ID/INFO EXPO 2006 To Highlight Practical Animal ID Solutions

ID/INFO EXPO 2006 To Highlight Practical Animal ID Solutions

Cattlenetwork.com

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – The National Institute for Animal Agriculture (NIAA) has announced plans for ID/INFO EXPO 2006, a national conference and trade show devoted to animal identification and information systems technology. This year’s event will take place, August 22-24 in Kansas City, Mo.

“We are expecting a great meeting for the latest information in animal identification,” said R. Scott Stuart, NIAA Chairman of the Board and CEO of the National Livestock Producers Association. “Our planning committee is working diligently in finalizing what looks to be an excellent program.”

FULL STORY

Ohio Beef Newsletter available

The May 31, issue # 489, of the Ohio BEEF Cattle letter is now posted to the web at: http://fairfield.osu.edu/ag/beef/beefMy31.html

“How low can they go . . . or, are they there yet?!” As it relates to the fed cattle market, that seems to be the question that cattlemen are asking and discussing everywhere that two or more of them gather, right now. This week, Brian Roe offers insight into why, and for how long the fed cattle market may be pressured.

Articles include:
* Additional Supplies versus the Promise of the East
* Forage Focus: Management for Cow Nutrient Needs
* Reduce Summer Stress on Calves by Developing a Vaccination Program
* A matter of “Pride and Prejudice”
Stan
———-
Stan Smith
Program Assistant, Agriculture
OSU Extension, Fairfield County
831 College Ave., Suite D
Lancaster, OH 43130

The Forward Against AgriProcessors

The Forward Against AgriProcessors

Jewishpress.com

BB Editors Note: Please read the entire article before making an opinion about this story

In last week’s issue the Forward continued its seemingly relentless attack on Torah observance and those who facilitate it. This time the target was shechita and the Rubashkin family’s AgriProcessor plant, which was the subject, a year-and-a-half ago and again in March of this year, of abuse at the hands of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) which distributed on its web-page grisly films of cattle slaughtered at the AgriProcessors’ plant in Postville, Iowa.

FULL STORY

BAD PICTURES OF YOUR CATTLE CAN COST YOU PLENTY

BAD PICTURES OF YOUR CATTLE CAN COST YOU PLENTY

Cattletoday.com

A picture is worth a thousand words… but bad pictures of your cattle can cost you plenty! Many potential customers cannot visit your ranch to view your cattle in person, but when they see your cattle in your photo album, a sale catalog, or in an advertisement in your breed publication, CATTLE TODAY or on the Internet, you want their first impression to be a good one.

A medium priced digital camera is perfect for livestock pictures. Make sure it has a zoom lens so you can get a close-up without having to get too close and a built-in flash to help with the shadows. There are many models available for under $400. The digital cameras have several advantages over film types. You can tell if you get a good picture instantly without waiting for the pictures to get back from the developer. You can take several extra shots of the same animal and then just delete the not so good pictures. The auto-focus and auto-exposure controls make the camera easy to use. With the photo editing software usually included with the camera you can crop and adjust the brightness and contrast to improve your picture even more. You can email the photo to the person doing your ad or web site and they have it the same day it was taken.

FULL STORY

Everything You Wanted To Know About Ethanol Production But Were Afraid To Ask

Everything You Wanted To Know About Ethanol Production But Were Afraid To Ask

by Evelyn Rubin, Seeking Alpha Network

Our plants produce ethanol by processing corn with technology developed by ICM. A bushel of corn yields approximately 2.8 gallons of ethanol. Our dry-mill process of using corn to produce ethanol and co-products is illustrated in the following chart and described below.

FULL STORY

2005 Texas Ag Production Valued at $18.5 Billion

2005 Texas Ag Production Valued at $18.5 Billion

Writer: Blair Fannin, 979-845-2259,b-fannin@tamu.edu
Texas A&M University
Contact: Dr. Carl Anderson, 979-845-8011,canderson@tamu.edu

COLLEGE STATION – Texas agriculture production for 2005 was valued at $18.5 billion – up from $18 billion in 2004, according to a Texas Cooperative Extension study.

Dr. Carl Anderson, professor emeritus and Extension economist, said total value was calculated surveying production by each Texas county.

“Prices were mostly lower for crops from a year earlier and higher for livestock, but the production value has increased about 33 percent since 1995,” Anderson said.

FULL STORY

Why we farm

Why we farm

Carolina Country

Introduction
Fifteen years ago, I gave up city life to move to rural Rutherford County. The man I married had made the same decision 20 years earlier. We weren’t simply looking for a slower pace and a sense of place, although those are huge benefits. We were choosing a life rarely chosen these days.

Tim is a farmer.

FULL STORY

Canadian proposal called victory for U.S. cattlemen

Canadian proposal called victory for U.S. cattlemen

Wednesday, May 31, 2006, 2:10 PM
Brownfield Network
by Tom Steever

A proposal from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency would allow more U.S. cattle to be exported to Canada. The agency is proposing to lift bluetongue restrictions for cattle and other ruminants imported into Canada from the U.S.

Not only is the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association calling it a victory, but the organization representing Canada’s cattlemen is praising the move.

John Masswhol of the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association says it is one of the most important things the Canadian government can do to facilitate normal cattle trade between Canada and the U.S.

FULL STORY

USDA weighs label for beef from cattle fed only grass

USDA weighs label for beef from cattle fed only grass

Farmers contend their product is a cut above feedlot animals in health and taste; some experts doubt claims

By Matthew Chayes
Washington Bureau, Chicago Tribune

MIDDLETOWN, Md. — The image that schoolchildren conjure up when they imagine how animals live probably looks a little like Eric Rice’s Country Pleasures Farm: a half-dozen steers on acres of hill pasture, gnawing lazily on orchard grass.

On a recent Saturday, Rice, a mustachioed farmer in filthy khakis, was throwing homegrown apples at the herd in an attempt to get their attention. The animals, responding with a collective “moo,” stayed put, savoring the verdant countryside.

FULL STORY

Efforts could help end beef ban

Efforts could help end beef ban

By Chris Green
cgreen@dailynews.net
Harris News Service / The Hutchinson News (KS)

TOPEKA – Kansas U.S. Sen. Pat Roberts said Tuesday that he’s hopeful a new round of lobbying efforts will help convince Japanese officials to end their ban on U.S. beef being imported into their country.

Roberts and his colleagues in the Senate stepped up pressure on the Japanese last week to reopen their markets in a meeting with Japan’s ambassador to the U.S. and a letter to the country’s prime minister.

The letter asked Japan’s leader to reopen the beef trade prior to his June visit to the U.S.

FULL STORY

SOIL AND FORAGE TESTING AN IMPORTANT COMBINATION IN OPTIMIZING FORAGE PRODUCTION

SOIL AND FORAGE TESTING AN IMPORTANT COMBINATION IN OPTIMIZING FORAGE PRODUCTION

by: Stephen B. Blezinger
Ph.D, PAS
Cattletoday.com

As cattle producers we sometimes assume a different role: that of grass farmers. And while a given producer may not provide grass per se to his cattle (perhaps he produces alfalfa, clover, vetch, possibly soybeans for hay) he is still providing a high fiber nutrient source that is the natural feedstuff for ruminant animals and which he can produce on his own ground.

Cost effective forage production as it applies to beef cattle nutrition is a factor of two steps. 1) providing the appropriate nutrients to feed the plant to optimize it’s growth and 2) feeding that plant to the animal to optimize the animal’s growth. So we actually need to evaluate two phases of the study of nutrition – plant nutrition and animal nutrition.

FULL STORY