Beef Update

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Virginia BCIA Presents Premier Breeder Awards
The Virginia Beef Cattle Improvement Association presented its Premier Breeder Awards at their Annual Meeting held in conjunction with the Virginia Beef Industry Convention. Breeders received the awards based on outstanding performance of their entire consignment at Virginia BCIA Central Bull Test Stations in the test year 2004-05. The Premier Angus Breeder Award was presented to Freddie Mullins, of Clintwood, Virginia. Mullins consigned a total of nine bulls to the Virginia Central Bull Test program, and had cattle in the Southwest Senior and Junior test groups as well as the Culpeper Senior test. Across the three test groups, Mullins' bulls posted an average yearling weight ratio of 112 and sold for an average premium of $400 relative to their contemporaries. The consignment groups included the high indexing Senior Angus bull and Breeder Group Award at the Southwest Test in 2005. The Premier Simmental Breeder Award was presented to Matthew Miller, Huckleberry Hill Farm of Rural Retreat, Virginia for the performance of his five bulls at the 2005 Southwest Junior test. The bulls posted an average gain ratio of 104. The Premier Charolais Breeder was awarded to Leo and Annette Muncy of Pipestem, WV for their six bulls consigned to the Southwest Senior and Junior Tests. The bulls posted ADG and YW ratios of 104 and 107, respectively, and the consignment group included the top two indexing and high-selling Senior Charolais for the Southwest Senior test in 2005.

Virginia BCIA Elects 2006 Officers
Terry Slusher was recently elected president of the Virginia Beef Cattle Improvement Association for 2006. Slusher is a commercial cow-calf producer from Floyd. Other officers elected at the BCIA Annual Meeting held in February include Vice President Pete Henderson of Williamsburg, and Secretary/Treasurer Leo Muncy of Pipestem, WV.

During the annual meeting of Virginia BCIA, directors elected to serve a three year term included Alan Graybeal, a cow-calf producer from Blacksburg, Nathan Haver, a Gelbvieh breeder from Goshen, and Kevin Powell a commercial producer from Madison. Other members of the BCIA board of directors include Buster Hounshell from Wytheville, Jason Pratt of Atkins, Charles Rosson from Louisa, and past president John Wilkins from Middleburg.

The technical directors of the association are Norm Vincel, Select Sires, Rocky Mount, Virginia and Bill Beal, Virginia Tech Department of Animal and Poultry Sciences. The educational advisor is Scott Greiner, Extension Animal Scientist at Virginia Tech.