Willie Altenburg
Bovine Connection organizers have included informational sessions on AI updates and Market updates as part of the Bovine Connection Program, scheduled for Thursday and Friday, Dec. 1-2 at the new Extension/EARC facility located on North Central Avenue.
Willie Altenburg, Genex Cooperative associate vice president of beef marketing, will speak at noon, Friday, Dec. 2 and will discuss several aspects of A.I. techniques for beef cattle. “I’ll talk on synchronization systems and how they work when breeding heifers,” Altenburg remarks, “I’ll also discuss gender selected semen and how we can choose the sex of our calves from the semen.”
Altenburg has worked on AI techniques for 40 years, so he will bring a wealth of information to his discussion. “I enjoy this business,” he says. “Genex is the leader in the AI business. It is unique because it is a cooperative owned by beef and dairymen.”
Jim Robb, Livestock Marketing Information Center director, (LMIC) will also give a talk during the Friday, Dec. 2 session of the Bovine Connection. Robb will provide the LMIC market update and projection report at 11 a.m. in the meeting room at the Extension office facility and will also discuss issues in the livestock markets and explain how these issues interconnect and affect the entire marketplace.
“We are seeing record high calf prices, we’ve had the worst drought in the U.S. southern plains that we’ve seen for the past 100 years, so the dynamics have changed,” Robb remarks. “We have a weak domestic economy, other issues are impacting us, and all these factors are mixed together and affect one another.”
He continues, “Every day we face new market related challenges and opportunities, and they all have an influence on how we produce beef. BSE, interest rates, and other issues affect this mix. We are undergoing changing times, and I will provide updates for everyone.”
Robb has served as LMIC director since 1997.
The LMIC, a cooperative effort that has provided economic analyses and market projections concerning the livestock industry since 1955, continuously updates forecasts, projections and support materials related to market situations and outlooks. A cooperative effort among state land grant universities, USDA economists, industry cooperators and the Center staff, the LMIC contributes to economic education, supports applied research projects, and policy evaluation. “Our goals are to support education, research, ad outreach efforts,” Robb says.
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