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Popover Pizza
1 lb Pinzgauer hamburger
1 large onion, chopped
1-envelope spaghetti sauce mix (1.5 oz.) 
1/2 cup water
1 package mozzarella cheese, sliced
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1 tbs vegetable oil
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup parmesan cheese, grated

Brown beef & onion, drain. Add sauce mix, tomato sauce & water. Simmer for 10 minutes. 

Put this meat mixture in a greased 9"x13" pan. Top with mozzarella cheese slices. 

In a small bowl mix eggs until light and fluffy, add flour, oil & salt. Pour this mixture over the meat & cheese in pan, sprinkle the Parmesan over the batter and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. 

(This is very good and quick; served with tossed salad and garlic bread your family and friends will love it!) 

Notes/Comments/Funlines
THANK YOU.........
     to Karen Bloker for the purchase of                      "FRECKLES"
We appreciate the opportunity to provide your foundation heifer for your future Pinzgauer herd.
               Susan & Joy Thompson 

Funlines...

Some Things I Learned In 2002

Happy New Year!!!

Doesn't it seem like we were just approaching 2000 with the worry of the computer world failing or am I the only one that can't believe it's 2003??? Frankly, I didn't get my "to do" list finished in 2002 so I'm throwing it away in hopes that my list this year won't be as long. (It's true isn't it that at the end of the year the old list is to be discarded along with the jobs on it??)

The show season was great and the Pinzgauers just keep getting better. What a terrific display of cattle! It was fun to visit with Pinzgauer friends again and catch up on all the happenings.

We had a good calving year. One of our cows had a calf in January then calved again in December. Her January calf weaned at 716 pounds at 235 days and she retained good condition all along. We had a set of twins in January that weaned at 241 days and their combined weight was 1260 pounds. Now that's what we call production!!!

There's a lot of news in the "Tails" so I best get on with it so you have time to get it read and send in your 2003 dues before the end of January.

We wish you the best year ever and hope all your calvings are good.

As always,
Dixie

World Congress in Canada

The International Pinzgauer Cattle Breeders Association Congress - Beef & Beyond will be held in and around Alberta, Canada from July 1 - July 22, 2003. The initial events will be held in conjunction with the Calgary Stampede. The Pinzgauer show is scheduled for Saturday July 12th. See show classes further in the "Tails".

Since our Canadian Pinzgauer friends have asked us to bring cattle and join them for this big even...Let's do our best to take our best! For more information on importing cattle look further in the "Tails". Contacts for the World Congress are as follows:

Website:
www.pinzgauer.ca

Address:
Canada 2003 IBCA Congress
RR #2 Site 16 Box 8
Olds, Alberta, Canada T4H 1P3

Telephone:
403.556.2290

Pinzgauer Sale 2003

A Pinzgauer Auction will be held at the Washington Fair in Puyallup, WA on September 14, 2003 at 7:00PM. This will be a Northwest Pinzgauer Association Sale.

A successful sale will require 16 to 18 head of excellent quality Pinzgauer. More information can be obtained by contacting Ben Ames at 360.291.0010.

Start looking over your heifers and pick one or two that will be exceptional sale animals.

It's time to get Pinzgauer back on the auction block!!!!

Northwest Bull Takes the National APA Show

The Northwest was represented by Herb Berg (Fantasy Acres Pinzgauers) and Adam Donovan (Rockin' A & J Pinzgauers) at the 2002 National Show and Sale in Dallas, TX. Taking 6 head to Texas was a fun and adventurous time for Herb, Adam and Mike Lyons who accompanied them on their trek. Mike Velilla joined them in Texas.

Once in Texas, they housed the cattle at Dr. Dan Scott's ranch. Many thanks to Dr. Scott for his hospitality.

On October 16th the Texas State Fair stalled 85 to 95 head of Pinzgauer from all over the United States and Canada. The National Show was held on Friday, October 19th and the Northwest stood very well.

"Olie", owned by Adam Donavan was the National Grand Champion Bull. Fantasy Acres won Champion Get of sire. There was much cheering from the NW section!

Returning to the Northwest the following week were 3 very tired men who had a very terrific time.

A big thank you to Amber Dryden for doing such a great job of fitting all the Northwest cattle for the show. GOOD JOB AMBER!!

Once in Texas, they 

A New Spin On Fertility
by Temple Grandin

Research shows the location of hair whorls - the spiral of hair that occurs on the bovine forehead - is related to temperament (December 1995 BEEF, page 29). Cattle with a whorl above the eyes are more excitable than cattle that have a whorl located below the eyes.

Now, new research indicates that the configuration of the whorl - a spiral center opposed to a straight-line center - is indicative of a bull's fertility. 

Colorado State University graduate student Melissa Meola found that Black Angus bulls bearing a spiral hair whorl with a round epicenter (Figure 1) had a higher percentage of normal sperm than bulls with an elongated hair whorl pattern (Figure 2). 

A total of 150 Black Angus bulls were evaluated, and semen was collected from each during a routine breeding soundness exam (BSE). In addition, the bulls were classified by their hair whorl pattern. 

About 100 sperm cells for each bull were evaluated under microscope using a staining technique. Each sperm cell was classified as either normal or abnormal, and defects such as bent tails and abnormal heads were counted. 

Bulls with a normal spiral hair whorl with a round epicenter averaged 77.6% normal sperm. But bulls with the elongated abnormal pattern had only 69.4% normal sperm. To pass a BSE, a bull must have a minimum of 70% normal sperm. 

In addition, the bulls were sorted into two extreme groups - those with either perfectly round spirals with round epicenters or those with elongated lines that were longer than the width of the bull's eyes. Of bulls with perfectly round spirals, 83% passed the BSE compared to only 50% of the bulls with abnormally elongated whorls. 

The next group was sorted into all bulls that had a round epicenter compared to bulls that had an elongated epicenter that varied from barely noticeable to an extreme like that in Figure 2. Bulls that had no hair whorls were not used. 

A total of 79% of the sperm cells were normal in bulls with round whorls with round epicenters, and only 71% of sperm cells were normal in bulls with non-round centers. Of bulls with round epicenters, 82% passed the BSE, while only 57% of the bulls with elongated epicenters passed. 

How could a hair whorl be related to semen quality? Hair whorl patterns and gonad development occur at about the same time in the fetus. In humans, abnormal hair whorl patterns occur in children with Down's syndrome and Prader-Willi syndrome. 

More research is needed to confirm these preliminary findings on hair whorls and semen defects. But remember that people thought it crazy when scrotal circumference was first introduced as a measure of bull fertility. Now it's an established part of a BSE. 

Temple Grandin is a Colorado State University assistant professor of animal science and a livestock industry consultant on facility design, livestock handling and animal welfare. View her site at www.grandin.com. 

Foreleg Size And Flightiness

I've observed in visits to packing plants that fine-boned cattle and other animals are more excitable. An Arabian horse, for instance, is fine-boned and nervous, but a workhorse is heavy-boned and calm. 

To confirm these observations, graduate student Jennifer Lanier measured the foreleg bones (cannon bones) of feedlot cattle. The leg bones of 135 cattle were then collected at the slaughter plant. 

The thickness and width of the foreleg, taken at the exact center of the foreleg bone, were measured. Temperament was measured by recording the animal's speed as it exited the squeeze chute, using a walk, trot or run designation. Australian research indicates exit speed is an efficient and objective way to assess temperament. 

Cattle that walked out of the squeeze chute had significantly thicker foreleg bones than cattle that ran out. The foreleg bone was 9% wider and 5% thicker in cattle that walked out. The measurements were an average of 45.16 mm. (1.77 in.) in cattle that walked, and 42.52 mm. (1.67 in.) in cattle that ran. 
- Temple Grandin

Resource www.beef-mag.com