U.S. cattle lobby renews beef war

U.S. cattle lobby renews beef war
Protectionist group appeals ruling

Gina Teel, Calgary Herald
Published: Thursday, June 08, 2006

American protectionist group R-CALF wants another day in court. The high profile cattle industry lobby group is appealing a U.S. district court decision earlier this year that denied its request for a hearing to argue for a permanent ban against Canadian cattle and boxed beef over mad cow concerns.

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Livestock producers have forage planting options

Livestock producers have forage planting options

By NDSU Extension
Farm and Ranch Guide

Range, pasturelands and hay land once again will produce less forage in 2005 because of an extremely dry winter and spring in the Dakotas, eastern Montana and Wyoming, according to Kevin Sedivec, North Dakota State University Extension Service rangeland specialist.

Livestock producers should plan early this year to take advantage of available moisture and cooler temperatures when reviewing their forage options.

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NCBA: Senate Rejects Death Tax Repeal

NCBA: Senate Rejects Death Tax Repeal

Cattlenetwork.com

Washington, D.C. (June 8, 2006) – The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) has released the following statement from NCBA President and Missouri cattle producer Mike John regarding today’s Senate procedural vote on the “Death Tax Repeal Permanency Act of 2005” (H.R. 8):

“Today will go down in history as the day 41 Senators slammed the door in the faces of America’s next generation of farmers and ranchers.

“These are the faces of our children, the faces of hard-working Americans who dedicate their lives to helping the family maintain small rural businesses only to find their efforts squelched by the strong-arm of the IRS at the time of a parent’s death.

“Despite the House of Representatives passing bi-partisan repeal bills time and time again that would effectively terminate this devastating tax, the Senate has decided the issue doesn’t even warrant debate.

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Upcoming Seminars Offer Producers Hands On Animal ID & Grazing Training

Upcoming Seminars Offer Producers Hands On Animal ID & Grazing Training

Cattlenetwork.com

ST. PAUL, Minn. – The North Country Cattlemen’s College will be held in late June at cattle operations around the state. The College will offer seminars on the National Animal Identification System (NAIS), grazing practices, and source verification of cattle. Seminars will be hosted by experts from the University of Minnesota Extension Service, the Minnesota Board of Animal Health and the Natural Resource Conservation Service.

In addition to the topics listed above, the northern sites (Willow River, Browerville, Clearbrook, and Roseau) will feature livestock handling demonstrations by expert range rider Jo Fife of the Rocky Mountain Range Riders, Idaho Falls, Idaho. Southern sites (Morris and Pipestone) will feature a seminar on fencing and watering systems as well as a session on grazing systems.

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Drought Threatens Cow/calf Operations

Drought Threatens Cow/calf Operations

NEstatepaper.com

The state’s continuing drought isn’t just hard on field crops. It is causing tremendous concern among cattle producers.

Custer County could lose up to half of its cow/calf production this year. When it comes to cow/calf production, only two other counties in America exceed Custer County.

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Cattlemen share concerns, talk about ways to protect interests

Cattlemen share concerns, talk about ways to protect interests

By David Hawthorne
Commercial Dispatch

WEST POINT – An increasing amount of federal funds are going toward soil conservation and related programs and away from agriculture promotion and production while cattle farmers are being hit by everything from imported beef competition to fears over mad-cow disease.

“We’ve lost our voice – all the money is going to conservation instead of production,” Stanley Scott, manager of the West Point Stockyard, told a group of cattlemen from throughout the region Wednesday night.

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Montana cattle ranchers flock to BVD-screening project

Montana cattle ranchers flock to BVD-screening project

June 08, 2006 — By the MSU News Service

BOZEMAN — A new project that’s investigating the role of screening Montana cattle for persistent infection of bovine viral diarrhea is starting out by exceeding all expectations, say project managers with the Montana Beef Quality Assurance program.

“We have more than 50 Montana ranches who’ve volunteered to participate in the project, representing about 40,000 head of cattle,” said John Paterson, Montana State University Extension beef specialist. “This is triple the amount of interest from what we originally presented as a small pilot project.”

Paterson and Clint Peck manage the project. Peck, of Billings, is senior editor of BEEF magazine and an advisor to the Beef Quality Assurance Program.

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O.I.E. revises B.S.E. risk categories

O.I.E. revises B.S.E. risk categories

MEATPOULTRY.com
by Joel Crews

WASHINGTON – During its annual meeting in Paris this past month, the World Organization for Animal Health (O.I.E.) voted to redefine the three categories (negligible, controlled and undetermined) used to assess risk in countries affected by bovine spongiform encephalopathy. The 167 member countries of the O.I.E. unanimously agreed to allow countries where B.S.E. is discovered to be categorized as “negligible risk” after seven years from the birth date of the index animal. Previously, the seven-year term began on the date of the B.S.E. discovery, which would have meant the United States would have had to wait until 2013 to achieve negligible-risk status.

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BeefTalk: Source- and age-verified replacements are hard to find

BeefTalk: Source- and age-verified replacements are hard to find

By KRIS RINGWALL, Beef Specialist, NDSU Extension Service
Minnesota Farm Guide

The search is on, but one might say, So what? The search is for heifers that are verifiable for source and age. There is always a need and one would say there is always a sale ready to be made, but the reality of finding heifers in the spring that are source-and age-verified is difficult.

Through the years, the Dickinson Research Extension Center has gone searching for heifers. Heifer shopping in the fall is not very difficult. Generally, a set or two of heifers are found that qualify for the center’s needs. The heifers have a documented birth date and source to qualify to fit the center’s needs.

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Pinkeye – A disease of plenty

Pinkeye – A disease of plenty

Minnesota Farm Guide

By BETHANY LOVAAS, DVM,
University of Minnesota Beef Team

As is typical for the northern climes of the United States, we often see a “spring flush” in the pastures. When warm weather hits, provided there is adequate moisture in the soil, the grasses start to grow like they’re afraid they’ll freeze tomorrow. Rarely will you hear a cattleman complain that he has too much grass, but like all things, too much of a good thing is still too much.

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