Animal Science

Animal Science Newsletter Dedicated to the Alumni and Friends of the Animal Science Department University of Arkansas Fall 2000 New Swine Facility Funded Gov. Mike Huckabee announced the allocation of The facility will replace an outdated building where pigs $600,000 for a facility to be used in University of Arkansas Division are raised from farrow (birth) to the finishing stage. The new of Agriculture research and educational programs on managing facility will accommodate 120 sows, which can produce 2,000 animal wastes Friday July 28 pigs a year. The facility at the Pauline Whitaker will have four separate Animal Science Center. units, each with a Gov. Huckabee was holding pond for joined by local legislators, U comparative studies of of A Vice President for methods to control odors Agriculture, Milo Shult, and and liquid wastes. other U of A officials. The Animal wastes contain funds were appropriated by phosphorus, nitrogen the Arkansas Legislature for and other materials that construction of a swine can impact water quality production research facility at if not managed properly. a research complex near Swine research Savoy, about 10 miles west and education have of Fayetteville. increased in the past Keith Lusby, Animal five years, Lusby said, Science Department Head, with support from said the facility is needed for Arkansas producers swine research and and processors as well educational programs, as state and federal including a project funded by agencies. Animal Governor Mike Huckabee presenting check to Dr. Milo Shult, U of A Vice the U.S. Environmental President for Agriculture Science Professor, Protection Agency. The EPACharles Maxwell, a funded project is to address issues such as soil phosphorus nationally recognized authority on swine management, joined build-up and management of solids in holding ponds. the faculty in 1996, bringing an extensive research program from Environmental protection and managing odors are key issues for Oklahoma State University. the swine industry in Arkansas. The new facility is also needed for Bids will be opened on December 19, 2000. Hopefully research and demonstration projects on nutrition, management construction will be underway shortly. of energy and other resources, pork quality and reproduction. Nettleship donation used for fencing Dr. Mae Nettleship (pictured), long-time breeder of quality Tennessee Walking horses, became an early supporter of the Equine Program. Her gift has been used to fund the Horse Festival and provide safe fencing. Dr. Nettleship is a retired human pathologist, receiving her M.D. from John Hopkins School of Medicine. She enjoys her children, Anderson and Susan, and her grandchildren, who are also active in raising, training, and showing Tennessee Walking horses. Dr. Nettleship was honored by the Department of Animal Science and her portrait and biography are on permanent display in the Pauline Whitaker Animal Science Center. Faculty Keith Lusby, Department Head klusby@comp.uark.edu Jason K. Apple japple@comp.uark.edu A. Hayden Brown, Jr. hbrown@comp.uark.edu Kim Cassida kcassida@uaex.edu Wayne K. Coblentz coblentz@comp.uark.edu Kenneth Coffey kcoffey@comp.uark.edu L. B. (Bernie) Daniels lbd@comp.uark.edu Stacey Gunther sgunter@uaex.edu Nancy Jack njack@comp.uark.edu Dianne H. Hellwig hellwig@comp.uark.edu Zelpha B. Johnson zelphaj@comp.uark.edu E. B. (Beth) Kegley ekegley@comp.uark.edu D. Wayne Kellogg wkellogg@comp.uark.edu David L. Kreider dkreider@comp.uark.edu Bryan R. Kutz bkutz@comp.uark.edu Charles V. Maxwell cmaxwell@comp.uark.edu Edgar L. Piper epiper@comp.uark.edu Fred W. Pohlman fpohlma@comp.uark.edu Rick W. Rorie rrorie@comp.uark.edu Charles F. Rosenkrans, Jr. crosenkr@comp.uark.edu T. A. Yazwinski yazwinsk@comp.uark.edu From the Department Head’s Desk by Keith Lusby The long awaited construction of new swine facilities got a huge boost when Governor Huckabee approved $600,000 in funding last June. Dr. Shult worked very hard to get that funding and we are very appreciative of his support of this program. We are scheduled to open bids on December 19 and are hoping for competitive bids so we can proceed with construction. Dr. Charles Maxwell from the Animal Science Department and John Langston, Section Leader of Agriculture Engineering Extension, have been the leaders in moving this project forward. We had 118 undergraduates enrolled this fall, which is the highest since Animal Science was split from Poultry Science and became a separate department in 1992. With interest in the new equine program, the good attendance at the summer judging camp, FFA and 4-H events at the new arena and solid recruiting effort around the state by Animal Science faculty, students and supporters, we think we have enrollment headed toward where it should be. Dr. Nancy Jack is planning her first horse camp for juniors next summer. Added to Bryan Kutz’s very successful judging camp, we now can offer two great summer experiences for kids across the state. We also had 37 graduate students enrolled. This also is a new high and we are proud to have top students from schools across the country in our graduate program. The faculty continues to gain national attention. Dr. Jason Apple was just named as Section Editor for Meat Science for the Journal of Animal Science and Dr. Wayne Kellogg was named as Section Editor for Nutrition for the Journal of Dairy Science. Both these appointments show recognized excellence from their peers. They will head the editorial groups who approve articles for these two prestigious professional journals. Julie Hamilton, Animal Science Sophomore, completed an undergraduate research project under the direction of Dr. Tom Yazwinski and had the scientific article she wrote accepted by Discovery, the University journal for undergraduate research. We are very proud of Julie. -page 2 Under the subject of teaching we want to congratulate Dr. Charles Rosenkrans for his election to the University of Arkansas Teaching Academy. The Academy selects faculty for membership based on their accomplishments in teaching. Four faculty from the department plowed new ground technologically speaking as Drs. Coffey, Rosenkrans, Gunter and Cassida taught ANSC 5253, Advanced Livestock Production, using Compressed Interactive Video, meaning talk-back TV. Drs. Coffey and Rosenkrans presented their lectures from the UA campus, while Drs. Gunter and Cassida taught from the Southwest Research and Extension Center in Hope. Students took the course at UAF, SWREC, Little Rock and Batesville. We are excited at the prospects this technology provides for making more Animal Science courses available across the state and appreciate these professors taking the first leap. We want to wish Dr. Ed Piper the very best. He has announced that he is retiring effective December 31, 2000. Ed and Jane are going to travel extensively using their new motor home and we wish them safe and enjoyable travels. Dr. Piper contributed greatly to the understanding of fescue toxicity and leaves a productive research and teaching program in the hands of the Animal Science faculty. We appreciate his good work, professionalism and friendship. Finally, I want to encourage each alum and friend of the Animal Science Department to consider naming a seat in the Whitaker Arena. You can join over 200 of your friends who have named seats and also help students in Animal Science. Each seat can be named for you, your ranch, or someone you want to honor for $500. Make checks payable to the U of A Foundation and simply tell us how you want the seat named. We have space for two lines on each name plate. The first line is usually the name and the second line is used for the location (town and state). All money goes directly to Animal Science Scholarships. Please think about this and help some students. We wish each of you the very best for the new year and extend our invitation to visit the campus and see the program. Emeritus Faculty C. J. Brown Marshall Heck Paul Lewis Paul R. Noland Jack L. Perkins Howard Peterson Jerry Rakes O.T. Stallcup Tom Westing Newsletter Editor Zelpha Johnson (501) 575-2983 zelphaj@comp.uark.edu Department Phone No. (501) 575-4351 Fax: (501) 575-7294 Web Address: http://www.uark.edu/depts/animals/ Student Notables Hamilton Published in Discovery The Animal Science Department is very pleased to have the article written by Julie Hamilton, working with Dr. Tom Yazwinski, included in a new undergraduate student journal, Discovery. The title of her research was “Feasibility of inducing overlap immunologic competence in gallinaceous birds with Ascaridia dissimilis and A. galli.” This journal was published this past year for the first time as part of the Honors Program in the College ofAgricultural, Food and Life Sciences. Students with a 3.25 GPAare eligible. The program requires six hours of honors classes and six hours of credit for a research or creative project, a written report and oral defense. Seed grants are awarded for honors projects, which are conducted in cooperation with a faculty member. Articles by students who completed projects last year while the Honors Program was being planned are included. A research project involves formulating an idea, structuring a hypothesis, testing the hypothesis through experimentation and drawing inferences from the results. The student and faculty interaction in the process represents teaching and learning at the highest level. Julie is from Cabot, AR., and a graduate of Cabot High School. She received the M.S. Offut Scholarship, the Whitaker Scholarship, and the G. Brown Scholarship. She chose this research project because it was interesting and her professor (Dr. Tom Yazwinski) expressed the need for research in this area. She feels that the experience gave her insight into what she might expect from graduate school, while allowing her to feel more confident about her decision to continue her education. She feels that she is now more “competitive” and more capable of applying information from the classroom, dealing with the unexpected and expressing the results both orally and in writing. Future plans are to finish her B.S. degree at the University of Arkansas, and then continue her education until she receives a Ph.D. in Animal Science. Walker is University Ambassador David (Josh) Walker has been busy being a summer orientation leader and a University Ambassador for the 1999-2000 school year. To be an orientation leader, David had to fill out an application. Only 24 out of 50 or 60 are accepted. Candidates go through a double interview process – one a person-to-person interview and the other a group exercise where team skills are evaluated. Successful candidates train for a week learning all about the campus and various departments, and run the freshman orientation sessions during the summer. To become a University Ambassador, David also had to apply and go through an interview process. Duties include working with all major recruiting programs on campus. Ambassadors give lots of tours; as many as one a week during the semester, and are required to devote at least one Saturday to giving tours. David plans to apply again next year. David is a junior Animal Science major from BenLomond, Arkansas. His parents are Jo and Mike Walker. Future plans are to go to graduate school majoring in reproductive physiology, obtaining a Ph.D., and becoming a professor in a college somewhere. Crawford places 6th in AQHA finals Rachel Crawford and her 13-year-old horse, Timidation, placed sixth overall at the American Quarter Horse Associations’ Youth World Show in Fort Worth, Texas, in August. The pair competed against the best in the nation and the world among 2000 entries for world titles in 30 classes. Although Rachel has been showing horses since age 9, she and Timidation have only been jumping less than two years, when this talented western pleasure horse seemed to show a natural interest and ability in jumping. The team has also done well in Arkansas. In July, Rachel and Timidation competed in the Arkansas State 4-H Horse Show in Pine Bluff, winning first place buckets in Hunt Seat, Equitation, and Western Pleasure, and finished in the top five in eight other classifications. They have posted previous wins in Arkansas 4-H competitions. Rachel was also named the state’s Reserve Riding Queen. The pair won high-point honors at the Northwest Arkansas District 4-H show in Harrison in June, and Rachel was also named the North Arkansas 4-H Riding Queen. Crawford is a participating member in the American Quarter Horse Association, Washington County Young Riders 4-H Club, Association of Northwest Arkansas Riding Clubs and Stock Horse Association. A recent graduate of Fayetteville High School, Rachel is currently attending the University of Arkansas where she is majoring in Animal Science. She is the daughter of Jeff and Janet Crawford of Fayetteville. Davis participated in Alltech Tour Ellen Davis gave an invited presentation on the North American University Seminar Series sponsored by Alltech in October of this year. She presented a seminar, entitled “The Case for Bio-Mos as a Natural Alternative in Pig Diets” here at the University of Arkansas, at Purdue University in Indiana, and at the University of Alberta, the University of Saskatchewan, and the University of Manitoba in Canada. Alltech is a company involved in the production of natural feed alternatives for livestock, and Bio-Mos is one of their products derived from the cell wall of yeast that naturally promotes growth and health in livestock. Alltech sponsors a yearly tour in which they visit various universities in North America to promote research cooperation between the company and academia. The tour gives graduate students an opportunity to present research they have conducted with Alltech products. This is Ellen’s second year to participate in Alltech’s university tour. Ellen is from North Carolina and a graduate of North Carolina State University. She received her M.S. in Animal Science at Oklahoma State University before continuing to work toward a Ph.D. at the University of Arkansas under the guidance of Dr. Charles Maxwell. Her research concentration in the area of swine nutrition. - page 3 - Alumni News Vincent Shirley (BS ’94) is currently working for Tyson Foods, Inc., as a Quality Assurance Regional Manager for national accounts. He is responsible for the Tricon Products (KFC, Pizza Hut, and Taco Bell). He and his wife, Joy, are proud to announce the birth of their first child, a son, on Christmas Day 1999. Felicia (Bachemin) Staudinger (BS ’91, MS ’94) is using her education to successfully home-school her oldest daughter Adrieen. She was expecting a third child in August, 2000. Jeff Chewning (PhD ’90) is president-elect of the Arkansas Chapter of Professional Animal Scientists. George Davis (MS ‘64) is past president and Zelpha Johnson (PhD ’90) is secretary-treasurer. David Daniel (BSA ’73), county extension agent for agriculture in Washington County, recently received the Achievement Award from the National Association of County Agricultural Agents (NACC) during the organization’s recent national meeting and professional improvement conference in Jackson, Mississippi. The Achievement Award is awarded by the NACC to agents with 10 or less years of service to encourage and recognize excellence in the field of extension education. The NACC is a national organization made up of membership of county agents from 50 states and Puerto Rico. Only 1% of the membership is eligible to be nominated for the award. The recipient is chosen by other county agents for outstanding educational programs and service. Daniel is responsible for the dairy programs in Washington County. This involves presenting educational programs on all phases of dairy production and management. Daniel has also played an active role in 4-H dairy project clubs and has coached two state winning dairy judging and two dairy Quiz Bowl teams. He has also coordinated demonstrations on alfalfa grazing and fly ash cooperator farms. Jenkins wins Animal Management Award We are very pleased to have one of our alumni, Thomas G. Jenkins (BS ‘72, MS ‘74), receive the Animal Management Award from the American Society of Animal Science this summer in Baltimore. Dr. Jenkins is currently a scientist at the Roman L. Hruska US Meat Center in Nebraska. Following is the script read as the award was presented. The Animal Management Award recipient for the year 2000 was Thomas G. Jenkins. Dr. Jenkins was born in Ft. Lewis, Washington to William and Dorothy Jenkins on January 28, 1947. Raised in the west central part of Arkansas, he received a BS degree in Animal Science in 1972 and earned the MS degree with Dr. C. J. Brown in the area of Animal Breeding from the University of Arkansas and the Ph.D. degree from Texas A&M University in 1977. Dr. Jenkins has had an outstanding scientific career in beef cattle research with the Agriculture Research, USDA serving as a leader or member of multidisciplinary research teams at the U.S. Meat Animal Research Center. Research results documenting biological factors affecting production efficiency for diverse biological types of cattle and sheep are published in over 150 professional papers and reported at numerous national and international symposia and conferences. Findings from these studies have been included in the NRC Nutrient Requirements for Beef Cattle. He has served as a member of the Input-Output Subcommittee of the Council on Animal Nutrition for the National Research Council as well as industry groups such as BIF and NCBA, and various academic committees addressing production efficiency issues in animal production systems. He holds a joint appointment with the University of Nebraska as an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Animal Science. Dr. Jenkin’s contributions to animal management include his role in the development of decision support software for the beef cattle industry. The Decision Evaluator for the Beef Cattle Industry (DECI) represents an innovative means to interface producer information with scientific knowledge to evaluate strategic management decisions production and financial performance. The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, the USDA-ARS, and the American Society of Animal Scientists have recognized Dr. Jenkin’s contributions to the understanding of the effects of genotype by nutritional interactions on beef cattle production efficiency. The Department of Animal Science at the University of Arkansas has recognized Dr. Jenkins with the Advanced Graduate of Distinction award. - page 4 - Faculty News Dr. Keith Lusby was elected president of the American Registry of Professional Animal Scientists. Dr. Tom Troxel, Animal Science Section Leader, Cooperative Extension Service, is president elect of the Southern Section of the American Society of Animal Science. Dr. Wayne Kellogg was invited to present a paper in July at the 2000 annual meeting of the American Dairy Science Association in Baltimore. His paper was titled “Survey of management practices used for the highest producing Dairy Herd Improvement (DHI) herds in the United States.” He was also an invited speaker at the Fall 2000 meeting of the Research and Education Committee of the National Cottonseed Products Association on the same topic. The survey involved 250 Holstein dairy herds and included the managers’ choice of cottonseed products as feed ingredients for their milking cows. Dr. Jodie Pennington, Dr. Zelpha Johnson and Mr. Rapepond Panivivat also worked on the project. Results of the survey will be published in the Journal of Dairy Science. Dr. Hayden Brown was elected third officer of the technical committee of the Southern Beef Cattle Breeding Project S-277, “Breeding to optimize maternal performance and reproduction of beef cows in the southern region.” Dr. Wayne Kellogg has been appointed Editor of the Nutrition, Feeding, and Calves Section of the Journal of Dairy Science. His term of service is for three years. The Journal of Dairy Science is the publication of the American Diary Science Association, Savoy, IL. Dr. Jason Apple has been appointed Section Editor for Meat Science for the Journal of Animal Science. Piper and Rosenkrans visit Soest and Prague Drs. Charles Rosenkrans, Jr. and Ed Piper presented research papers at the 4th International Neotyphodium/Grass Interactions Symposium at the University of Paderborn in Soest, Germany September 27-29, 2000. This symposium attracts researchers from varied disciplines from around the world working on grass/endophyte interactions. Rosenkrans presented a paper entitiled “ Physiological Responses of Steers to Ingestion of Endophyte-Infected Fescue Hay, Ivermectin Treatment, and Immune Challenge” and Piper presented a paper entitled “Effect of Chanoclavine on In Vitro Prolactin Release. They also attended the Third Conference on Harmful and Beneficial Microorganisms in Grassland, Pastures, and Turf in Soest on September 26, 2000. The University of Arkansas will be hosting the 5th International Neotyphodium/Grass Symposium in 2003 in Fayetteville. During the same trip, Rosenkrans and Piper visited and planned future collaborative efforts with Dr. Mirko Flieger, Head of the Division of Biogenesis and Biotechnolgy of Natural Compounds at the Institute of Microbiology, Academy of Science, Prague, Czech Republic with which the University has an Academic Interchange Ageement. Flieger is well known, world wide, for his expertise on the chemistry and biology of ergot alkaloids which are the fungal toxins believed to cause fescue toxicosis. He has been invited to the U.S., next fall, to conduct some seminars and participate in research activities here on campus. Rosenkrans elected to Teaching Academy Dr. Charles Rosenkrans, Jr. was elected to the University of Arkansas Teaching Academy this fall and was formally inducted at a dinner in November. The University Teaching Academy is a society committed to excellence in teaching at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville. Its mission is to advocate and represent teaching interests, promote and stimulate an environment of teaching and learning excellence, and encourage recognition and reward for exceptional teaching. In addition to Charter Members, the members of the Academy are those faculty members elected to membership at the annual meeting of the Academy by not less than a two-thirds vote of the members present. No more than six new members may be elected to the membership each year. Members may be nominated from the entire University faculty. - page 5 - News from Extension Arkansas Beef Improvement Program Update by Shane Gadberry Assistant Specialist - Beef Cattle Beginning last September, several farms began new projects in the Beef Improvement Program. Dr. Tom Troxel and Dallas County agent Bobby Hall began working with David Terrell on a project geared toward controlling the breeding season. Gerald Crossland and Justin Calhoun, Union County agents, also recently began working with the Agerton farm (Gary Agerton and family) on a breeding season project. The breeding season project was developed to determine the best method of moving from a long calving season to a short, 90 days or less, calving season. Four farms were recently selected to participate in the replacement heifer development project. These include Pruitt Osborne and White County agent Brian Haller; James Watkins and Polk County agent Carla Vaught; and John Freeman and Jim Singleton of Benton County working with their county agent, Steve Simpson. The replacement heifer project was initiated to help cattle producers develop heifers to be at a targeted weight by the start of the breeding season. Dr. Troxel oversees the replacement heifer projects. Dr. George Davis and Tom Moody, Perry County agent, are working with Kenny Brixey on a supplemental feeding project to determine the most economical method of supplementing the cow herd while maintaining animal performance. Jamey Styles and Johnson County agent Blair Griffin are working with Dr. Stanley McPeake on a backgrounding project to assess the value of backgrounding and utilize performance records in selection. Troyce Barnett, Stone County agent, and Wayne Neal, Izard County agent, recently hosted field days on their Beef Improvement stockpiled fescue project farms. Claud Watters of Stone County reduced winter-feeding cost $10/head, and Bill Miller of Izard County reduced feeding cost $20/head by stockpiling fescue. This savings occurred during a dry fall like this year. Pope County agent, John Payne, is hosting a field day, December 2, on the Garland Baker ABIP demonstration farm. Brian Helms, Howard County agent, submitted an abstract and will be presenting the results of a calving season project conducted on Charles Smith’s farm at the American Society of Animal Science, Southern Section meeting in January. Charles increased the percentage of cows calving within a 90-day spring season from 29 to 69% in three years, and 100% are expected to calve within 90 days next fall. At the same time, Charles increased his return over specified costs by $200. Dates Set For 2001 Arkansas Grazing Management Schools by Larry Sandage Extension Forage Specialist To date, over the past five years, 26 Arkansas Grazing Management Schools (AGMS) have been conducted. A total of 985 participants have attended these schools. The objective of AGMS is to provide training on matching forage, livestock, soil, water and capitol resources with individual producer goals through various grazing management options to maximize profits. Based on AGMS surveys, attendees indicate a 94% favorable rating of the overall AGMS program. Prior to attending an AGMS program, 76% of the attendees were utilizing continuous grazing management practices exclusively. One year after attending an AGMS program only 26% of the attendees were still utilizing continuous grazing exclusively. As a result of attending AGMS, participants have indicated an increase in pounds of marketed livestock per acre of 25% and a reduction in the number of days of hay feeding by almost one month per year. A new AGMS program has been developed for 2001. This new program will be called the Four Seasons grazing program. Four area schools located in Nevada, Benton, Pope and Lawrence counties will be conducted involving 45 participants at each location for an entire year. A participant would attend a school in their area of the state during mid-spring, midsummer, mid-fall and mid-winter. This will allow greater opportunity in looking at forage/livestock management options for an entire grazing year. Our 2001 AGMS team of instructors include: R. L. Dalrymple, Forage Agronomist, Noble Foundation; Jim Gerrish, Assistant Professor, Forage Systems Research Center, University of Missouri; Bob Dixon, Forage/Livestock Producer, Lawrence County; John Spain, Forage/Livestock Producer, Benton County; Ralph Harris, Grazing Lands Specialist, NRCS; and Larry Sandage, Extension Forage Specialist, University of Arkansas. The entire registration fee, which is $95 per person for the entire year, will be paid through a Grazing Lands Coalition Initiative (GLCI) grant to the Arkansas Grazing Lands Advisory Committee (AGLAC). The 2001 AGMS program will be conducted by the University of Arkansas in cooperation with NRCS and AGLAC. Also sponsoring the 2001 Arkansas Grazing Management School Four Seasons programs will be the Arkansas Cattlemen’s Association and the Arkansas Forage & Grassland Council. Registration will be limited to the first 45 individuals signing up at each location. To register, contact Larry Sandage at 870-307-0067 by telephone, email at lsandage@uaex.edu or by mail at Larry Sandage, #70 Experiment Station Drive, Batesville, AR 72501. You may also call or go by your local county Extension office and have them forward your name, phone number and mailing address. - page 6 - Arkansas Feedout Program by Tom Troxel Extension Beef Specialist The 2000 - 2001 Arkansas Feedout Program is well underway. A total of 365 steers and 50 heifers are now on feed at Neill Cattle Company in Welch, Oklahoma. This year 45 Arkansas cattle producers from 20 counties are participating. The calves arrived at the feedyard on November 2nd and were weighed and processed on the third. The heifers averaged 624 pounds with a feedyard value of $81.47 per cwt. Fifty-two percent of the heifers were muscle score 1’s while 42% and 6% were muscle score 2’s and 3’s, respectively. Fifty-four percent were large framed and 46% were medium framed. The steers averaged 643 pounds at a value of $86.29 per cwt. Sixty-seven percent were muscle score 1’s while 33% were 2’s. Forty percent were large framed and 60% were medium framed. One of the trends noted in the Feedout program is that the number of large framed cattle have decreased as the medium framed increased. 2001 KOMA Beef Cattle Conference by Stan McPeake Extension Livestock Specialist The 2001 KOMA Beef Cattle Conference will be held at the Pauline Whitaker Animal Science Center on January 17, 2001, in Fayetteville. The theme for the conference will be Designing Beef Cattle for the 21st Century. Featured speaker, Dr. Harlan Ritchie, Distinguished Professor of Animal Science, Michigan State University, will discuss Connecting the Cow Herd to the Carcass. Other speakers will include Dr. Tom Troxel, Extension Beef Cattle Specialist, and Mr. Sammy Cline, Livestock Market News Reporter, both with the University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service. They will discuss factors influencing calf pricing in Arkansas. Mr. John Crouch, Director of Performance Programs, American Angus Association, will talk about the value of ultrasonic carcass measurements versus traditional measurements taken directly from the carcass as a tool in National Sire Evaluation. Dr. William Herring, Assistant Professor of Animal SciencesCooperative Extension, University of Missouri, will discuss selection for profit and profit EPDs for bulls. Dr. Harlan Ritchie will conclude the conference by discussing sire selection utilizing visual appraisal and performance records. Dr. Ritchie will evaluate a class of bulls for each individual bull’s use in different production scenarios. Registration begins at 9:00 a.m. with lunch at 12:00 p.m. and the conference concludes at 3:00 p.m. Registration is $10.00, payable at the door, and covers the cost of meals, proceedings and associated expenses. No pre-registration required. What’s New With You? Tell us what is going on with your life and career. Classmates like to know what other classmates are doing! Here’s your chance to share it all with Animal Science Alumni and Friends. This information will appear in an upcoming Animal Science Newsletter. NAME: _________________________________ MAILING ADDRESS: ________________________________ ________________________________ ________________________________ CLASS OF: ______________ HOME PHONE: ( ) ________ WORK PHONE: ( ) __________ E-MAIL ADDRESS: __________ FAMILY MEMBERS: ______________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________ NEWS: __________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ Send to: Newsletter Editor, B142 Animal Science Department University of Arkansas Fayetteville, AR 72701 or Fax to: (501) 575-7294 - page 7 - Rakabema Farm Donates Thoroughbred Mare Colonel and Mrs. Ralph Phelps were the first to donate a broodmare to the new U of A Equine Program. Valentine Valley, a registered Thoroughbred mare, is currently in foal to Cox’s Time, one of the Phelp’s two Thoroughbred stallions. The Colonel and Mrs. Phelps own Rakabema Farm (named by using the initials of the family, Ralph, Kathleen, Betty and Madeline Phelps). The Phelp’s work together to raise and race thoroughbreds. They have been consistently supportive of the U of A Equine Program. In addition to this donation they have made their facilities available for field trips. Pictured are Colonel and Mrs. Ralph Phelps with one of their winning racehorses. Animal Science Newsletter Editor Department of Animal Science University of Arkansas Fayetteville, Arkansas 72701 NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION U.S. POSTAGE PAID PERMIT NO. 278 FAYETTEVILLE, ARKANSAS Address Service Requested - page 8 -