This is Megan Silveira, associate editor for the Angus Journal, with the November 29, 2023, update from the AJ Daily. Today’s update contains a story about the newly crowned Miss American Angus, a story about foreign ownership of U.S. farmland, and a story about this year’s supply of Christmas trees.
Lauren Wolter Crowned 2023-2024 Miss American Angus
Adapted from a release by Megan Silveira, Angus Journal
In a notebook holding dreams penned by a younger version of herself, 18-year-old Lauren Wolter, Aviston, Ill., now makes a check mark next to an important goal after being named the 2023-2024 Miss American Angus. Wolter was crowned during the annual American Angus Association Awards Dinner and Reception Sunday, Nov. 5.
While Wolter has had hopes of wearing the red coat since she met former queens like Keegan Cassady and Maddie Butler-Mosiman, serving as Miss American Angus means so much more than just an item crossed off her lofty to-do list.
The newly crowned queen said, “Ten-year-old Lauren is very happy — she’s definitely beaming.”
To read more, go to angus.org.
Do Only Americans Own America?
Adapted from a release by Larry Van Tassell, University of Nebraska–Lincoln
Foreign investment in the United States, while not a new phenomenon, has recently caught the attention of the American public and members of the U.S. House and Senate after an Air Force officer raised concerns when the Fufeng Group, based in Shandong, China, purchased 300 acres of farmland 12 miles from an Air Force base in Grand Forks, N.D., to build a corn milling plant. National security concerns prompted the U.S. Senate to propose a bill prohibiting the purchase of land in the United States by companies or individuals from China, North Korea, Iran or Russia.
The foreign direct investment in the United States (businesses and land) was $5.25 trillion at the close of 2022.
For the full story, go to angusbeefbulletin.com/extra and select the management tab.
Kicking Off Family Christmas With the Perfect Tree
Adapted from a release by Randi Williams, Texas A&M AgriLife Communications
Texas Christmas tree production continues to hold strong despite effects from extreme drought, according to a Texas A&M Forest Service expert.
Fred Raley, Texas A&M Forest Service tree improvement coordinator, says he is expecting another year of high demand for Christmas trees.
“Christmas trees are usually planted through November and March, the trees being sold for this year’s holiday season were actually planted four years ago to reach the mature height of 6 to 8 feet,” says Stan Reed, executive secretary for the Texas Christmas Trees Growers Association.
Like many other crops this year, producers who were not able to adequately irrigate their Christmas trees saw that some of their crop struggled, but not enough to decline production.
The full story is available at the link in this episode’s description.
The AJ Daily is compiled by Paige Nelson, field editor for theAngus Journal. For more Angus news, visit angusjournal.net.