Maine-Anjou Voice :: Kyla Nesheim / Jeana Sankey :: 204 Marshall Road :: PO Box 1100 :: Platte City MO 64079-1100
Phone - 816.858.9954 :: Fax - 816.858.9953 ::  E-mail: voiceeditor@kc.rr.com  

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May/June/July 2007 - Headquarters
 
Stirring a Pot of Gold
by John Boddicker, executive vice president

Before too long, school will be out and a summer of rest and relaxation will be at hand, right?
Maybe for some, but for a large majority of young adults with livestock projects, a summer of management and work lies ahead. Intermingled with management and work comes a lot of family time, satisfaction of accomplishment, meeting lifelong friends and a realization that the livestock industry holds a future for you. Investing in the junior program can have huge dividends for all concerned.
Regional Junior Maine-Anjou Shows The American Junior Maine- Anjou Association (AJMAA) holds four regional junior shows every year for all junior Maine-Anjou enthusiasts to get out and exhibit their projects at a regional level. The current sites for the shows are: Paso Robles, Calif., held in February in conjunction with the Western Bonanza; Stillwater, Okla., held in April in conjunction with the Oklahoma Junior Beef Expo; Perry, Ga., held in July in conjunction with the Georgia Beef Futurity; and Harrisburg, Pa., held in October in conjunction with the Keystone International Livestock Expo.
While these regional shows are still in the infant stages they have the capability to offer a “mini” junior national type atmosphere. When the regional show idea was irst developed it had two main objectives:
     • To offer Maine-Anjou junior members who may not have the opportunity to attend the national junior show a chance
       to participate in a regional event.
     • To help regional Maine-Anjou breeders become involved in regional junior activities, inclusive of expanding ones
       marketing program.
These regional shows are a bubble waiting to burst. Junior participation has been sporadic, while regional breeder participation has quite honestly been less than expected. The American Maine-Anjou Association (AMAA) takes responsibility for promoting and educating junior and adult members on the benefits of these regional events. An all out effort will be made by staff to elevate the awareness and participation of both the junior exhibitors and regional breeders.

Benefits to the breeders
     • possible expansion of market in your region
     • promotional capabilities through junior projects
     • building a lifelong regional clientele
     • helping to secure a solid future for a junior exhibitor

Benefits to the junior exhibitor
     • a chance to participate in a nationally sponsored event at the regional level
     • acquire a perception of what the national junior show activities involve
     • added opportunity to meet lifelong friends

National Maine-Anjou Feeding Trial
We are in the second year of a junior division in the National Feeding Trial. The 2006-2007 trial has 13 junior participants each entering a pen-of-three. The cattle are delivered in late fall to the feedlot and harvested in mid to late spring of the next year. Held at Peterson Feed Yard, Ord, Neb., this event offers real world experiences that reflect the economic ups and downs of the feedlot industry. Through this experience, a goal of the event would be for each junior to gain knowledge of not only the profit/loss part of feeding cattle but also on how genetic merit can influence the profit/loss statement. Differences in all likelihood will show up in average daily gain, cost of gain per pound, yield and quality grade, all in an attempt to provide a meaningful learning experience.
At each national junior show, recognition is given to participants that have achieved a high rank with their pen-of-three entry. The AMAA invites juniors from all parts of the country to get involved in this feeding trial and get a first hand look at the commercial feeding industry.

American Junior Maine-Anjou Leadership Conference
This venue of activity is a must for any of our juniors who seek to learn a higher level of leadership skills. An intense two and a half days of activities are guaranteed to push participants to their limits. Without a doubt, this is one of the most dynamic activities offered by the AMAA to its junior members and is one the association is proud to offer. If you are a junior interested in gaining experience in a positive attitude, motivation and the art of conversation, come join the fun. Later in this issue, please find an entry form for the 2007 Leadership Conference. Plan to attend, you won’t regret it!
Over time, the AMAA has been privileged to meet and work with a host of juniors who have gone on to new heights in non-agricultural business along with those who have stayed within the agricultural community. This issue’s feature article focuses on some of our younger generation of Maine-Anjou enthusiasts who are presently involved in breeding Maine-Anjou cattle. Their perspective is important to us, they are where the future lies. Stirring the pot of gold from the time a junior has his or her first Maine-Anjou project to the time when they have a breeding program of their own is time  well spent.
 
Marbling and Percent Retail Product EPD Base Adjustment Error Found
An inadvertent mistake in the base adjustment of the Marbling and Percent Retail Product EPDs was discovered after publication of the Maine-Anjou Spring 2007 Sire Summary and loading of EPDs in the Maine-Anjou database used for production of pedigrees and performance reports. The error resulted in significant changes in EPDs. Marbling EPDs are 0.51 units too high and Percent Retail Product EPD are 0.51 units too low. No other traits were affected. This error only affects the scaling of EPDs and uniformly affects all animals with carcass EPDs. The rank of animals and relative difference between animals was unchanged. Therefore, the EPDs may still be used to compare the relative differences between animals as usual. The published star rankings are incorrect as a result of the error. Correct percentile ranks can be determined by subtracting 0.51 units from Marbling EPD and using the published percentile rank table. Correct Percent Retail Product percentile ranks can be obtained by adding 0.51 units to the animal's Percent Retail Cuts EPD and using the published table. The correct adjustments will be applied to the EPDs produced in the fall 2007 genetic evaluation.
As a result, all animals with Marbling and Percent Retail Product EPDs will adjust accordingly.

    

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