Q&A with a livestock judging expert

University of Tennessee lecturer David Roper was at the NCBA and Cattle Industry Convention earlier this month as an organizer of the Young Cattle Judging Contest. Roper was joined by hundreds of students competing to accurately evaluate the cattle in the arena. In this Q&A, Roper explains how beef cattle judging teaches students about decision making and helps prepare them for college.

David Roper

David Roper at the NCBA Young Cattle Judging Contest

ASAS: What are students looking for when they’re looking at these animals?

Roper: We’re judging all breeding cattle, so structure is probably most important – being sound, angles and joints are correct. Being able to move and flex their shoulder and their hip indicates that they’ll be able to hold up in the pasture. It indicates longevity, meaning they’ll be around for several years and make several calves, that kind of deal. Body is important, rib shape and guts, so they have room to put food in. If it’s a female, she will have a calf and she needs enough stomach content to maintain herself and raise a calf. They look for muscle, obviously, we’re trying to make meat as a consumer end product. Continue reading

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New job listings

Assistant Professor: Animal Behavior and Well-Being — Oklahoma State University

Learning and Development Manager — The Nutro Company

Science Writing Internship –  ASAS

Assistant Professor Beef Cattle Nutrition/Management — University of Tennessee 

Assistant Professor of Animal Science, Extension Livestock Specialist — North Carolina State University

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Why Chipotle’s “Back to the Start” worries me

Chipotle pork

Pork production according to Chipotle

By Madeline McCurry-Schmidt

During the Grammy Awards broadcast a few days ago, Chipotle Mexican Grill aired a commercial that angered the animal-ag community. In the commercial (which has been played in movie theaters and popular on YouTube since August) a cartoon farmer rebels against a “factory farm” system, and his new happy pigs produce pork for Chipotle.

If you haven’t seen the commercial yet, you can check it out here (Willie Nelson does the music — BE SHOCKED!). The ad shows pigs in an imaginary modern farming system; they move along a conveyer belt to be pumped full of pills (and some kind of green liquid?) while the factory pipes waste into a lake. Modern agriculture is an oppressive, irresponsible, faceless machine.

I understand how commercials work. Most commercials sell an exaggerated world–a world where babies talk like grown ups and Shakira LOVES Pepsi. Just say a jingle and an insurance agent will appear in your house. But the Chipotle commercial is different. The happy cartoon ad bashes the very people who feed us. Chipotle misrepresents science and real, safe production practices.

In an official statement from ASAS, animal scientists explained that the happy farm in the Chipotle ad is not just unrealistic, it is unsustainable and definitely not “pig-friendly.” Letting pigs run free in a field actually exposes them to disease, predation, harsh weather and violence against each other. Unlike in the video, animal waste is not pumped into lakes and animals are not inflated by unrestricted use of antibiotics.     Continue reading

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Travel scholarships for grad students

Joe Fontenot presents grad student Angie Mays with the travel scholarship at the ASAS Southern Section meeting

By Angela Mays / ASAS Graduate Student Director

Travel funding for graduate students from their university departments has become less available recently with the changes in the economy and budget cuts. However, several opportunities for travel funding through ASAS still exist for graduate students. As the 2012 Southern Sections recipient of the Joseph P. Fontenot Travel Scholarship I wanted to inform all the graduate students of their opportunity to apply for the 2012 Joint Annual Meeting travel scholarship.

Receiving this travel scholarship not only helped pay for my travel expenses but it was also a wonderful experience. I had the privilege of meeting and talking with Dr. Fontenot and his wife, and he came to give his support during my oral presentation. As graduate student members of ASAS, we should take advantage of the great opportunities they provide us with by applying for the awards and scholarships that are available. Receiving these awards and scholarships is another way for us to continue to build our resumes and be resourceful in finding funding opportunities to help our advisors and universities. The deadline to apply for the travel scholarships to this year’s JAM is February 23. The nomination information can be found on the ASAS website: http://www.asas.org/award_travel.asp#fontenot

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Undergrads share research with ASAS Southern Section

On Feb. 6, undergrads from universities across the South shared their research in the ASAS Southern Section Undergraduate Student Competition. There were 13 presentations total, and the topics ranged from marbling in heifers to feed efficiency in hair sheep. The students competed for the first place prize of $200.00, but this was also a chance to their work with experts in the animal sciences.

A couple highlights:

How does handling affect stress in cattle?

University of Arkansas student J. Bauer presented research on the impact of different handling styles on beef cattle performance.

“The goal of our good treatment was to handle [cattle] quietly and reduce stress,” said Bauer. “With the adverse group, our goal was speed–how fast we could move them [cattle].”       Continue reading

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