November 26, 2007

In this issue …
MOE deadline is Saturday
Commercial award nominations due Dec. 5
Order greeting cards online
NWSS brings Annual Meeting, National Show
Don’t miss the Member Social
National sale to include Corner Post female
NALF can help breeders advertise
E‑mail data to correct address
PO box is no more
LIMS means inventory-proven genetics
Italy to host ’08 International Limousin Conference
Fort Collins workshop dropped
Livestock congress set for January
Contribute to 3rd annual All-Breed Bull Auction
What’s news?
Limousin sales, events

Medal of Excellence (MOE) exhibitors must submit performance data by Saturday, Dec. 1. Failure to have documentation on file at the North American Limousin Foundation (NALF) by that date will result in disqualification from the MOE program, and no points will be awarded. It is the responsibility of the breeder or owner to submit that information; NALF will not send any communication to the breeder or owner requesting submission of the data.

MOE show coordinators need to submit their show results as soon as possible.

Direct questions about those matters to Lorrie Taylor in the NALF office.

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Be sure to nominate extraordinary Limousin supporters for the NALF commercial program awards by Wednesday, Dec. 5. Each year, NALF honors a Commercial Marketing Booster of the Year, a Commercial Producer of the Year and a Limousin Promoter of the Year during the National Western Stock Show (NWSS) pen and carload shows. Download a nomination form for each of the prestigious awards from the “Programs” section of the NALF Web site, or request a copy from Bo Sexson in the NALF office.

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Show your Limousin colors to family, friends, colleagues and customers this holiday season. Visit the Boelte-Hall Web site to order Limousin greeting cards. Several cover designs and inside greetings are available. A portion of the proceeds from each order will benefit the North American Limousin Junior Association (NALJA).

Find great gift ideas for family members, employees and customers in the “Promotional Merchandise” section of the NALF Web site, which now includes monogrammed Limousin luggage from the Limi Boosters. Other products, including farm signs and business cards, also are customizable.

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If you need information about Limousin activities at the NWSS, visit its “Livestock” page and select Limousin from the drop-down breed menu.

The NWSS will accept late entries until Friday, Nov. 30, with a hefty penalty of five times the “on-time” entry fee. Exhibitors entered by Nov. 30 may substitute cattle within the same class. Only one substitution for each original animal will be allowed, except for the junior show. Substitutions must be in writing and in the NWSS livestock-entry office no later than Dec. 15. See page 17 of the NWSS premium book for more information.

All exhibitors entering cattle at the NWSS must send a copy of their entry forms and $30 per head to NALF in addition to the forms and monies sent to NWSS. Check-in for both Hill and Yards cattle will begin Friday, Jan. 11, at 8 a.m.

On the Hill. The juniors’ heifer show starts Monday, Jan. 14, at 2 p.m.; and the open show starts Tuesday, Jan. 15, at 8 a.m. The National Limousin Sale is Monday, Jan. 14, at 6 p.m. Contact Frank Padilla in the NALF office for sale information.

In the Yards. The pen and carload shows start Wednesday, Jan. 16, at 8 a.m., with the Lim‑Flex® female pen sale to follow.

The Doubletree Hotel Denver at 3203 Quebec St. will be the Limousin breed’s headquarters during the NWSS. Rooms are available for $79 per night if you mention the “North American Limousin Foundation” when you make your reservations. Call (303) 321-3333 or 1‑800-222-TREE.

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Come to the NALF Member Social, which starts at 6 p.m. Jan. 13 in the Doubletree Hotel Denver, to see who takes home the 2007 MOE awards. Call the NALF office to reserve your tickets by Jan. 8 because they will not be available at the door.

You also can support NALJA and the All-American Limousin Futurity (AALF) at the “Genetics on Ice” benefit auction after the social. The lots will include frozen embryos; semen; National Junior Limousin Show and Congress (NJLSC) shirt, awards and banquet-program sponsorships; ad pages in the NJLSC–AALF souvenir program; and many interesting, unique items. For more information, contact Ken Holloway, (580) 597-2419.

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American Cattle Services, KK Seedstock Consultants and R&R Marketing Co. are the National Limousin Sale management team. Contact Ken Holloway, (580) 597-3006; Keith Kissee, (804) 353-2220; or Randy Ratliff, (615) 791-8982, to consign cattle. All cattle in the national sale must be parent-verified and proto-tested; and all embryo-transfer (ET) calves must be registered, which requires completed parent verification. Because MMI Genomics, the DNA-typing laboratory, operates on a limited holiday schedule, it is critical that members submit samples by Dec. 10 to meet the show and sale requirements.

The national sale will include the second annual Corner Post Genetics Package. Counsil Family Limousin has donated the headline female. CFLX Cheerleader 002T is a Jan. 9, 2007, daughter of Carrousels Peak Power out of Logan’s Cheerleader 280G, the dam of multitrait leader JCL Lodestar 27L.

In addition to the headline female, the package will include free registrations for all of her natural calves; a farm sign; one in vitro fertilization (IVF) cycle and a genetic preservation package from Trans Ova Genetics; and insurance from Grassroots Insurance Associates.

Once it reaches a suitable principal, the Corner Post Fund will facilitate additional activities and scholarships for Limousin juniors.

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The Breeder Cooperative Advertising Program helps breeders share a cohesive Limousin message across the nation, making the most of their relationships with regional publications. In the program, NALF cost-shares 25 percent of qualifying ad expenses with groups of two to six breeders. Find the program guidelines, application form and qualified ad images in the “Programs” section of the NALF Web site, or contact Brad Parker in the NALF office.

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NALF has decided it is time to phase out its post-office (PO) box and simply use its physical address. The association will not accept mail there after Saturday, Dec. 1, so start using the following.

NORTH AMERICAN LIMOUSIN FOUNDATION
7383 S ALTON WAY STE 100
CENTENNIAL CO  80112-2339

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.

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When e‑mailing data to NALF, use the edata@nalf.org address. Staff members check that account daily. Other NALF accounts can go unread when staff members are traveling.

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The voluntary Limousin Inventory Management System (LIMS) helps NALF members lower their costs of doing business with their association. LIMS participants pay an annual fee of $15 per active cow and, in turn, are entitled to record performance for, register and transfer that year’s calf crop. That compares to the least costly registration ($15 for 0–120 days from birth) and transfer ($12 for 0–60 days from sale) of $27 per animal.

Meanwhile, LIMS herds contribute more complete and comprehensive production information that leads to inventory-proven genetics backed by more accurate expected progeny differences (EPDs).

To enroll in LIMS, access the secured, members-only portion of the NALF Web site. Once you log in, click the LIMS button at the top of any page. From there, you can link memberships and join LIMS. Breeders must enroll spring-calving cows by Feb. 15 and fall-calving cows by July 15 each year.

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The Italian association of Limousin breeders [Associazione Nazionale Allevatori delle razze bovine Charolais e Limousine (ANACLI)] invites all NALF members to participate in the 18th International Limousin Conference (ILC), May 20–28, 2008. ILC participants will explore some of the most beautiful places in Italy: Rome, Florence, Piacenza and the countryside. The event will allow them to appreciate Limousin breeding in a historic, cultural environment where agriculture and cattle production are important.

ANACLI is proud to host such a unique event so it can demonstrate the quality of Italian Limousin cattle and the professionalism of its breeders. The ILC will be an opportunity to discuss the breed and its growing success around the world with representatives from many nations.

For more conference information and the registration form, visit the ILC Web site. Early registration ends Friday, Nov. 30.

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NALF has canceled the “Master Breeder” workshop it was planning in conjunction with the Range Beef Cow Symposium (RBCS) due to insufficient interest.

The association still encourages its members to attend the RBCS, which will be Dec. 11–13 at the Larimer County Fairgrounds outside Fort Collins, Colo. The event includes two and a half days of educational programs, bullpen sessions with the speakers each evening, and a trade show. Nearly 1,000 producers and allied-industry representatives already are registered.

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“Global Beef Opportunities: Blazing New Trails” is the theme of the next International Livestock Congress-USA (ILC-USA), which will be Jan. 15, 2008, in Denver, Colo. Beef producers, students, retailers, packers and other industry leaders will gain insight into global beef supply and demand. International leaders will help participants understand what goes on in the global marketplace and how beef producers are facing challenges from competing proteins in the United States and abroad.

Take the opportunity to attend ILC-USA 2008 and discover where you fit in the global beef production picture and how you can turn its challenge into your opportunity. The timely, informative sessions will assist you in the global marketplace, and the tours on Jan. 14 will cover segments of the beef supply chain from a large commercial cattle-feeding enterprise to a packing plant and a major retail beef distribution center.

Find more details and registration information on the International Stockmen’s Educational Foundation (ISEF) Web site.

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One of the highlights of the 2008 Cattle Industry Annual Convention and Trade Show in Reno, Nev., will be the third annual National Cattlemen’s Beef Association Political Action Committee (NCBA-PAC) All-Breed Bull Auction. Donating a bull or sale credit to the auction is a great way to publicize your breeding program to an extensive, national audience of prominent cattle producers through the sale catalog, the National Cattlemen magazine, event signage and a name-badge ribbon. All proceeds from the auction will benefit the NCBA-PAC, which helps support congressional candidates who understand and support the cattle industry.

To donate a bull or sale credit, contact Lindsay Bowman, (202) 347-0228, by Jan. 4, 2008. The auction will be during the trade show welcome reception – 6:30 p.m. Pacific Standard Time (PST), Feb. 6, 2008.

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NALF has issued the following news releases since the last issue of Partners:

• Nov. 13 – Scientists Identify ‘Limousin Muscling Gene’
• Nov. 14 – NALF Annual Meeting Joins National Limousin Show, Sale at NWSS
• Nov. 14 – Counsil Family Limousin Donates 2nd Corner Post Female
• Nov. 19 – Limousin Exhibitors Lead 90 Head in Louisville

Limousin news releases are archived in the Web site’s “What’s New” section. NALF encourages its members to share them with their local news outlets.

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Nov. 27 • NALF Webcast: Advanced Marketing (members only; sponsored by KK Seedstock Consultants)
Nov. 28 • Schuppe Farms Red Angus Cow Herd Dispersion, Sterling, CO
Dec. 1 • Oklahoma Select Bull Sale, Durant, OK
Dec. 1 • Posthaven Limousin Autumn Cattle Drive Sale, Listowel, ON
Dec. 1 • Etherton Farms Winner Wonderland Sale, Dawson, IL
Dec. 1 • Maternal Building Blocks Sale, Brush, CO
Dec. 8 • East Central Limousin Futurity Heifer, Junior Heifer and Open Bull Show, Stillwater, OK
Dec. 11 • NALF–BEEF Webcast: Crossbreeding Strategies
Dec. 18 • NALF–BEEF Webcast: Bull-Buying Strategies (sponsored by Five Star Cattle Systems)
Jan. 12 • Magness Land and Cattle Female Sale, Platteville, CO
Jan. 14 • National Limousin Sale, Denver, CO
Jan. 14 • National Western Stock Show Junior Limousin Show, Denver, CO
Jan. 15 • National Western Stock Show Open Limousin Show, Denver, CO
Jan. 16 • National Western Stock Show Limousin Pen and Carload Shows, Denver, CO