ACA Bulletin

WORDS FROM YOUR BOARD MEMBER:
How many times have you found yourself on the outside looking in?

That’s how I felt around 10 years ago as I began looking at other breeds of cattle to incorporate into our operation. After looking at various breeds I came to the conclusion that there were plenty of other breeds on the outside looking in also. And most all of them were looking at the Chi’s as one of the breeds that could bring them back to center.

What attracted me to this breed first were the people involved. What a diverse group of people we have in the Chi breed. From some of the largest seedstock producers in the nation to those with a few head who simply enjoy this breed. From feedlot operators who understand the importance of what the Chi breed has to offer the meat industry to the club calf producer who makes his living by raising sound, functional, muscled calves that are eye appealing and will feed and show and win.

These reasons and more are why I decided I did not want to be on the outside looking in. I always tell people with other breeds of cattle that until you compare this breed of cattle with what you have at home, you really don’t know what you are missing.

It has been a pleasure serving on the board of directors for the past two years. You will be glad to know that we are being served by a great group of people with a simple goal of making sure that we become more vocal and visual in our approach to getting the word out about the Chi breed.

As many of you have already heard, a valuable member of our staff, Ed Miller, is stepping down to help take over his wife’s family ranch. We will miss Ed’s expertise on commercial issues, working on genetic disorders and getting those cattle identified, carcass and EPDs analysis and just being the friendly, outgoing person representing the Chi breed at various functions.

In closing, just remember; don’t leave yourself on the outside looking in. Jump in with both feet and help to promote this breed to it’s fullest.

Sincerely,
Steve Melroe

BOARD ELECTION BALLOTS DUE NOV. 1
Ballots for board member elections must be postmarked before Nov. 1 in order to be counted. Election procedures dictate that ballots must be mailed to the ACA auditor for counting at the following address:

Kramer & Associates
P.O. Box 10
Lansing, KS 66043
Attn: Tony Kramer

All active adult ACA members were mailed a ballot on Oct. 1. The Southwest Region, along with three at- large positions, are up for election. Running for election this year are: Rob Sheets, At Large; Chuck Madaris, At Large; Neal Branscum, At Large; Keith Schrick, At Large; and Brian Sulak, Southwest Region.

You can find bios on all of the candidates in this issue. If you have any questions regarding elections procedures, please contact the ACA office.

NAILE ADDS SUPREME CHAMPION HEIFER TITLE TO JUNIOR SHOW
NAILE officials have announced the addition of a Supreme Champion Heifer to the 2007 Junior Heifer Shows. For the first time, winners from each of the 13 purebred and percentage shows in the Junior Heifer Show division will compete for the Supreme Champion title and a $2,500 prize.

COMER, BRUNS WED
Terry & Sue Comer, Lynn, Ind., would like to announce the marriage of their daughter, Lindsay Ann Comer, to David Cody Bruns. They were married June 23, 2007 at the Lynn Church of the Nazarene.

Serving as maid of honor was Jessica Comer, sister of the bride. Bridesmaids were Erin Snell, friend of the bride; and Nancy Eads, cousin of the bride. Flower girls were Hannah & Chloe Ratcliffe, cousins of the bride. The best man was Casey Bruns, brother of the groom. Groomsmen were James Jolliff & Tommy Oilar, friends of the groom. The ring bearer was Colton Eads, cousin of the bride.

A reception was held at Romer's in Greenville, Ohio. The couple took a honeymoon trip to Marco Island and Naples, Florida. They currently reside in Union City, Ind.

NJHS GROUP PHOTO AVAILABLE
The group photo taken at the 2007 National Junior Heifer Show is available for purchase. Please contact Heather Counts at (517) 214-0927 if you are interested in purchasing a photo. You can purchase a 5x7 or 8x10 photo.

ACA STAFF FAREWELL
The ACA is saddened to announce the resignation of Ed Miller, Director of Marketing & Performance. Ed is leaving the ACA to use his abilities at his father-in-law's ranch in Texas. Ed has been with the ACA for seven years. During that time, many positive things have happened with the ACA and Ed was highly involved in making those happen.

We wish Ed, his wife Laurel, and kids, Sloan and Tatum, all the best.

ULTRASOUND DATA GUIDELINES
As a reminder, in order for ultrasound data to be entered with the ACA and adjustments made, all cattle must be registered. Please make sure the ultrasound technician has registration numbers to submit with the data.

Data received without registration numbers will not be processed.

If you have any questions, please contact the ACA staff.

BOVIGEN ANNOUNCES NEW FOUR MARKER DNA PANEL TO IDENTIFY FEED EFFICIENCY
Producers in every sector of the Cattle industry are facing rising costs, but none that impact the bottom line more than the cost of feed. To maintain profitability, producers must be able to identify genetic lines that provide the most feed efficient animals possible.

Bovigen is addressing this ever increasing need with a true technological breakthrough, the Industry’s first and only DNA test that can identify an animal’s genetic ability to efficiently convert feed.

“Producers can use the new Gene-STAR® Feed Efficiency test to identify up to a $50 difference in feed cost between animals when ration costs are at $165/ton,” said Victor Castellon, CEO of Bovigen. “Now everyone in the cattle industry has access to a tool for measuring feed efficiency and for improving the profitability of cattle production.”

The markers were identified through discovery and validation work on thousands of cattle focusing on the trait of net feed intake, sometimes also called residual feed intake or net feed efficiency. This trait was identified by nutritionists to measure differences between how much an animal should eat and how much an animal actually eats over a given period of time and accounting for the calf’s weight, how much it grows and its composition of bone, muscle and fat. For example, an animal with a Feed Efficiency GPD® of -3.0 will eat 3 lbs less feed per day than an animal with a Feed Efficiency GPD® of zero. Over a 150 day feeding period and with a ration cost of $165/ton, the animal with a -3.0 GPD® will cost $37 less to feed without sacrificing growth performance or carcass quality.

The new GeneSTAR® Feed Efficiency test is made up of four markers which together identify as much as a 15% difference in daily feed consumption with no affect on other measures like average daily gain, carcass weight, quality grade or yield grade. An independent study showed that feed efficiency has six times as much effect on feedyard profitability as average daily gain and that a twenty percent improvement in efficiency would equal a $65 improvement in profitability. Since Feed costs (grass and purchased feed) are typically more than half of all costs in a cow calf operation, this test has wide application across all sectors of the industry.

Starting August 22nd, Bovigen will release the new GeneSTAR® Feed Efficiency panel test. As in past new marker releases, producers who have tested in the last 30 days will receive the new information at no additional charge. “Also, we have continued to work hard on improving our own efficiencies,” added Castellon. “You can now get our three panel combined test (Feed Efficiency, Quality Grade and Tenderness) at the same low price as we used to sell only Quality Grade and Tenderness.” These improved efficiencies are due primarily to our continued ability to reduce our costs by working exclusively with Sequenom, Inc.’s (NASDAQ: SQNM) MassARRAY® System for DNA testing. For information, pricing and additional details, contact Bovigen at 877.BEEF.DNA or visit www.bovigen.com.