2006 Cumberland Beef Day Announced

2006 Cumberland Beef Day Announced

The eighth annual Cumberland Beef Day will be held on April 13, 2006 at the White County Fair Complex in Sparta, TN, from 9:00 A.M. to 4:00 P.M. The event will again be co-sponsored by the White/Van Buren Cattlemen’s Association, University of Tennessee Extension, and area Extension Agents.

The 2006 Cumberland Beef Day’s theme will be Competing in a Global Cattle Economy, and will feature Troy Applehans of Cattle-Fax from Centennial, Colorado. “Perspectives on the Effects of Globalization on Beef Production and Marketing in the US” will be the title of Applehans presentation.

Troy Applehans is a native of Colorado and a graduate of Oklahoma State University. He is well-versed in the cattle business and has worked extensively with the cow/calf and seedstock segments of the industry. Applehans was previously employed by Cargill Animal Nutrition as a cattle mineral specialist, Future Beef Operations as a member of the cattle procurement team, and as a regional manager for the American Gelbvieh Association. His primary responsibility with Cattle-Fax is serving as a market analyst working with cow/calf and stocker operations.

Other topics will include: Comments on The Tennessee Beef Industry, Ken Givens, Commissioner of Agriculture; Using EID to Expand Opportunities – Dr Emmit Rawls, UT; Trace-back and Related Issues on EID – Dr Charles Hatcher, TN Department of Ag; Argentina, Our Growing Competitor – Dr. David Kirkpatrick, UT. In addition, there will be demonstrations on new innovations, practical applications, and answers to your concerns on EID.

Live demonstrations will include: Conducting a Beef Cow-Calf Herd Evaluation – Kevin Thompson, TN Livestock Producers. Kevin will use heifers and cows from a local herd to demonstrate what he looks for as he conducts an evaluation and how he determines the needs for improving the productivity of that herd. This program will assist anyone who wants to make progress in their breeding program, but is perfect for cattle producers participating in the Tennessee Agricultural Enhancement Program.

The beef day will also feature an extensive trade show of products, equipment, services and beef cattle. A sponsored meal will be provided at noon.

For Information contact Scott Swoape (931-946-2435) or Bill Adcock 931-836-3348

Possible first case of mad cow disease in Sweden

From Wikinews, the free news source you can write!

The presence of vacuoles, microscopic “holes” in the gray matter, gives the brain of BSE-affected cows a sponge-like appearance when tissue sections are examined in the lab.

March 1, 2006

The presence of vacuoles, microscopic “holes” in the gray matter, gives the brain of BSE-affected cows a sponge-like appearance when tissue sections are examined in the lab.

Enlarge

The presence of vacuoles, microscopic “holes” in the gray matter, gives the brain of BSE-affected cows a sponge-like appearance when tissue sections are examined in the lab.

A suspected case of BSE, better known as mad cow disease, has been discovered in Sweden at a farm near Västerås some 80 kilometres west of Stockholm.

The affected farm has been quarantined and no ruminants from the farm are allowed to be sold or transported. The cow was destroyed earlier after symptoms of calving paralysis had been discovered, and the tests where carried out in accordance to rules set by the European Union (EU).

The Swedish Board of Agriculture (Jordbruksverket) analysed specimen from the cow at the farm this weekend. The tests confirmed the presence of BSE and and the specimen was sent for further analysis at a UK laboratory.

If the British analysis confirms BSE in the specimen, it will be the first case of BSE in Sweden. The affected farmer told the Swedish public service radio: “As my father said, if we have to make history it would be a pity to do it this way.”

FULL STORY

Farmers using up stored hay in dry times

Farmers using up stored hay in dry times

By Mike Penprase
Springfield, MO News-Leader

The irony of talking about growing forage at a time when farmers are anxious about whether they’ll get the rain needed to make the grass grow wasn’t lost on Jack Miller on Tuesday.

Miller raises cattle in the heart of Missouri’s forage region. The Willard farmer was one of 450 people attending one of the state’s longest-running forage management conferences Tuesday.

FULL STORY

GenVec Announces $1.7 Million Collaboration for Continued Development of a Foot and Mouth Disease Vaccine

GenVec Announces $1.7 Million Collaboration for Continued Development of a Foot and Mouth Disease Vaccine

BIOWIRE2K
Businesswire.com

GAITHERSBURG, Md.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–March 1, 2006–GenVec, Inc. (Nasdaq:GNVC) announced today that it has received an additional $1.7 million in support provided by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)-Agricultural Research Service (ARS) funded through an interagency agreement by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate to advance the development of countermeasure vaccines to prevent the spread of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD). FMD has been identified as a key potential threat to the U.S. economy and the country’s food supply, whether infection were to occur as a result of bioterrorism or by accidental exposure to the disease. GenVec is developing candidate vaccines and anti-viral agents to prevent the spread of FMD through a multi-year research collaboration with the ARS and will use the additional DHS funding to support the company’s activities this year.

A prototype Ad5-FMD vaccine, initially developed by ARS, was the first recombinant FMD vaccine to protect swine and cattle from FMD virus challenge with one inoculation. In subsequent collaborative studies with DHS, ARS and GenVec, GenVec’s proprietary adenovector system and cell line was utilized to safely produce, for the first time on the U.S. mainland, an effective FMD vaccine. Preliminary testing by DHS scientists has shown that this vaccine candidate effectively prevented clinical disease (symptoms) in cattle when they were challenged with the FMD virus.

Results from these challenge studies were reported on November 11, 2005, at the 8th National Meeting and 1st International Meeting of Researchers of the Livestock Sciences by Marvin Grubman, Ph.D., USDA-ARS, Plum Island Animal Disease Center, who conceived and developed this vaccine approach. The DHS Targeted Advanced Development group at Plum Island Animal Disease Center, led by Laszlo Zsak, D.V.M., Ph.D., is also collaborating with ARS and GenVec in the development of the vaccine.

FULL STORY

Latest Ohio Beef Newsletter available

Latest Ohio Beef Newsletter available

The March 1, issue # 476, of the Ohio BEEF Cattle letter is now posted
to the web at:

http://fairfield.osu.edu/ag/beef/beefMar1.html

Space in the Ohio Beef Heifer Development Short Course is rapidly
filling .
. . find registration information in this week’s letter.

Articles this week include:
* Dr. Les Anderson is featured at Ohio Beef Heifer Development Short
Course
* Good Beef Management Includes Forage Planning
* Extending the Grazing Season Backwards
* Keep Replacement Heifers Growing
* Grazing Workshop and Livestock Mortality Class in Newark
* Weekly Purcell Agricultural Commodity Market Report

Farmers aging on the vine as state’s No. 1 industry changes

Farmers aging on the vine as state’s No. 1 industry changes

By Paul Paterra
PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Wednesday, March 1, 2006

Hilary Schramm’s family has been farming since 1864.

It’s the life he’s known for 55 years, and it’s the life he continues on 400 acres in Penn, Westmoreland County. “It’s a farming family. We’ve been at it for 100 years.”

Richard Burd is starting his 51st year on his farm just six miles south of Uniontown, Fayette County.

“I’ve really been doing it forever,” Burd said. “It’s the only thing I’ve ever known.”

That seems to be the case for the Western Pennsylvania farmer. Traditionally, it’s someone a bit older who may have taken over the family farm.

“I was born and raised on the farm,” said Wayne Frye, of Salem, Westmoreland County, who’s been a farmer for 30 years. “I think you almost have to be born and raised on the farm to do it. I don’t know of anybody who grows up and goes to college (to become a farmer). I don’t think it happens.”

FULL STORY

Extending the grazing season

Extending the grazing season

Zanesville TimesRecorder
MARK MECHLING

When we think of extending the grazing season, we usually think of how long we can go into the fall or winter without feeding stored feed. Chris Penrose, extension educator in Morgan County, has some thoughts about how soon we can stop feeding as spring approaches.

The first is by the use of wheat, barley of cereal rye planted back in late summer or early fall. If grazing is your primary option for the crop, cereal rye may be the best bet. It can be lightly grazed in December and again in March. This is probably the small grain that will start growing first in late winter/early spring. When young, it is high quality and provides feed in March; however, if rye is not stocked adequately as temperatures warm up, it can quickly get out of control and lose quality and palatability.

Over the years, there has been a lot of discussion on how early we can turn livestock out on pasture and often it depends if you are looking from the forage or livestock perspective (or if you are out of hay). If you have a healthy, productive pasture, you can turn out livestock as soon as the grass starts to green up. If you use rotational grazing, you can use a fast rotation or open up all the paddocks until the grass really takes off in early April, then start rotational grazing.
A couple other ideas include stockpiling and grazing hay fields.

Each year, you can stockpile a field (set it aside to grow from the end of summer through the fall). Tall fescue is the best species to stockpile. Let it set until calving season starts in early March. If the cows are in good condition, the only feed they will get is the stockpiled fescue and a good salt/mineral mix. There are four advantages to this.

FULL STORY

Let your computer manage your weeds

Let your computer manage your weeds

Tuesday, February 28, 2006, 2:26 PM
Brownfield Network
by Gary Truitt

You can use Microsoft to run your computer and now you can use WeedSOFT to run your weed management program. WeedSOFT provides producers with tools to identify weeds, select herbicides and set up a customized treatment plan. The software program’s 2006 version offers a handful of new features, including weed management for hay crops.

“WeedSOFT is a computerized weed management decision aid for corn, soybeans, grain sorghum, wheat, grass pastures and forages,” said Bill Johnson, Purdue Extension weed scientist. “In the past, most people have used printed guides that are produced by industry or universities to help them make decisions on which herbicide products to use and how to use them. What we’ve attempted to do with WeedSOFT is take all of that information and put it into a computerized program.”

The software also goes a step beyond weed control books, Johnson said. “This program has the ability to predict yield loss based on various weed infestations, which is a feature that we simply don’t have in the printed guides,” he said.

WeedSOFT is a collaborative effort of nine land-grant universities. In addition to Purdue, other participating schools include the universities of Illinois, Missouri, Nebraska and Wisconsin; and Kansas State, Michigan State, Ohio State and Penn State universities. The original WeedSOFT was introduced in Nebraska in 1992.

Indiana farmers installing the WeedSOFT program into their computers will find four weed management modules. Among them:

* ADVISOR — A program that analyzes crop growth and weed density, and prescribes a herbicide treatment plan.

* WeedVIEW — A weed identification database. WeedVIEW lists more than 60 weeds with photos and line drawings.

* EnviroFX — Alerts the user on which herbicides could reach ground or surface water, based on a farmer’s product choices.

* WeedMAPPER — Determines if weeds are spreading in a field. The module can be downloaded into a farmer’s PDA and taken into the field for on-site analysis.

“New features to the software include an upgrade to ADVISOR, which allows you to pick three herbicide programs on your computer screen and compare them side-by-side for their efficacy and cost,” Johnson said. “We also have added a fallow or winter wheat stubble module to ADVISOR, which gives you herbicide recommendations for keeping weeds under control in those situations. “In addition, we’ve added pasture and range sections to ADVISOR. And WeedMAPPER can now use COQQ or FSA aerial imagery for field maps, and you can use these in WeedMAPPER to find your field and draw your field boundaries.”

Source: Purdue Ag Answers

Cattle Call

Cattle Call
At its annual convention, the American Meat Institute tells all. At its annual convention, the American Meat Institute tells all.
By Eric Barton
Pitch.com
Article Published Mar 2, 2006
The catering staff had just rolled in a cart of refreshments for attendees of the American Meat Institute Foundation conference in a ballroom of the Overland Park Sheraton last week. At the lectern was Temple Grandin, an associate professor at Colorado State University and a well-known expert in the slaughter of livestock.

“The head must be dead,” Grandin said, sounding a bit like Johnnie Cochran. “I can’t stress that enough.” Grandin wore a sky-blue shirt embroidered with mustangs that appeared to be running across her shoulders. Her silver belt buckle was emblazoned with a golden longhorn head. Grandin was the meat institute’s headliner, an expert who has spent 25 years designing slaughter facilities.

“You’ve got to start with a calm animal — and a fast knife,” she told the audience in a session for beef producers. An animal must be thoroughly knocked out before butchering. Most slaughterhouses use what are called stun guns. The weapons either shoot a retractable rod into the brain of the animal or knock it rapidly with a metal stick, which is equivalent to being hit with a sledgehammer. Grandin cautions against wielding the gun against the back of the head, which can cause nothing more than paralysis and won’t keep the animal from feeling pain as the butcher runs a knife across its throat.

FULL STORY

Stockgrowers circulate NAIS petition

Stockgrowers circulate NAIS petition

Wednesday, March 1, 2006 3:37 PM CST

Tri-State Neighbor

Members of the South Dakota Stockgrowers Association (SDSGA) are asking friends and neighbors across the state to sign a petition opposing the implementation of a mandatory national animal identification program.

The Stockgrowers gained more than 300 signatures during the Black Hills Stock Show but don’t plan to stop until they’ve gathered far more.

“Almost without exception, every producer that I’ve talked to is literally frightened of the cost and the burden of a federally mandated animal ID program,” said Kenny Fox, Belvidere, S.D., who serves as the chairman of the SDSGA Animal ID Committee. “The biggest concern among our members is the fact that it’s completely unnecessary. We’ve got the capability to track our livestock right now – why in the world would our government want to impose the most burdensome and expensive mandate upon the most independent and low profit segment of the beef supply chain, the cattle producer?

FULL STORY

Homework is key before buying bulls

Homework is key before buying bulls

By Donna Farris, Special Sections Editor
Wednesday, March 1, 2006 3:37 PM CST
Tri-State Neighbor

At the same time when bull sales are at their height for the year with a huge number of animals to select from, cattle producers are making a crucial decision in the management of their operation as they choose which bulls to purchase.

“It’s a very key decision to the whole ranch management system,” said Daryl Strohbehn, beef cow/calf specialist for Iowa State University Extension and the Iowa Beef Center.

*

The weight of the decision depends on how proactive producers are about their herd management, said Ryon Walker of Grand Rapids, Minn., University of Minnesota Extension regional educator and member of the Minnesota Beef Team.

“What product do you want to produce – product meaning calves,” Walker said.

Before buying a bull, cattlemen need to understand their herd and what type of cattle they have, as well as their own goals as a producer.

“Are you selling calves at weaning to go to a feedlot, are you trying to accomplish a lot of carcass quality in your genetics, are you looking to produce replacement heifers or are you selling bulls?” Walker said.

Doing a self-assessment can help a producer see genetic strengths and weaknesses in the herd.

“That should direct you toward what type of standards you should set up for your next bull purchase,” Strohbehn said.

FULL STORY

New mad cow case reported in Poland

New mad cow case reported in Poland

Gwinettedailyonline.com

Poland has detected another case of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE), commonly known as mad cow disease, veterinary authorities said Wednesday.

The new case, found in Zerkow in western Poland’s Wielkopolska province, brought the number of reported mad cow cases in the country to 40.

The new case, the second found in the province, was confirmed during a test before the cows were slaughtered and brought to the market.

Veterinary authorities have assured the public that all beef entering the market through legal channels had passed veterinary tests and was safe.

Poland reported its first mad cow case in 2002.

Microsoft’s new role: Livestock tracker

Microsoft’s new role: Livestock tracker

Networkworld.com

By Grant Gross, IDG News Service, 03/01/06

Microsoft has partnered with supply-chain software vendor ViaTrace and a nonprofit livestock producers group to launch a database intended to track diseased animals in the U.S. and reduce consumer fears.
Advertisement:

The ViaTrace database will allow livestock producers and government officials to track diseased animals and avoid wide-scale bans of exports to countries that consume U.S. meat, said Charles Miller, chairman of the U.S. Animal Identification Organization (USAIO), a new group representing regional identification organizations and beef and bison producer groups.

FULL STORY

Drought Brutal on Cattle

Drought Brutal on Cattle

KSFX Springfield, MO

Farmers and ranchers around the Ozarks are seeing their livestock suffer a slow death because of the effects of the nearly year-long drought.
The dry spell is stunting pasture growth and leaving cattle and other livestock severely malnurished.

Beef producers say the price of beef is up because of a simple matter of supply and demand – when there is no rain, there is little grass for forage. No grass means no food for the livestock. And without food, the supply of beef dwindles.

“If you haven`t eaten in a while, you can`t just go in and stuff yourself and eat because the stomach shrinks down. Your ability to digest food is not there.” Area veterinarians are seeing more cases of malnurished cattle. Dr. Harvey Kent, D.V.M., of Ozark, ranks animals he sees on a scale of 1 to 9, according to weight.

One day recently, Kent saw a cow he rated as a 1. The animal`s spinal column, pelvic bone and ribs were clearly visable.

A typical cow drinks 15 gallons of water a day. Farmers say this year`s supply of hay lacks sufficient nutrients, leaving cows without enough protein and minerals.

With calving season ahead, Kent urges his clients to make sure to get plenty of food into their cows.

“If your nutrition level is low, and you`re losing weight, your immune system is not going to be its normal self. And so it opens the door to all viruses and bacteria.”

Farmers and ranchers in Greene County can apply for drought-relief. That`s through cost-share payments from the Missouri Farm Service Agency`s emergency conservation program.

Add value to beef carcasses with minor management changes

Add value to beef carcasses with minor management changes

By Miranda Reiman, Freelance Writer
Tri-State Neighbor
Wednesday, March 1, 2006 3:37 PM CST

Adding value to beef carcasses can be as easy as smaller pens or earlier weaning.

“We have to manage cattle to minimize discounts and capture any premiums,” said Robbi Pritchard, professor of ruminant nutrition at South Dakota State University.

Producers can cash in on minor changes in their management, he explains.

Improved health programs, more precise implanting strategies and solid nutrition top the list of management tweaks that could yield more USDA Prime and Choice carcasses.

“We know we have to keep cattle healthy to get them to grade,” said Pritchard.

That’s easier to do if they all come from the same farm or ranch.

“Whenever we can, we fill a pen with single-source cattle,” he said. “We can get past a lot of problems that way. Their genetics, their immunological history and their nutritional history are all very similar.”

Smaller pen sizes might help, too, says Pritchard. That reduces the need for sorting, which can cause stress.

Darrell Busby, Iowa State University Extension beef specialist, also rates health as a high priority.

FULL STORY

Livestock ID system to be ready by fall

Livestock ID system to be ready by fall

(Dallas Morning News, The (KRT) Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge) DALLAS _ What industry officials call the first national database for tracking livestock was unveiled Wednesday and should be ready this fall for voluntary registration.

The database _ initially run by Dallas-based ViaTrace LLC _ marks another step toward the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s goal of tracing any animal to its place of origin within 48 hours in order to keep diseased animals out of the food supply.

FULL STORY