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 www.NALF.org North American (303) 220-1693 |
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NALF News Nearly 130 North American Limousin Junior Association (NALJA) members from 20 states took part in the “Bayou Bash” 2007 National Junior Limousin Show and Congress (NJLSC) in West Monroe, La. Read about the memorable event throughout this issue. If you would like a DVD copy of the official highlights video for $30, e‑mail a note to Steady Shots Production (fujicowboy@aol.com). After you order, allow six weeks for delivery. Thanks to the Louisiana Limousin Association (LLA) and Louisiana Junior Limousin Association (LJLA) for their hospitality and to the many generous contributors who made the event possible. Mark your calendars for July 12–19, 2008, when the NJLSC will move to Sioux Falls, S.D. Find the welcome flier, including phone numbers for the host hotels, and a link for making online reservations at the headquarters hotel in the “Juniors” section of the North American Limousin Foundation (NALF) Web site (www.nalf.org). The NALJA Board of Directors members served around 200 people at a sundae fundraiser during the NJLSC and cleared $400 for the yearlong Corner Post Campaign, which ended with the show. Finishing at 91 percent of its $75,000 goal, it will benefit NALJA by funding additional activities and scholarships. Although the initial campaign has ended, its legacy will continue to grow with the second Corner Post Genetics Package at the National Limousin Sale in Denver, Colo., Jan. 14, 2008. Counsil Family Limousin is donating the headline female, CFLX Cheerleader 001T – a Jan. 10, 2007, daughter of Carrousels Peak Power out of Logan’s Cheerleader 280G, the dam of multitrait leader JCL Lodestar 27L. NALF has decided it is time to phase out its post-office (PO) box and simply use its physical address. Although the association will continue to accept mail there for a while, update your address book now and start using the following: North American Limousin Foundation, 7383 S. Alton Way, Ste. 100, Centennial, CO 80112-2339. For those who are wondering, no, NALF’s home office has not moved. But instead of being “rural Englewood,” the property now is part of the city of Centennial. While you are erasing the PO box, go ahead and note that change, too. NALF President Wendell Geeslin, Platteville, Colo., has announced the 2007–2008 Nominating Committee:
The October issue of Limousin World will include the committee’s slate of nominees. The NALF office then must receive signed letters of support for at-large nominees from at least 15 different founding, lifetime or active annual members by Oct. 15. Identification of all nominees by then enables NALF to publicize their candidacies and include their names on the official ballot. The Limousin shows at the American Royal in Kansas City, Mo., will be Oct. 18. Jerry Adamson of Cody, Neb., will sort the junior entries; and Randy Daniel of Colbert, Ga., will judge the open show. Entries were due Sept. 1. The junior show at the North American International Livestock Exposition (NAILE) in Louisville, Ky., will be Nov. 11. The open show will be Nov. 14, and Terry Burks of Bowling Green, Ky., will be the judge. NAILE entries are due Oct. 1. For cattle to retain their Medal of Excellence (MOE) points, owners must submit their performance data to NALF by Dec. 1. You now can find the complete rules for the MOE show program in the “Programs” section of the NALF Web site. There are different versions for the major MOE shows, “Level 2” shows and Lim‑Flex® shows. Also note there are some significant changes to the cow-calf classes. NALF is excited to be partnering with DVAuction.com to provide free producer-outreach webcasts. Each will begin at 7 p.m. (Mountain Time).
Find instructions for participating in the webcasts in the “Programs” section of the NALF Web site. All bulls born after 2001 and semen-collected for artificial insemination (AI) must have a DNA type on file with NALF and be parent-verified via DNA. Blood-typing is acceptable for parentage verification only if one or both parents are dead and, consequently, no tissue sample is available for DNA-typing. For progeny to be eligible for the NALF herdbook, AI sires must have a genotype for protoporphyria (“proto”) on file. To prevent delays in recording AI offspring, bull owners should meet all parentage verification and proto-testing requirements before distributing any semen or flushing cows. Contact Kate Kusma in the NALF office if you have questions. Note the testing laboratories close for several weeks during the winter holidays so do not postpone DNA tests. To follow up on the Limousin Visions Symposium’s directive for enhanced grade, NALF must expand its carcass database. Harvest data from pedigreed animals play a vital role in providing high-quality genetic evaluations of carcass traits for NALF members and their commercial customers. Breeders should collect and submit actual carcass data whenever possible, and NALF will process it free of charge. For more information about reporting harvest data, contact Lauren Hyde in the NALF office. Before requesting preprinted cow-inventory birth-report forms or using the online animal-recording tool, members should update their active-cow inventories. Keeping inventories up-to-date contributes valuable culling information to the NALF herdbook and minimizes the number of unwanted animals in search results. Update inventories using the online tool or the multiple-application form, then return culled animals’ registration certificates to the NALF office. Fall is the important season for gathering critical weaning information. Weaning data (weights, docility scores and group information) drive weaning weight, milk and docility expected progeny differences (EPDs) and are required for adjusting ultrasound measurements. Plan ahead to determine the optimal weigh dates so the most calves possible are within important age limits for calculating adjusted weights and EPDs. Weigh cows, too, and record their body condition scores to contribute to genetic evaluation of maintenance-feed requirements. That promises to position the breed for more widespread industry recognition for its leading efficiency. Your best calves and cows will look even better if all animals, not just the top end, routinely have data reported. All cows will have complete production information documented so you have accurate knowledge of each animal’s performance profile before breeding or marketing. As the fall feeder-cattle-marketing season approaches, you can help your bull customers market Limousin-influenced calves through the Limousin Exchange. Go to the NALF home page, click the Feeder Calf Classifieds link, then follow the directions to list calves for sale. Whether consigning to a sale barn or video auction or selling by private treaty, the online classifieds are a free, easy way to help make sure every bidder possible competes for your customers’ calves. NALF also has arranged a number of special Limousin-influenced feeder-calf sales at auction markets around the country. The fall Bottom Line newsletter will include a list of sales, or contact Bo Sexson in the NALF office for that information. The LimMark tagging program helps recognize Limousin-influenced calves when they perform well in commercial settings. The sky-blue tags are available from NALF, and complete details are available in the “Programs” section of the Web site or by contacting Sexson. NALF is ready for Visions Quest (VQ) Round 3 – another real-world lesson in producing industry-friendly seedstock and feeder cattle while collecting data for genetic evaluation and research and demonstrating the breed’s revenue-generating potential. Enrollments were due Sept. 1, but some pen space still might be available. Anyone interested in delivering cattle between Nov. 1 and 15 to the Colorado State University (CSU) research feedyard near Fort Collins should contact Bo Sexson in the NALF office to ask about late enrollment. VQ guidelines are available from the office or the “Programs” section of the NALF Web site. By Aug. 1, nearly 800 NALF members had paid their annual member service fees, facilitating expanded member services and breed marketing. If you have not yet joined the effort, you may enroll for the remainder of the service-plan year (Aug. 1 to July 31) at any time. About 40 members were enrolled in the voluntary checkoff to generate additional resources for commercial marketing. The program automatically bills $4 per head to participating member accounts when animals are registered. You may change your checkoff-enrollment status at any time by contacting the NALF office. NALF members who can access the secured, members-only portion of the association’s Web site now can go there to submit transfers for their and their linked members’ recorded animals. Find the new tool in the “Recording” section of the member site’s home page. Contact Mary Zilk in the NALF office for more information. Marketing should be a year-round activity to maximize sales, and NALF can help. Limousin literature, including the latest Bottom Line commercial newsletter, is available upon request and has proven effective in soliciting new customers. NALF also will add your prospective customers to the Bottom Line mailing list if you complete a simple form to provide their contact information. Customizable posters, print advertisements and promotional merchandise keep your name before customers throughout the year while increasing the frequency and consistency of the breed’s unified marketing message. Call the NALF office or visit the “Promotional Merchandise” section of the Web site for more information.
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