5789 (H) 20453 Cendak Rd. • Pierre, SD 57501 jimbeastrom@mncomm.com
Vice President Mark Goes 402/766-3627 (H) S E Community College, 39414 SW 75th Rd, Odell, NE 68415 mpgelbvieh@hotmail.com Secretary Brian Dunn 620/549-6516 (H) 707 N Main • St. John, KS 67576 dunnfarm@hotmail.com Treasurer Rob Arnold 701/624-2051 (H) 6700 Cty Rd 19 S • Minot, ND 58701 rlagelbvieh@aol.com Legal Counsel E. Edd Pritchett 405/375-5516 (O) 114 N. Main St. • Ste. 101 Kingfisher, OK 73750
AGA Directors Ken Flikkema 406/586-6207 (H & O) 2 Mint Trail • Bozeman, MT 59718 mcfg@imt.net Bob Hart 913/375-1422 (H) 4330 Shawnee Mission Pkwy • Ste. 105 Fairway, KS 66205 bhart@hartfarm.net Dick Helms 308/493-5411 (H) 42041 Dr. 728 • Arapahoe, NE 68922 flyingh@atcjet.net John Huston 859/595-8680 4352 School Rd • New Carlisle, OH 45344 john.e.huston@gmail.com David Martin 501/728-4950 (H) 256 Boyce Rd • Judsonia, AR 72081 martincattleco@windstream.net Bob Prosser 928/289-2619 (O) PO Box 190 • Winslow, AZ 86047 info@bartbar.com Brian Schafer 888/226-9210 (O) 37740 240th Ave. • Goodhue, MN 55027 brian@schaferfarm.com Grant Thayer 303/621-2058 (H) 24063 Cty. Rd 122 • Ramah, CO 80832-9705 grant@jumpingcowgelbvieh.com Gary Tilghman 270/678-5695 (H) 690 Lick Branch Rd • Glasgow, KY 42141-9409 gtilghma@uky.edu Dan Warner 308/962-6511 (H) 71628 Rd 425 • Beaver City, NE 68926 dan@warnerbeef.com Nancy Wilkinson 719/846-7910 (H) 23115 CR 111.3 • Model, CO 81059 bnwbulls@bmi.net All approved AGA Board minutes are available for inspection in the AGA office. Board meeting highlights are available upon request.