Daily Archives: May 15, 2006

Japan confirms 26th case of mad cow disease

Japan confirms 26th case of mad cow disease

CFRB Radio
May 13, 2006 – 6:50am

TOKYO (AP) – Japan has confirmed its 26th case of mad cow disease, this one in a 5-year-old Holstein in the country’s north, the Agriculture Ministry said Saturday.

Meat inspectors found that the dairy cow tested positive for the disease on Thursday on the northern island of Hokkaido, the ministry said.

A panel of Agriculture Ministry experts confirmed the infection Saturday, according to ministry official Akiko Suzuki.

FULL STORY

Cattle rustling on the rise

Cattle rustling on the rise

Rusty Evans
Clarksville Leaf-Chronicle, TN

Cattle rustling is on the increase in Tennessee. The market prices of cattle the past two or three years have made stealing cattle more attractive to potential rustlers.

Jim Neel, a beef cattle specialist with University of Tennessee Extension, says rustling is an expensive proposition for cattle owners.

“For example, a 500-pound feeder calf is worth between $500 and $600. Producers losing 10 to 20 feeder cattle to rustling are losing between $5,000 to $12,000.”

FULL STORY

Where Did Cows Come From?


Where Did Cows Come From?

Wash Park Prophet

An artist’s depiction of an auroch.

The latest research injects some nuance into the general picture that wild aurochs were domesticated in the Neolithic era, noting that in addition to the Near East and India, some important parts of the domestication process took place from Southern European wild cattle and possibly North African wild cattle.

FULL STORY

An Exacting Science

An Exacting Science

story by Ed Haag
Angus Journal

If anyone tells you planting alfalfa is a snap, they don’t know what they are talking about. “There are a lot of ways you can have a wreck,” says Dan Putnam, department of agronomy and range science, University of California, Davis. “You really have to know what you are doing.”

FULL STORY

USDA to Define ‘Grass-Fed’

USDA to Define ‘Grass-Fed’

High Plains Journal
By Chris Clayton , DTN Staff Reporter

-Groups Want Term ‘Grass-Fed’ More Narrowly Defined Because of Labeling Claims

OMAHA (DTN) — USDA officials plan to take another stab at defining “grass-fed” livestock with a new rule expected to appear in Friday’s Federal Register.

While the term “grass-fed” appears self-defining, livestock groups have gone back and forth about the rules for a labeling claim on grass-fed meats such as beef. Rules are needed to determine whether an animal can receive supplemental grain or what hay must constitute for an animal to be “grass-fed.”

FULL STORY

A Cut Above: beef adds value by repackaging itself

A Cut Above: beef adds value by repackaging itself

By Dick Hagen, The Land Staff Writer

Checkoff-funded muscle profiling research is adding value to beef through “discoveries” of new tender, flavorful cuts

“Because corn has been cheap and feeder cattle prices have been high, fed cattle right now are going to market 50 to 75 pounds heavier — so we’ve dug ourselves a bit of a hole,” said Dennis Swan, chairman of the Minnesota Beef Council and a Balaton cattle feeder. “But look back 12 to 20 months. We’ve had one of the longest periods of profitability in beef for ages.”

FULL STORY

On The Farm: Herbicides kill weeds in several ways

On The Farm: Herbicides kill weeds in several ways

By ERIC ZIMMERMAN
Special to theEagle.com

Most of the herbicides used in Texas to control unwanted species of plants in fields, hay meadows, lawns and gardens can be classified into six modes of action, four of which will be discussed in this article.

Growth regulator herbicides

These herbicides are widely used to control broadleaf weeds in grass crops such as wheat, corn, sorghum, forages and turf grasses. One of the more prominent herbicides in this group is 2, 4-D, which is one of the first selective herbicides developed.

FULL STORY

Brookston couple wins young farmer award

Brookston couple wins young farmer award

Lafayette Journal and Courier

BROOKSTON — Doug and Jean Morehouse won more than accolades in the American Farm Bureau Federation’s 2006 Outstanding Young Farmer and Rancher Achievement Awards ceremony.

They also took home to Brookston a new DX33 Farmall tractor and a Farmall pedal tractor, provided by Case IH, an Achievement Award sponsor. The couple received their Farmall tractor from their local Case IH dealer, Birkey’s Farm Store in Williamsport, Ind. The dealership also will provide tractor support.

“It was quite a surprise,” said Doug Morehouse, who farms 2,000 acres of row crop corn and soybeans with his father. “I thought we’d won the use of the DX33 for a year, so we were very excited when we learned that it’s ours to keep.”

FULL STORY

Bucking the mainstream on Crohn s

Bucking the mainstream on Crohn s

Newsday.com
BY DELTHIA RICKS
May 15, 2006

On a chilly Tuesday night in late March, reason enough not to brave the cold, officials at the Suffolk Y Jewish Community Center in Commack were stunned when their auditorium overflowed with 700 people.

They had expected the lecture to attract only 70.

The topic: Crohn’s disease, an issue with special resonance on Long Island, where conservative estimates put the number of people afflicted with the inflammatory gastrointestinal condition at 30,000.

FULL STORY

American Gelbvieh Association elects leaders

American Gelbvieh Association elects leaders

Grand Forks Herald
May 14, 2006

** DENVER The American Gelbvieh Association recently elected new directors and officers. Elected to lead the American Gelbvieh Association board of directors as president was Jay Johnson of Happy, Texas.

FULL STORY

Minnesota coalition a livestock production advocate

Minnesota coalition a livestock production advocate

Grand Forks Herald
May 14, 2006

MINNEAPOLIS – The Minnesota Farm and Food Coalition is a coalition of agricultural organizations dedicated to the health and sustainability of Minnesota’s farm families. The coalition was formed because each of the member organizations understood that the work was too important for just one to handle. It is a true coalition – its members work together and share resources to effectively advocate for families that depend on livestock production to support themselves.

FULL STORY