Mississippi Cattlemen's Association

Record $81,500 Awarded

Thanks to the Cattlemen's Foundation, The Wax Company and Mississippi CattleWomen's Association, scholarships totaling $81,500 were presented to the children and grandchildren of MCA members at Saturday's annual meeting.
First South Farm Credit sponsored the dinner.

2014 Cattlemen of the Year

John Elliott received the Commercial Cattleman of the Year award for his 135-cow operation in Clay County.
Cattleman of the Year honors in the purebred category went to Gary Tanner. Tanner Farms runs 1,400 brood cows in Jones, Stone and Noxubee Counties.

Wax Scholars

The Wax Company presented $33,000 in college scholarships at Saturday's dinner. In addition to the Wax scholarship recipients, endowment funds contributed by Barry Wax added to the Foundation awards.
The Wax Scholars program is funded by the sale of Marshall and Jackson Ryegrass

Marshall Wins Outstanding County

Mike Inglish presented the Outstanding County Affiliate Award to Bill Fitts of the Marshall County Cattlemen's Association. For the tenth year, Postive Feed will award a $500 prize to the top county association.

Beef Night at the Rodeo to be
Broadcast Worldwide

On Tuesday, February 11, the Dixie National Rodeo will be broadcast live on the Wrangler Network starting at 7:00 p.m. This is the night sponsored by the Mississippi Beef Council and will feature the announcement of this year's "Best Steak in Mississippi" contest winner.
Watch on your computer by going to www.wranglernetwork.com or it can be streamed from the Dixie National mobile app which can be downloaded free on smartphones, iPAds, and tablets.

Block & Bridle/Judging Teams

The annual meeting of the MSU Block and Bridle/Livestock Judging Team Alumni Association will be held at the Trade Mart in Jackson on Saturday, February 8.
This year we are teaming up with the judging contest for the reception around 6:00 with our annual meeting to follow the awards program.
The meeting will include fellowship with old friends, judging team members, and ADS faculty. If you are not presently a member of the association, dues are $15 per year.

FARMtastic February 7 & 8

For an overview of Mississippi's diverse agricultural enterprises, visit FARMtastic in the Trade Mart on Feb. 7 & 8.
500 third graders are scheduled to at
tend on Friday, February 7, and the public is invited to tour the exhibit on Saturday.
Several agricultural associations, agencies and organizations will have displays both days and Saturday will feature the First South Chili Cooking Contest for culinary students.

Beef Barn on the Midway
Beef Barn14

While attending the Dixie National, stop by the Beef Barn for a great Steak Sandwich, Beefburger or Hot Beef Sundae.
Volunteers are still needed to work on several days during the event. Contact Teri at the MCA office, 601-354-8951.

2.03.14

January
Cattle on Feed
Report

Dr. John Michael Riley

The United States Department of Agriculture Released their monthly Cattle on Feed report Friday afternoon (Jan 24).
The report revealed that 10.593 million head of cattle were in feedlots with 1,000 head or larger capacity on January 1, 2014, down 5.4% from last year and the lowest January 1 number since the series started in 1996. Analysts were expecting the on feed number to be down 6.0%. The on feed number is 6.7% below the January average from 2009 to 2013.

Placements during December totaled 1.681 million head, up 1.0% from December 2012 and up 1.3% from the prior five0year average. Pre-report expectations were looking for a 1.9% drop from last year's number but the highest guess was a 2.1% increase so the reported value was within the range of expectations.

Marketings during December did little to help the inventory number coming in at 1.736 million head, down 0.5% from one year ago and down 1.1% from the five-year average. (Important to keep in mind that as placements drop due to the tightening supplies of feeder cattle, marketings must come down as well.) Pre-report expectations called for a 2.2% increase in year-over-year marketings.

So, the report was bearish given that placements were above expectations and marketings were below them. The on feed number continues to be indicative of the tight cattle supplies but was slightly higher than year ago levels due to the larger than expected in-flow of cattle and the smaller than expected out-flow.

Calendar

February

4-7 Cattle Industry
Annual Meeting

7-8 FARMtastic,
MS Trade Mart

Registration is open for the 2014 Cattle Industry Convention and NCBA Trade Show in Nashville Tennessee.

Mississippi Cattlemen's Association members can Save at these participating sponsors.