A24-L«ncast»r Farming, Saturday, November 12, 1994
Beef Association ‘User’s Group’ To Provide Education, kepresentation
ANDY ANDREWS
Lancaster Fanning Staff
PEACH BOTTOM (Lancaster
Co.) People who own compu
ters often belong to a “user’s
group.’’ Bobbi McMullen wants
southeastern Pennsylvania beef
producers to know there is a
“user’s group” for them, too.
Recently, ihe Southeast Region
al Cattlemen’s Association was
organized to “help the small pro
ducers out. We want to attract the
feeders, the cow-calf people” and
others associated in any way with
the rapidly growing beef industry,
said McMullen, who is secretary
treasurer.
As a result, the meeting of the
associate, a 100 percent affiliate of
the Pennsylvania Cattlemen’s
Association, will be held Thurs
day, Nov. 17, at 6:30 p.m. at the
Hoss’s Steak House, Rt. 100 and
113, in Lionville, Chester County.
(See related story this issue.)
During a recent interview with
Lancaster Farming at her farm,
Wakefield Angus in Peach Bot
tom, McMullen spoke about what
the intent and focus of the group
will be to those who work in the
beef industry.
The organization, she said, was
started to help the small producers.
“There’re a lot of people who
have a few cow/calves in the back
yard, breeding their own kids’ 4-H
steers, that type of thing, that
haven’t the foggiest idea,” she
said, about how to properly raise
and care for beef animals.
As a result, based on her experi
ences with people who “helped
me along the way,” the group was
molded after the by-laws of the
Berks County Cattlemen’s Associ
ation. “They told us what to do
At their farm, Bobbl manages a herd begun about 11
years ago with a cow/calf purchased at their former farm In
Oxford. She continues to expand the herd.
Edna, a Feb. 1993 daughter out of the Krueger Foolleh Pride dam and Differential
Bull, could be a promising addition to further increase the viability of the stock.
and how to do it,” said McMullen.
One of the ways the association
will help producers is by distribut
ing information about the National
Cattlemen’s Association Beef
Quality Assurance Program next
spring. The program teaches feed
ers and cow-caff producers how to
properly vaccinate beef animals.
“For years, we’ve always given
vaccinations on a beef animal in
the rump,” she said. “But that’s
your top round, that’s where your
best meat is.”
The meat from any producer’s
animal will end up in some way,
whether as a cow or steer, in
McDonald’s hamburgers or steak
served at home or in restaurants,
according to McMullen. Producers
must understand that the site of the
injection damage often results in a
pocket of permanent scar tissue or
infection. “That ruins the cut of
meat,” she said.
What is surprising is that for
many years, horse breeders rou
tinely injected in the neck because
of the heavily muscled rump on a
horse. What took beef producers
so long to catch on?
Many times, according to
McMullen, producers will switch
from rump to neck injections on
older cattle. The cattle become
used to the rump injections and
often react to the change in site.
But moving to a neck injection
insures that little or no meat can
suffer from possible injection site
damage.
The efforts of the regional group
will focus in on how to weather the
price changes (which affect all
segments of the beef industry) to
often negative reports provided by
the press about the industry.
McMullen points out the recent
Recently, the Southeast Regional Cattlemen’s Association was organized to “help
the small producers out. We want to attract the feeders, the cow-calf people” and
others associated In any way with the rapidly growing beef Industry, said Bobbi
McMuHen, who Is secretary-treasurer. With her Is Winston Churchill, her 4-year-old
Pembrooke Welsh Corgi. Photo by Andy Andrews
McMullen recently purchaeed a new computer to help with registration Information
and to conduct business as secretary and treasurer of the association. She uses !t to
keep track of the genetics of the herd.
story on national TV over the bac
terial contamination of meat, and
said that “us producers are the
ones that hurt in the end.”
The association will provide the
necessary education and represen
tation so vital to the continuance of
the industry in this part of the
region.
Already, the group has signed
up 23 members from southern
Lancaster and Chester counties.
The group includes one cow/calf
operation from Maryland. But the
association remains open to pro
ducers throughout all of Lancaster
and welcomes all types of breeds
and variety of producer farms and
beef-related enterprises.
The association will meet once a
year in November. But throughout
the year the association will host
Held days at member farms and
provide other educational
activities.
“We’re trying very hard to
focus on the youth,” she said. “If
you read all the statistics, the aver
age age of the farmer keeps getting
older and older. And if we don’t
keep the youth involved and the
youth interested, we’re not going
to have any farmers in the future.”
McMullen also serves as secret-
ary of the Atlantic National Angus
• Foundation, which hosts one of the
largest Angus Shows around on
Memorial Day Weekend at the
Timonium Fairgrounds in Timo
nium, Md.
Bobbi and her husband, Joe,
own and operate the Wakefield
Angus Farm just off 222 north of
Peach Bottom. There, they main
tain 60 acres (nearly all rotational
ly grazed) for their purebred regis
tered Angus cow/calf herd, of
which they are calving 14. They
purchased the farm two years ago.
At their farm, Bobbi manages a
herd begun about 11 years ago
with a cow/calf purchased at their
former farm in Oxford. She con
tinues to expand the herd.
One such calf, Edna, a Feb.
1993 daughter out of the Krueger
Foolish Pride dam and Differential
Bull, could’be a promising addi
tion to further increase the viability
of the stock.
McMullen consigns two bulls
every year to the state Meat Evalu
ation Center Performance Testing
Bull program. This year, they had
the top indexing bull over all
breeds and the highest selling
Angus bull. She has been consign
ing bulls to that sale the past eight
years.
Other bulls are sold to breeders
in various locations. All are regis
tered Angus sales.
McMullen said she continues to
market as many bulls as she can.
McMullen recently purchased a
new computer to help with
registration information and to
conduct business as secretary and
treasurer of the association. She
uses it to keep track of the genetics
of the herd.
She uses all AI on the herd.
"We’re trying to breed for what
we consider ‘balance’ EPDs,"
said McMullen. Those include
moderate birth weight, high wean
ing weight, high yearling weight,
and moderate on milk.
In the meantime. McMullen
continues to refurbish the farms
tead (including the 200-year-old
stone house) and improve the
operation.
This week, construction began
on 1,500 feet of streambank fenc
ing, including an 18-foot cattle
(Turn to Pago ASS)