072115_YKMV_A10.pdf
July 21, 2015 • Page 10
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SD Leaders Recognized at BIF Meeting
BROOKINGS, S.D. - The
South Dakota beef industry
has earned a reputation for
delivering top leaders to
guide important advancements in beef genetics on
an international stage at the
Beef Improvement Federation (BIF).
Three South Dakotans
were recognized at the BIF
annual convention held in
Biloxi, Miss., June 9-12, 2015:
* Retiring BIF executive
director: Joe Cassady, head
of the Department of Animal
Science at South Dakota
State University received
the BIF Continuing Service
Award.
* Steve Munger, Eagle
Pass Ranch, Highmore, S.D.,
was recognized as the BIF
immediate past president.
* Craig Bieber, Bieber
Red Angus Ranch, Leola,
S.D., was named the new BIF
president.
Cassady has led the BIF
as executive director for
the past six years. He was
honored with the Continuing
Service Award at the convention for his contributions to
the beef industry and BIF.
Cassady has volunteered his
time in guiding the long-term
vision of the organization.
“I’m honored to have had
the opportunity to serve the
beef cattle industry through
the role of executive director
of the Beef Improvement
Federation,” said Cassady.
“I greatly value all that I’ve
gained through my interactions with the leading
producers, scientists and
stakeholders from throughout the beef industry.”
Jane Parish, an Extension
and research professor at
Mississippi State University,
will follow Cassady as the
new BIF executive director.
“Joe absolutely did a
great job as executive director,” said Parish. “You’ve got
to be very future oriented.
When we’re talking about
improvement in the beef
industry, we’re thinking
about where we want to be
in the future. With the many
people on the board, you
have to bring all those minds
together and look ahead. Joe
was very good at that.”
Bieber pointed out that
producers will benefit from
Cassady’s executive leadership.
“Joe has done an outstanding job as director.
Really, he’s been the staying
power of leadership,” said
Bieber. “He has been pivotal
in recent discussions about
how we make genomics work
better for the producer.”
Munger delivered the
retiring president’s address
at the convention, during which he spoke of the
impacts BIF has had on his
operation over the 10 years
he has been attending the
event. When he attended
his first BIF convention in
2006, he was introduced to
residual feed intake technology. He incorporated the
concept into the Eagle Pass
Ranch beef cattle operation
and has improved feed-togain ratio by 27 percent.
“I told the BIF group when
I was giving my retiring president’s address, that that
improvement sounds good;
but when you monetize
saving 2 tons of feed a day
just because of our decision
to select for residual feed
intake, that savings is worth
around $100,000 a year, or
over $2 million of net present
value over the time we’ve
been doing it,” said Munger.
“That’s what happens when
you go to a BIF conference
and actually apply it to your
own operation. The cutting
edge research that happens
at land grand universities is
very valuable.”
Parish appreciates that
Munger was able to speak
from experience during his
tenure on the BIF board.
“Steve is very forward
thinking and is willing to put
his money where his mouth
is,” said Parish. “He has
incorporated many practices on his own operation
and when he throws out
ideas, they are things he has
already tried or is willing to
try. He honestly wants the
organization and its members to be moving ahead.”
One of Munger’s main
goals during his presidential
term was to establish a way
to identify and privatize
the source of funding for
research at land grant universities for beef cattle.
“One thing that Steve has
accomplished is establishing
a task force to focus on animal breeding research,” said
Bieber. “He’s been a staunch
advocate that we need to be
considering how we can better fund animal research.”
As Bieber steps up to
the plate for his term as BIF
president, he would like to
encourage producers to
consider coming to the convention, even if they don’t
understand all of the topics.
“Some of it gets so
technical that producers
feel overwhelmed by the
level of discussion,” said
Bieber. “Number one, don’t
be intimated by the level of
discussion, pick up the little
bits that you can. And continue to go because I think
you’ll learn more as you go
through the years.”
Bieber also has incorporated practices that he
learned about at BIF. He now
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uses ultrasound and genomically enhanced data to make
selection decisions on the
Bieber Red Angus Ranch
operation, near Leola.
“I think that the genomically enhanced data has
really given us a leg up on
our selection practices,” said
Bieber. “It has made us more
relevant as a seed stock
producer and it’s made our
data more reliable for our
commercial customers.”
From Cassady’s perspective as an educator at SDSU,
having two South Dakota
beef producers achieve
leadership positions in such
a prestigious organization
as BIF, is a testament to the
caliber of what the state’s
beef industry, and SDSU, has
to offer.
“It has been a great
pleasure to work with Steve
Munger and Craig Bieber
on the Beef Improvement
Federation executive committee,” said Cassady. “Steve
and Craig are outstanding
examples of the strong leaders we have within the South
Dakota beef industry.”
As Parish looks ahead
to beginning her first year
as executive director along
with Bieber’s first year as
president, she is optimistic
about the future.
“I am impressed with
Craig because he’s a very
outcome-oriented leader. He
wants to make sure we’re not
just talking about things to
do, but we’re actually doing
them,” said Parish.
BIF’s mission is to create greater awareness,
acceptance and usage of
performance concepts in
beef production. The organization’s three-leaf clover
logo represents industry,
Extension and research, and
Parish says that combination
comes together to improve
the beef industry as a whole.
“It’s an exciting time to
be in the beef industry in
general, there’s a really great
outlook for the industry.
BIF serves a great purpose
because ultimately we’re
trying to do a better job at
producing food and that’s
a noble calling,” she said.
“We’ve got the brightest
minds in the country and
even other nations involved
in BIF. In practice, they’re
competitors. But when we
come together as a board,
we have common goals to
help the industry out.”
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BROOKINGS, S.D. - Unexpected changes, such as jobloss
or financial uncertainty, can turn life upside down. Dealing
with the stress and adjusting to a “new normal” can be slow
and painful, but is possible, says Andrea Bjornestad, Assistant Professor & SDSU Extension Mental Health Specialist.
“Stress affects our health and relationships. Even if we
don’t talk about it, those around us - our family, friends
and co-workers - still pick up on our body language,” said
Bjornestad.
Avian influenza has increased the stress that many South
Dakota families are facing. SDSU Extension is cooperating
with ISU Extension and Outreach and University of Minnesota Extension to provide resources for families struggling
with the human challenges brought on by avian influenza.
Extension staff from the three land-grant universities are
providing families with research-based information and
resources. To learn more, follow #AvianFluImpact on social
media and visit the iGrow Healthy Families community
online.
Manage Change, Reduce Stress
Bjornestad offers these tips for managing change and
reducing stress:
* Identify one thing you can do to address part of the
issue. For example, if you already have or are expecting to
have less income, what expenses can you reduce now?
* Talk about the change with your family, because it impacts everyone. Together you may be able to identify ways
to reduce expenses.
* Exercise can help you manage the stress you feel as
well as help your long-term health. Create an exercise plan
with activities that you enjoy and set small goals. Exercise
with a family member or friend.
* Do something you enjoy each day. It could be as simple
as taking 10 minutes a day to read, find a quiet space to
close your eyes and rest, or listen to music.
* Eat and drink healthy. What you put in your body affects how you feel physically and mentally.
* Be around people you enjoy and care about.
* Let your values drive decisions you make.
Remember the Children
“Children experience and process stress differently
than adults. Children’s cognitive and emotional skills are
still developing, and they have limited experiences to draw
upon,” Bjornestad said. Chronic stress in children affects
their development, how they feel about themselves and the
world around them, their health and how they interact with
others.
“When parents are stressed, children may become
stressed. When adults are patient, calm and understanding
with children, stress that children may experience can be
minimized,” Bjornestad said.
Even minor changes in a child’s environment can cause
stress, because children are continuously trying to find
order and patterns as they go through the day.
“It is important for children to have consistent adults in
their life who they can trust and rely on, and to have daily
routines such as meal times and bed times,” Bjornestad
said.
Regular, healthy food choices and opportunities for fun,
physical activity help children manage big and little stressors in their lives.
“Activities that promote big movements in children such
as dancing, hiking, bike riding, playing soccer, shooting
hoops, swinging or climbing on playground equipment are
simple, low-cost activities that help children reduce and
manage stress,” Bjornestad said. “When low levels of physical activity are needed, such as before bedtime, reading a
book, drawing or listening to music can help a child relax.”
Finally, quality time with your child is important. Even
if finances are tight, you can be creative with the time that
you spend together. Examples might include going on an
adventure outdoors, reading books, playing board games,
sharing meals, going on a walk, etc. Meaningful time together may help to decrease the stress experienced by both
you and your child. ?iGrow
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