BIF Convention Coverage, Angus Breeders Honored
Mississippi State University and the Mississippi Extension Service hosted the 47th annual Beef Improvement Federation (BIF) Annual Convention June 9-12 at the Beau Rivage Casino and Hotel in Biloxi, Miss. The event draws a wide audience each year, ranging from breed association professionals and cattle producers to researchers and industry representatives.
Industry-leading education and discussions on the latest scientific advancements in the beef industry are at the forefront of the three-day event.
The Angus Media team provides complete online coverage of BIF meetings and events at the website www.bifconference.com. There, you’ll find summary articles from each session, audio recordings and the PowerPoint presentations given by speakers across the nation. Topics covered include rebuilding the nation’s cow herd, sustainability in the beef business and the latest genomic tools to aid cattle producers in selection decisions. More news from the 2015 event will be shared in the pages of the Angus Journal.
Throughout the conference, BIF honors cattle producers who exemplify its mission to improve the efficiency, profitability and sustainability of beef production. This year, the Angus breed is proud to congratulate two of its own for the following prestigious awards.
2015 Seedstock Producer of the Year, McCurry Angus Ranch
Recognized as the 2015 Seedstock Producer of the Year was McCurry Angus Ranch, Burrton, Kan. McCurry Angus Ranch is a family-owned and -managed operation that utilizes 2,000 acres for home-based operations, with satellite operations in Chase and Greenwood counties, which consist of primarily native tall-grass prairie in the Flint Hills. Buffalo, S.D., is the embryo transfer (ET) base for 150 commercial Angus-based cows.
McCurry Angus consists of 400 registered-Angus cows split evenly between spring- and fall-calving herds, and 250 spring-calving commercial-Angus cows.
About 175 bulls are sold yearly in a spring production sale and private-treaty sales throughout the year. Target customers are commercial cattle producers. Currently, females are marketed primarily private treaty. In addition, spring-born commercial steer calves are marketed through Superior Livestock’s online auction.
The ranch got its start in 1977, with the marriage of two third-generation Angus breeders. Andy and Mary McCurry began their start-up operation with seven registered-Angus heifers representing pedigree lineage of seven distinct cow families, no land, no facilities and no equipment. Today, 95% of the current herd traces back to those foundation females.
2015 Commercial Producer of the Year, Woodbury Farms
Woodbury Farms, Quenemo, Kan., was honored with the BIF 2015 Commercial Producer of the Year award. Located in Osage County, Kansas, on the eastern edge of the Flint Hills, the operation was started in 1881 when Fred H. Woodbury purchased his first 80 acres near Olivet, Kan. The fourth generation of Woodburys now operates land in four counties, managing 5,000 acres of native and tame grasses and 400 acres of cropland.
The cow herd consists of 400 spring-calving cows of which 175 are registered Angus and 225 are commercial Angus and black baldies, along with a few red baldies that stem from a Hereford cow base.
All calves are backgrounded after weaning, with a majority of the steers being sold through the local sale barn. About one-third of the heifer calves are retained for replacements, and most of the remaining calves are sold in a production sale in March, along with about 40 yearling bulls from the registered herd.
A small number of steers and heifers also are entered in the annual Flint Hills Beef Fest hosted in Emporia, Kan. Cattle are summer-grazed on the Flint Hills, then finished at a commercial feedyard where carcass data is gathered.
Source: American Angus Association
