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D2-Lanc*st«r Farming Saturday, Dacambtr 20,1906
Brothers Wins National Chianina Honors
PLATTE CITY, Mo. - The 1986
ACA National Show brought more
than 300 livestock entries to the
1986 North American International
Livestock Exposition, $5,000 in
national show premiums and
enough spectators to keep the
galleries full during both days of
national show events.
Truly a national show, nearly 200
exhibitors representing all nine
ACA regions were in Louisville
Nov. 15 through 20 for the Four
teenth National Chianina Show.
Is The Tail Wagging The Lamb
A multibillion dollar beauty
contest, a spectator sport, a
business, an important factor in
food production; livestock
evaluation is and has been all of
these.
Sizing up the livestock shows,
and in this situation the show ram,
ewe or market lamb, we do not
have quite the glamorous aura of
beauty pageants or major sporting
events, but almost. It undoubtedly
is, however, one of the larger
“contests” going on in the country.
And yet after decades of study and
mountains of data showing the
benefits of performance testing,
we as an industry (including our
other red-meat competitors) still
stick primarily to “eyeball ap
praisal” along with some unusual
“professional” instincts when it
comes to selecting and promoting
the genetics of future breeding
stock.
.Some of you by now are asking,
why talk about it, it is just a fact of
life. Today, yes, but I am not sure
how much of such continued
manipulation and luxury we can
afford and yet survive as an in
dustry.
These thoughts come from a
concern shared recently by a
young dedicated Pennsylvania
commercial sheep producer who
want to expand his operation. He
shared his frustration in search of
some purebred breeding stock that
could most efficiently produce
commercial replacement stock.
Was he selecting and breeding F,
individuals that, when exposed to a
terminal cross sire, would give
him an acceptable lamb in today’s
marketplace?
I assured him, I thought, that
there are a good number of
purebred breeders who seriously
try to meet the needs of com
mercial producers. But there are a
few also who either do not know or
purposely ignore what the sheep
business is all about.
Unfortunately, the latter group
tends to dominate purebred
politics. They “build” sheep not
to meet the needs of the industry,
but to win trophies and purple
ribbons.
Too strong? I think not, if we are
serious about producing a com
modity that is acceptable to our
consumer. “You know,” he said,
“it seems like a tail is wagging the
lamb.” I was listening well when
he blurted out. “If you educators
want to do something to really help
the sheep business, find a way to
outlaw sheep shows and get nd of
Exhibitors from 27 states, in
cluding Alaska, and exhibitors
from Canada, were in attendance.
Judge Paul Clapp, Searsboro,
lowa successfully managed his
task to select the 1986 ACA
National Champion bulls and
females. His selections were Triple
A Amos, grand champion black
bull, HB Head on 27T, grand
champion white bull; BC Miss
Flashblack 2, grand champion
black female; and VF Miss
Reflection, grand champion white
those bureaucrats who insist on
subsidizing such activities. It is a
bit ludicrous when you think about
it. If we could just once define and
apply those basic production and
marketing tools that will permit
the sheep industry to,grow and
remain competitive.”
I might not go that far, even if
the two of us and a sympathetic
politician had the political clout to
master the occasion. Livestock
shows were invented basically as
an informal educational tool. If we
will define and promote those
areas with educational worth for
our industry’s clientele, both adult
and youth then they will con
tinue to have value.
I do not believe we can totally
blame the showring, although I do
think the industry would be better
off if some of those top place
meatless wonders were neutered
before they made it to Nationals.
We later find these same critters
produce offspring that need a feed
bucket around their neck in order
to stay alive. There is nothing
wrong with hauling sheep across
the country, dressing them up like
clowns, and parading them around
the ring, providing you don’t have
the image of serving some kind of
useful function.
If you regard the showring
routine as a completely separate
aspect of the sheep business and do
not get to believing you are doing
the sheep industry a service, then
it is lots of fun and we can all enjoy
it. That is all fine if we do not get
more serious than that.
Traits that count can be
measured. Aside from structural
soundness, if a trait does not have
such identity its economic worth is
questionable. One common trait
both purebred and commercial
sheep producers could focus on for
survival, in my opinion, is pounds
of lamb and/or wool per ewe per
acre per production season.
It is time both segments of the
sheep industry get down to some
dollars and cents reality. Time to
stop pretending the showring can
do the same job of selecting
durable traits that require careful
planning, measurement and
throughtful analysis of records
Time to separate pageantry from
business!
Next month we will discuss
performance testing on the farm,
and the value of some basic
records for breeding, selection and
culling.
female.
Clapp found both champion bulls
in the junior entries, as both were
first named junior champions
before stepping out to win the top
honors.
Champion white bull, HB Head
On 27T, was shown by Campbell
Cattle Co., Cedarville, Ohio. A
burst of applause from the
galleries indicated broad approval
for Clapp’s selection of the 3-21-85
HB Headliner son.
Robert Duis, Donovan, Illinois
also won top honors with his black
junior champion, Triple A Amos, a
4-12-85 Walco Ky Colonel son. The
champion black bull is reported to
have gained 5.7 pounds per day for
the 43 days immediately preceding
the national show. Show day he
weighed 2,013 pounds.
White female honors were
claimed by the senior champion
owned by Ventura Farm, Ken
Geuns, Bath, Michigan and Amy
Shearer, Milan, Michigan. VF
Miss Reflection 505 is a 4-11-85
Rocking Arrow Replay daughter.
Black champion female, BC
Miss Flashblark 2. also named
Lamb Prices Break Tradition
DENVER, Colo. - Lamb price
increases broke tradition during
the Thanksgiving sales period, a
time when retailer and consumer
attention is primarily focused on
holiday hams and turkeys. Tighter
lamb supply, fewer heavyweight
carcasses and more lamb retail
features contributed to the rise in
lamb prices despite a strong
turkey market, according to the
American Sheep Producers
Council.
Turkey stockpiles were high at
the beginning of November, 12
percent above 1985 and 31 percent
above 1984. Retailers normally
start putting turkeys away in April
in anticipation of the Thanksgiving
holiday. Even with the higher
turkey stocks, movement at
Thanksgiving was reported to be
quite good.
East Coast wholesale prices
recovered in late October from an
eight-week downturn. Prices were
steady to firm during the first two
weeks of November at $1.40 for 55-
pound and down carcasses, $1.35
for 55-65 pound carcasses and f 1.30
for 65-75 pound carcasses. In the
third and fourth weeks, a time
when retailers concentrate heavily
Satterfield Named To DHI Staff
GEORGETOWN, Del. - Otto K
Lange, president of the Delmarva
Poultry Industry, Inc. (DPI),
announced the appointment of J.
William Satterfield of Dover, Del.
m the position of executive
assistant effective Jan. 1 1987. The
vacancy will be created when the
present executive assistant,
Gerald B. Truitt, Jr., moves up to
executive director on that date.
Satterfield has been in the
communications field since 1975.
Just prior to joining the DPI staff,
he was farm news director for
radio stations WSBY/WQHQ in
Salisbury. Md Before joining
these stations, tie was associated
with WKEN radio in Dover, Del.
where he supervised the news
department, handled advertising
sales and programming. During
this penod he was also Delaware
news reporter for WCAU radio in ~ , .
PhilaHptnhia p a Dover High School and received a
Satterfield .s’ a graduate of * A ' de f ee from Wake Forest
University.
Karen Brothers (at halter) of East Berlin, showed reserve
champion white female at the National Chianina show.
senior champion is owned by p io n titles. She is a 5-3-85 daughter
Celena Miller of Gainesville, of Faletto’s Image.
1k 3 124-85 daughter Reserve champion black female
of Flashblack. an( j eg if champion honors were
taken by Wendy Butler, Blair-
In the white female division, stown, lowa on BXW Street
LVF Falira ST, owned by Karen Liberty 166. She is a 3-5-86
Brothers, East Berlin, Penn- daughter of Lautners Black Ad
sylvama claimed the reserve vantage and GW Black Webb ET
senior and reserve grand cham- 103.
on turkeys and lamb prices nor
mally suffer, wholesale lamb
prices increased five cents each
week for all weight ranges. By the
end of the month, East Coast
wholesale prices were quoted at
(1.50 for light carcasses, $1.40 for
middle weight carcasses and $1.35
for heavier weights.
Wool trading was slow during
New Compound Increases
Muscle Growth In Lambs
ITHACA, N.Y. Adding a new
experimental chemical called
cimaterol to the diet of young,
growing lambs makes their
muscles grow like those of weight
lifters, resulting in more and
dramatically leaner meat.
Cornell University scientists who
tested the chemical on lambs say
that consumers may be able to buy
lamb with significantly less fat in
the future.
Donald H. Beermann, an animal
scientist in the New York State
College of Agriculture and Life
In November
November with only a few
reported sales. Some fall shorn
wool sold from Idaho at 71 cents on
12 month 56’s and 66 cents on lamb
wool. A few loads of territory 64’s
were sold at $1.95 with 62’s at $l.BO
and fleece 54’s at $1.25 clean
delivered. Some lambs wool from
the Imperial Valley was sold for 68
cents on crossbred 58’s to 62’s and
74 cents on whiteface 62’s and 64’s.
Sciences at Cornell, made that
prediction based on tests involving
the use of the newly developed
chemical on lambs. Beermann
said he is convinced that cimaterol
could become a major tool for
lamb growers, helping them to be
more efficient in lamb production.
The Cornell scientist successfully
produced leaner lamb by in
troducing small amounts of
cimaterol to the diet of young,
growing animals. American
Cyanamid Co., an agricultural
chemical and biotechnology firm,
developed the chemical for use as
a dietary supplement.
The chemical structure of this
compound is similar to some of the
naturally occurring hormones in
animals, according to Beermann,
who is the first university scientist
in the nation to test the chemical on
lambs. The hormone-like com
pound was added to the test
animals’ diet in an amount
equivalent to one ounce for eacn
100,000 ounces of feed ingredients.
One of the two experiments
conducted by Beermann involved
24 Dorset wether lambs. One-haif
of these animals were slaughtered
after receiving the compound for
six weeks, while the rest continued
to have the compound for six more
weeks.
In the second experiment, the
chemical was fed to 32 Suffolk-
Dorset crossbred ram lambs.
Similarly, one-half of the animals
were slaughtered after five weekb
and the rest received the com
pound for an additional five weeks.
Ten to 12 weeks are normallv
required to bring young lambs hi
slaughter weight of 85 to no
pounds, depending on breeds.
Beermann said the chemical
consistently improved carcass
yield as well as carcass com
position (meat, bone and fat
resulting in at least 10 percent
more meat with much less fat.
“The total amount of muscle in
carcass increased by 20 to 10
percent, while the amount of tat
decreased drastically,” Beermann
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