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Media contact: Keith Oakley, president, N.C. Agricultural Foundation, N.C. State University,
919.515.9262
or keith_oakely@ncsu.edu
New Endowment Secures Future for N.C. State Beef Cattle Research
The Black Angus cattle grazing the fields of North Carolina State University's Upper Piedmont Research Station in Reidsville are no ordinary cows. This herd is the centerpiece of a 60-year research program and a key resource for the breeding and management of Angus cattle throughout the U.S.
And thanks to a new endowment agreement signed recently by the N.C. State College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and the North Carolina Angus Association, research with the herd will continue in perpetuity. To date, more than $25,000 has been raised, far exceeding the original $15,000 goal for the endowment.
The North Carolina Angus Association has pledged a percentage of each year's Spring Fever Sale at the Upper Piedmont Research Station in support of the endowment, and individual producers also are stepping forward in support.
“The Angus community has long been known for its visionary perspective,” said Dr. Steven Leath, college associate dean and director of the North Carolina Agricultural Research Service. “By creating the Angus Research Endowment, the first endowment dedicated to cattle research at N.C. State, the Angus community will provide a new model for industry investment, impacting the industry now and in perpetuity. We are very grateful for their leadership.”
With lineage that traces to the Chinqua-Penn Plantation herd of the 1940s, the N.C. State herd has officially been recognized by the American Angus Association as a Historic Angus Herd. Over the years, faculty and students in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences have used the herd to test a variety of factors affecting beef cattle production, from fertility to grazing management.
In a current study with the herd, college researchers are examining associations between efficiency of feed utilization and physiological factors such as body weight, hip height and hormone concentrations. Their work has caught the attention of the National Beef Cattle Evaluation Consortium, which recently invited the team to coordinate beef cow efficiency research efforts nationwide.
“By supporting continued advances in cattle research today, every Angus producer has the opportunity to play an integral part in ensuring the continued excellence of the Angus breed and the continued success of beef cattle producers,” said J.F. Lancaster, president of the North Carolina Angus Association. “We are proud to partner with N.C. State for the long-term benefit of our industry.”
Signing the endowment at this year's Spring Fever Sale were Lancaster, Leath and Dr. Joe French, superintendent of the Upper Piedmont Research Station. Also participating in the program were Howard Isley, assistant commissioner of the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services; David Gazda, regional manager for the American Angus Association; and Milford Jenkins, director of development of the Angus Foundation in St. Joseph, Mo.
With an eye to the future, Jenkins captured the spirit of the endowment, saying, “Each generation has a compelling desire to build a better life for the next generation. This endowment is planting the seed that will provide for the Angus producers of tomorrow.”
-Suzanne Stanard, 919.513.3126 or suzanne_stanard@ncsu.edu-
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