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 www.NALF.org North American (303) 220-1693 |
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NALF News North American Limousin Foundation (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. See this month’s “NALF Line” column or contact Mary Zilk in the NALF office for more information. If you activated your secured, members-only portion of the NALF Web site more than a year ago, it probably is a good idea to change your password now. Changing online passwords every 12 months or so offers added protection against hackers. The best passwords are a combination of letters, numbers and symbols that appear to be a random string of characters. Visit www.microsoft.com/protect on the Web to check your password strength. The new expected progeny differences (EPDs) from the fall 2007 international Limousin genetic evaluation now are accessible through various features of the NALF Web site. The fall evaluation also included the Focus Dams, which are cows with outstanding reproductive performance and producing ability. Download the sire summary’s parts in portable document format (PDF) from the Web site’s “Programs” section. Or contact the NALF office to request a printed or CD-ROM version of the sire summary, either of which is available for $10. To provide continuous marketing opportunities for its members and their partners in allied industry, NALF is offering three Internet-based sponsorship programs. Starting next month, each issue of the Partners e‑newsletter will offer three sponsor spots. Two-month blocks for each spot sell for $250 apiece on a “first come, first served” basis. For more information, contact Brad Parker in the NALF office. Beginning in October, two sponsor spots on the NALF Web site will be available for four-month blocks. They are selling via a “Country Auction” (similar to eBay) on DVAuction.com. The bidding closes Aug. 12. For more information, contact Parker. Finally, NALF will secure sponsors for future webcasts on DVAuction.com. For $1,000 per webcast, a sponsor will get recognition on DVAuction’s home page, in its e‑mailed daily announcement, during the webcast itself, in all advanced publicity and in the related materials archived on the NALF Web site. For more information about a webcast sponsorship, contact Frank Padilla in the NALF office. Use the “Marketing Reach” link on NALF’s home page to find complete details. The heifer-retention reporting tool is available for Limousin Inventory Management System (LIMS) participants via the secured, members-only portion of the NALF Web site. LIMS participants have until Aug. 15 to report heifer-exposure information. The optional reporting will give NALF the data it needs for genetic evaluation of heifer pregnancy. (Other breeds, including Angus and Red Angus, already publish EPDs for that trait.) It also will help ensure active LIMS inventories accurately reflect incoming replacement heifers and eliminate the need to report disposal codes for culled heifers later. The NALF Board of Directors has scheduled its next meeting for Aug. 21–23 in Denver, Colo. The primary focus will be the fiscal year (FY) 2007–2008 budget. Contact a Board member or Kent Andersen in the NALF office to provide input about any breed issues. To enhance the nominations and voting processes for new directors, the NALF Board approved three bylaws changes in June 2006 and put them into effect for a one-year trial. At its April meetings, the Board voted to extend that trial through the next election cycle. Ongoing input from NALF members will help evaluate their effectiveness. 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 are 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. NALF is ready for Visions Quest (VQ) Round 3 – another real-world lesson in producing industry-friendly seedstock and feeder cattle. VQ generates data for genetic evaluation and research and demonstrates how Limousin genetics perform in the feedyard and packinghouse. NALF encourages cooperation among Limousin breeders and their commercial customers to include a diverse sampling of the breed’s bloodlines. Pen space is limited so NALF suggests enrollment forms arrive well before the Sept. 1 deadline. Participants then must deliver all cattle between Nov. 1 and 15 to the Colorado State University (CSU) research feedyard near Fort Collins. NALF will help coordinate transportation as much as possible, and early enrollment also will facilitate that effort. Program guidelines and the enrollment form are available in the “Programs” section of the NALF Web site or by contacting Bo Sexson in the NALF office. Thanks to the loyal support of those who pay their member service fees, NALF has maintained effective breed advertising, increased staff representation at events, developed extensive Web-based tools and offered educational programs. Those who participate in the annual plan may register animals at half the inactive-member rates; enjoy free access to the secured, members-only portion of the NALF Web site; and activate complimentary subscriptions to the Bottom Line newsletter for their bull customers. While those who have not paid this year’s assessment have had those benefits suspended, they still may reactivate their memberships at any time. To generate additional resources for commercial marketing, the NALF Board instituted a voluntary checkoff. NALF automatically bills $4 per head at registration to participating members’ accounts. Enrollment is easy – just mark the space on your member service fee notice. You may change your checkoff-enrollment status at any time by contacting the NALF office. NALF is organizing special Limousin-influenced feeder-calf sales for this fall. By coordinating with auction markets, NALF helps producers maximize returns for their calves by attracting feeders interested in Limousin genetics. The effort is part of the Limousin breed’s commitment to the commercial sector. So far, 10 auction markets in Colorado, Kansas, Montana, North Dakota, Oklahoma and South Dakota are planning to feature Limousin-influenced feeders at special sales. For more information or if you would like help organizing a special feeder-calf sale in your area, contact Bo Sexson in the NALF office.
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