The 2010 annual meeting was held in Winston Salem at the Forsyth County Extension Center on Saturday, January 23rd. The day started off with the Board of Directors, Juniors and Auxiliary having their meetings. Then we all came together for the afternoon workshops.

Eddie Leagans introduced our first speaker, Dr. Mark Alley, North Carolina State University, College of Veterinary Medicine.

Dr Alley spoke on animal health and animal rights activists. He said, during the six years he has been at the vet school, animal rights issues have become more of a problem. He believes strongly in animal welfare, but not animal rights such as Ingrid Newkirk, founder of PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) advocates. She says, “There is no rational basis for saying that a human being has special rights; a rat is a pig, is a dog, is a boy, they are all mammals”.

The American Veterinary Association states, regarding animal welfare, “it is a human responsibility that encompasses all aspects of animal well being including proper housing, management, nutrition, disease prevention and treatment, responsible care, humane handling and humane euthanasia.” Of course, we in the cattle industry strive for these every day; but we may not be getting that information to the consumers.

Dr. Alley continued saying that humane euthanasia is always a hard call to make; but facts are that if a cow is down for over 24 hours, without food or water, in about 90% of cases, they will not recover. It is better to humanely euthanasia the animal. It is the humane thing to do. Even though we as producers want to give that animal every opportunity that we can, the recommendation now is that if a cow is down for more than 36 to 48 hours, can’t stand, cannot eat or drink; it should be humanely euthanized. If you don’t know how to humanely euthanize an animal, contact your local veterinarian; we all as producers need to know this information.

The HSUS and their sister organizations have millions of dollars to put toward their animal rights agenda with the main focus on condemning animal agriculture. They advertise that no one can be environmentally friendly and still eat meat. The HSUS knows how to intimidate global brands, such as McDonalds, Chick Filet, Hardees, and others, with litigation; and recently HSUS has also been buying stock and interest in these retailers to be sure their influence is heard.

Consumers “assume” that we, as producers, know what we’re doing and they trust us. Three things impact that trust, (1) confidence in doing the right thing, (2) competence that we know what we’re doing (3) influential others. Influential others have now begun to impact that trust level. 2% of the people in agriculture provide food for the 98% of non-farmers; it doesn’t take many instances of mistreatment or misconception by that 2% to cause that 98% to question those actions. Baltimore, Maryland has adopted “meatless Monday” in the public schools, which means that on Mondays, school children do not have the option to have meat for their lunch.

Dr. Alley said that the animal rights groups reach our youth, via Face book, You Tube or Twitter. And they seem to be targeting our youth at younger and younger ages. They have also found that celebrities are wonderful means for reaching our children, you would be amazed at the number of actresses/actors, singers and musicians who support these groups.

Most people think of the Humane Society as the group that helps take care of unwanted or stray animals in your hometown, not the case with HSUS.

“What is the industry doing?” Alley said. The National Cattleman’s Beef Association has a new program called MBA (Masters of Beef Advocacy) program. It is a great way to learn to communicate with your friends and neighbors who are far removed from agriculture. There are six different areas covered.

We all need to think about how we treat our animals especially when we are in an area where not everyone was brought up around cattle. Some of our neighbors may not realize some of the things we do for the benefit of our cattle. They may not understand why we use ear tags or give vaccinations. They may not understand why we may have to assist a cow having a calf, why we dehorn cattle, why we castrate bulls. We need to always be mindful of who may be watching us and not understand. We need to be sure that any employees are properly trained in animal handling.

Dr. Alley ended his talk by encouraging all to take the MBA course. “If you are interested in taking the MBA course, contact Ashley Williams at the North Carolina Cattlemen’s office,” he said.
Next up was Bruce Shankle, Livestock Marketing Director for the North Carolina Department of Agriculture. Bruce gave us a basic crash course in EPDs. EPDs are a complex and ever changing method of projecting the progeny of cattle.

EPD stands for “Expected Progeny Difference”.

EPDs are not absolute values; but deviations from the base with different degrees of accuracy. EPD- Data collected and reported to the Association
• Data processed and adjusted by the Association
• Contemporary groups (10 animals, more than one sire)

Many people don’t understand that it takes work on our part to weigh at various stages and send in the reports to American Angus so that they can compute the growth of our calves and cows. It takes a lot of data from many different animals to build accurate EPDs!

Joe Hampton, NCAA member and the current vice President of American Angus Association was our next speaker. Joe brought us up-to-date on some of the latest happenings at American Angus. He talked about the increase in member dues and the reasons for making that decision. He talked about the continued testing for genetic defects and the impact this has had on registrations for Angus cattle. He said that the test for the fawn Calf Syndrome (FCS) is still in the planning stages. Joe spoke on his anticipated election as President of American Angus in November 2010. Joe was invited to the board meeting this morning to discuss plans for a Presidential Reception being planned for that event. Joe spoke on the six years he has served on the board, 2009 as Treasurer and currently Vice President. He said it had been a wonderful learning experience.

Mark, Bruce and Joe finished up their segment with questions from the group. Thank you to each of these speakers for taking the time to share their knowledge with us.

Our next workshop was a little something different. To show our appreciation, we gave each sponsor present a few minutes to tell us about their business or service and what they offer cattle producers. This turned out to be a very interesting workshop. We were fortunate to have representatives from Accelerated Genetics, Robert Whitacre; ABS Global, Steve Furrow; Genex Cooperative, Bob Martin; Carolina Farm Credit, Howard Gentry; Bartlett Milling, Ashley Harper, Southern States Cooperative, Summer Santana & Meredith Barnard; North Carolina Cattlemen, Bryan Blinson; Pfizer Animal Health, Noel Torres and Mid State Mills, Dianne Fulbright. We’re able to have an excellent meeting at a very reasonable cost to the members because of the sponsor’s financial assistance and we certainly appreciate them.

After a short break, we began our annual business meeting where the membership heard about the past years activities and plans for 2010. We received reports from our committees. We heard reports from the Junior Angus and the Angus Auxiliary on their 2009 activities. The membership elected five new board members to serve the next three years, they are: Callie Birdsell, Roy Outlaw, Bryan Redfern, Kim Starnes and Russell Vinson.

After the meeting there was a social for mingling and talking with old and new friends. Carolina Farm Credit and the North Carolina Angus Auxiliary sponsored the social. Recipes for the food were taken from the North Carolina Angus Auxiliary cookbook, “Feeding the Herd”. The cookbook has been a major fundraiser for the Auxiliary in 2009. Only a few copies of the cookbook are still available.

The banquet started with a greeting from President Dean Crocker. Dean asked Vice President, Jim Scarlett to give the invocation before our meal.

Our keynote after dinner speaker was Dr. Henry Poore. Dr. Poore has written two books about his time as a roving doctor crossing the country with his children who include Dr. Matt Poore well known North Carolina State University specialist in Animal Husbandry. Dr. Poore and his family moved to Flagstaff, Arizona in 1962, where he practiced medicine for over 40 years. Since 2000, the Poores have been retired and with son Matt operate farms in Virgilina, Virginia and another farm in Granville County, NC. They own a large herd of commercial Angus beef cattle and grow most of the forage they need. Dr. Poore is very entertaining and even after hearing him several times; I always enjoy more of his stories. If you missed him at our meeting, check him out at the upcoming North Carolina Cattlemen’s Conference in Hickory. He might even sing you a song and play his guitar. Thank you Dr. Poore for spending part of the evening with us.

Several awards were presented during the evening. Joe Hampton presented two American Angus Historic Awards. One was presented to the late Ira Gentry Family and one to Howard Gentry and Family for Gentry Homeplace Angus. Historic Herd awards are given to farms that have been actively involved as owners of registered Angus cattle for over fifty years.

J.F. Lancaster was inducted into the North Carolina Angus Association Hall of Fame. Howard Gentry presented the plaque to his son, Jeff Lancaster. Jeff thanked the Association for the honor and said he knew his father would be honored.

2009 North Carolina Auxiliary President Martha Holshouser introduced their officers for 2010. She presented five Junior Angus members with Achievement Awards from the American Angus Auxiliary. Receiving awards were: Joe Fulbright, Colleen Jones, Avery Faulkner, Milo Lewis and Daniel Boykin.

Brooke Harward, 2010 President of the Junior Angus, then came forward to introduce the Junior officers for 2010 and to present the Junior Booster gifts in appreciation for their donation to enable them to continue their activities. During the evening a slide show of Junior activities was shown. A highlight of 2009 for Junior Angus was the Nationals in Perry, Georgia in July. A short clip of Joe Fulbright, LeAnn Harward, Catherine Harward and Jenna Woodard doing their Junior Cook-Off Roast division presentation was shown. They won top overall honors and their creative skit also earned them champion in Showmanship.

Jim Smith was called upon to do the 2010 handbook dedication presentation. After a few lines he called Phil Goodson to join him. Dr. Goodson remarked later that he wondered why he was called up and was totally surprised by the honor. Congratulations to a true friend of the North Carolina Angus Association, the North Carolina Cattlemen’s Association and Cattlemen across the country.

Charlie White, manager for Primus Genetics in Millers Creek accepted the Ira Gentry Trophy for the high selling lot in the 2009 Spring Fever Sale. Owner, Leonard Fussell consigned lot 48, a daughter from their featured donor dam Basin Chloe 6198, sired by Mytty In Focus and bred to SS Objective T510 OT26. She sold to Dubas Cattle Company, Fullerton, Nebraska for $6,500.00.

The retiring directors: Steve Grady, Russell Wood, Callie Birdsell, Karl Holshouser and Randy Jones were presented plaques and pens. Thank you for your service the last three years!

Stanley Smith, auctioned off two bottles of Aberdeen Angus wine from Argentina, donated by Dr. Jim Rhyne with proceeds going to the NCAA Endowment for Excellence. Bruce Shankle and Ray Brewer purchased them. The original painting done by Virginia Deal and used as the cover for the North Carolina Angus Auxiliary cookbook, “Feeding the Herd” was auctioned off, high bidder was Bill Ebert. Dr. Henry Poore purchased a basket of goodies given by Mid State Mills to benefit the Juniors. Thanks to everyone for your support.

We then auctioned off the sponsorship spots on our website and the preferred pages for the 2010 handbook. The auction is always a spirited and fun event to close out a fun filled educational day. Thanks to Stanley Smith for being our auctioneer.

The Association would like to thank everyone who attended our day of activities. Please be sure to say a special “Thank You!” to the sponsors who enabled us to have a really good day of activities and an excellent meal for a very reasonable cost.

A special thank you to Amy Thomas, Livestock Extension Agent in Forsyth County for staying with us all day and making sure everything went smoothly! We could not have done it without you!!

J.F. Lancaster inducted into North Carolina Angus Association Hall of Fame

The North Carolina Angus Association Hall of Fame was established in the early 1990s to recognize an individual that over a period of time, 25 years or greater has gone beyond the call of duty to serve the Association.

J.F. Lancaster joined the Association in 1984 and has served in several leadership rolls. He has served numerous committees including the Long Range Planning committee from 2000 to 20004.  He has served on the board of directors, as Vice President and as President during 2005 and 2006, followed by two years as Past President.

A promoter of Angus cattle and causes of the beef industry in North Carolina, J.F. also served as President of the North Carolina Cattlemen’s Association in 2008.

In 2007, J.F and Carolyn (Ann Angus Farms) donated a heifer to be sold at the North Carolina Angus Association Spring Fever Sale with proceeds going to the Endowment for Excellence.  In 2004, J.F., Roger Lane and Marty Rooker donated a heifer to be sold at their Partner’s Sale with proceeds going to the North Carolina Angus Association. 

In 2007 J.F. and Carolyn purchased a motor home with the intention of retiring and enjoying traveling.  Howard Gentry, who presented the award, stated that instead of surprising J.F., he surprised us by being in Florida.  Jeff Lancaster, J.F. and Carolyn’s son, who has recently taken over the management of Ann Angus, was there to accept the plaque for his father.  Jeff said J.F. would be very proud and he thanked the Association for the honor.

Congratulations J.F.!

From a young boy whose father drove around the state to find the best steers for him and his bother to show to one of the most respected Angus breeders in North Carolina. Growing up in Duplin County, his family raised commercial cattle and used Angus bulls. He decided back then that one of these days he was going to get into the purebred business, “I’m going to become an Angus cattle producer...” He kept that plan in mind through college. After finishing college, medical training and his military obligations; he returned to North Carolina in 1974. He did a surgical fellowship in India and practiced in California and Alaska before returning to his roots in North Carolina. Within six months he was in the Angus cattle business. “I’ve never been without Angus cattle since.” He was among the first in North Carolina to utilize embryo transfer.

This year, Springfield Angus, his farm located in Louisburg in Franklin County will have approximately 250 calves. The cattle are bred for production and carcass traits. Bulls are sold private treaty and the females are sold on his production sales. He has obtained some of the best females in the breed and used embryo transfer to increase their progeny and genetic value.

Dr. Goodson first became a member of the North Carolina Angus Association in 1979. He has served the Association as a director, delegate to the National meeting, Vice President and President; he has also served on numerous committees and currently serves as chairman of the Hall of Fame and Awards committee.

In addition to his leadership roles in the North Carolina Angus Association, he has served in similar capacities with the North Carolina Cattlemen’s Association. He served on the executive board from 1996 to 2000 and served as President in 1999. He also served as chairman of the North Carolina Cattlemen’s Association Foundation. In 2006 he was inducted into the North Carolina Angus Association Hall of Fame and the North Carolina State Fair Livestock Hall of Fame.

For several years he fed bulls on the farm and had an annual bull sale with JANASTCI. His friend Jim Smith said “He used to call me Pop and could get by with that; and then he stopped calling me Pop. I couldn’t figure it out but then it dawned on me why he did. He got to where he looked as old as I did.”

These activities were in addition to his career as a practicing surgeon and as past chief of surgery at Rex Hospital in Raleigh. Friend Dr. Ray Harvey says “the respect of former patients is apparent when you go out with him for dinner as on most occasions, a former patient will come up and thank him for his services.”

Matthew Cox, farm manager says “Doc has an incredible memory when it comes to cattle and still can quote pedigrees and how certain animals flushed back in the 80s. A very knowledgeable cattleman and a great business man who loves the challenges of the cattle business and lover even more to go out and ride trough the calves to see the results of previous decisions.“

David Gazda wrote: “Few individuals in the state have contributed more in their lifetime to the Angus breed and cattle industry as Dr. Goodson. His genuine passion for the breed, combined with a strong work ethic and business-like approach has made Springfield Angus one of the most progressive and successful Angus operations in the southeast. A gentleman in every respect; Angus breeders and cattlemen throughout the state have been the beneficiaries of his competent leadership and enduring friendship.” It is a great honor to dedicate the 2010 North Carolina Angus Association Handbook to Phil Goodson!