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 www.NALF.org North American (303) 220-1693 |
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NALF News The North American Limousin Foundation (NALF) Board of Directors approved the following actions at its April meeting in Sacramento, Calif.
The Board tabled the following motion and directed staff to devise an online survey to gather member input about the issue.
The Board voted down the following motions.
The next Board meeting will be Aug. 18–20 in Denver, Colo., where the fiscal year (FY) 2009–2010 budget will be the main topic of discussion. As always, the Board members encourage all NALF members to suggest agenda items or share thoughts and opinions about current issues facing the breed. See the Board directory at left or in the “Contact NALF” section of the Web site. NALF Executive Vice President Kent Andersen, Ph.D., resigned July 1 to become associate director for North American technical services for Pfizer Animal Genetics. In his new position, he will continue to provide leadership within the North American beef cattle industry, supporting regional sales and marketing teams and educating key opinion leaders and customers about Pfizer’s current and future genetic-marker–technology portfolio. Andersen served as NALF’s chief executive for nine and a half years. Before that, he served nine and a half years as the organization’s director of education and research. The NALF Board has been recruiting candidates for the position since mid-May, and it hopes to announce Andersen’s successor in the next month. The recommended qualifications included a well-rounded background in business and personnel management, strong written and oral communication and consensus-building skills, and a working knowledge of the beef seedstock and commercial cattle business. 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 informational 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. A voluntary checkoff generates additional resources for commercial marketing. 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. The “State Associations” page on the NALF Web site now reflects the latest officer listings on file with the NALF office. If your state or regional association listing is missing, outdated, incomplete or incorrect, contact the NALF office. As state and regional associations elect new officers throughout the year, they should share complete contact information for each officer with NALF so the Web site and internal mailing lists stay current. The NALF Show Committee will vote on nominees for the approved-judges list at its July meeting, which will be in conjunction with the National Junior Limousin Show and Congress (NJLSC) in Amarillo, Texas. Active annual and lifetime members can send their nominations to Kate Maher in the NALF office via mail, fax or e‑mail. Provide your member number or herd prefix and the nominee’s address and phone number. Sellers usually submit transfer paperwork for sale cattle after the buyers settle their accounts, which normally takes about a month after the sale date. If you need to receive registration papers for specific animals sooner than that, notify the sale managers so they can expedite those transfers. Transfers are quicker and easier with the online tool in the secured, members-only portion of the NALF Web site. Find that link in the “Animal Data Recording” section of your member site’s home page. If you need registration papers for a show, please call the NALF office at least one week beforehand so staff members can assist you. Do not wait any longer than that because they usually need at least three working days to get a new paper to you. 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. 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. NALF members are finding added convenience in using their Visa or MasterCard credit cards to pay for their association paperwork. If you would like to charge all NALF services to your Visa or MasterCard account automatically, contact Mary Zilk in the home office with your NALF member number or herd prefix, credit-card number, and its expiration date. NALF encourages its members to participate in the Cattle Industry Summer Conference, July 14–18, in Denver, Colo. You do not have to be a National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) member to participate. If you have questions or would like additional information about the conference or NCBA membership, call (303) 694-0305.
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