NASDA to lobby Congress to mark imported cattle’s origin

NASDA to lobby Congress to mark imported cattle’s origin

by Pete Hisey on 9/27/2006 for Meatingplace.com

The National Association of State Departments of Agriculture has voted to work legislatively to remove cattle from the so-called J-list, a list of commodities exempt from bearing a permanent mark of country of origin. NASDA holds that such a permanent mark would make it easier to isolate and treat animals if a dangerous animal disease, such as foot and mouth or bovine spongiform encephalopathy, were to be discovered in the originating country’s herd. The resolution says in part that cattle should be so identified to “allow animal health authorities to identify imported cattle, which is critical due to the potential importation of animals previously and unknowingly exposed to potential new and emerging diseases, or diseases with long incubation periods, such as BSE and tuberculosis, where the need to locate these animals may not be realized until many years after importation.” Ranchers-Cattlemen Action Legal Fund, which has fought the importation of cattle from countries with histories of animal diseases, saluted the move and urged its members to assist in lobbying Congress to write and pass such a bill.

Not-So-Promising Partners

Not-So-Promising Partners

Hay and Forage

by Neil Tietz

Ken Albrecht was optimistic that growing climbing beans with corn would increase silage yield and protein content. It looked like a good way for Wisconsin dairymen to cut feed costs.

But now he’s not sure.

“It seemed like it was going to be a very useful system,” says Albrecht, a University of Wisconsin agronomist. “But based on our results, it may not be worth the extra trouble.”

In two years of research at two locations, he and graduate research assistant Kevin Armstrong grew corn with three species of climbing beans: lablab, velvet bean and scarlet runner. In each case, the beans were planted 6” from the corn rows two to four weeks after the corn was planted.

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Indiana County Considers Using Hog Waste For Energy

Indiana County Considers Using Hog Waste For Energy

Cattlenetwork.com

FRANKFORT, Ind. (AP)–Hog manure from area farms could provide power for more than 200 homes along with the suppliers, supporters of the plan told Clinton County officials, according to an article in the Journal and Courier newspaper.

The report delivered to county commissioners and council members on Monday was the result of an eight-month, $75,000 study paid for by the city of Frankfort, Clinton County and the federal government.

The plan would hinge on a $5.5 million biorefinery that would convert waste piped in from hog farms into methane gas and carbon dioxide gas, the newspaper reported. The gases would power generators that would send power back to the farms and homes, said Gina Sheets, economic development director for the Clinton County Chamber of Commerce.

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E. Coli O157:H7 Not Limited to Grain-Fed Cattle, Kansas State Expert Says

E. Coli O157:H7 Not Limited to Grain-Fed Cattle, Kansas State Expert Says

USnewswire.com

Contact: Dr. David Renter of Kansas State University, 785-532-4801, or drenter@vet.k-state.edu

MANHATTAN, Kan., Sept. 26 /U.S. Newswire/ — E. coli O157:H7, which has been linked to the current spinach outbreak, is not just found in cattle fed on a diet of strictly grains, according to a veterinarian at Kansas State University.

“Cattle fed on grass, hay and other fibrous forage can have E. coli O157:H7 in their feces as can other animals including deer, sheep, goats, bison, opossum, raccoons, birds and many others,” said Dr. David Renter, assistant professor of veterinary epidemiology.

“While many media outlets have recently stated E. coli O157:H7 can be avoided by feeding cattle grass only, this is not the case,” Renter said.

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ICA of Texas’ Cattle Drives lead the way for fundraising, view sharing

ICA of Texas’ Cattle Drives lead the way for fundraising, view sharing

By MONETTE TAYLOR | South Central Texas Edition, Country World

Sept. 28, 2006 – The Independent Cattlemen’s Association (ICA) of Texas was in high gear in Giddings on Sept. 18 and offered those present at the Lee Livestock Barn the opportunity to bid on an animal to help with the annual “Cattle Drive” fundraiser.

According to Executive Director Bill Hyman, “Cattle Drive” auctions are being conducted at 13 different sale barn locations over Texas to help provide funding to support ICA’s effort to inform the Texas Legislature of cattlemen’s needs.

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Cattle Surge into Feedlots

Cattle Surge into Feedlots

Meatnews.com

USDA reports a 10 percent increase in the number of cattle being fed for slaughter.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) reports a 10 percent increase in the number of cattle and calves on feed for slaughter in U.S. feedlots with capacities of 1,000 or more head on September 1, 2006, compared to the number of cattle and calves in feedlots on September 1, 2005.

The feedlot cattle inventory on September 1, 2006 totaled 11.0 million head. NASS pointed out that this was the highest September 1 inventory since the series began in 1996.

Placements in feedlots during August totaled 2.30 million—15 percent above 2005 and nine percent above 2004. Net cattle placements totaled 2.24 million head. During August, placements of cattle and calves weighing less than 600 pounds were 680,000 head, 600-699 pounds were 435,000 head, 700-799 pounds were 535,000 head, and 800 pounds and greater were 650,000 head.

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Kentucky Farmers Assess Crop Damage From Weekend Floods

Kentucky Farmers Assess Crop Damage From Weekend Floods

Cattlenetwork.com

PADUCAH, Ky. (AP)–Western Kentucky farmers are fretting over extensive damage to their crops from the weekend’s downpours that flooded fields with up to 10 inches of rain.

“None of us know for sure what’s going to happen to us because we’ve never seen rain like this at this time of year,” said Wayne Mathis, who has 270 acres of soybeans submerged in the Melber area of McCracken County. “It’s really a wait-and-see kind of situation.”

Farmers were still assessing the storm’s damage.

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Leachman’s Legacy

Leachman’s Legacy

by Dick Beck

Angus Journal

The Saddle & Sirloin Portrait Gallery showcases the history of the entire spectrum of animal agriculture through its gallery of portraits — the largest in the world devoted to a single industry. The gallery boasts the portraits of agriculture’s most influential figures and serves as a shining example of animal agriculture’s effect in the U.S. and the world. This year, renowned Angus cattle breeder Les Leachman will join the ranks of those honored on the walls of the prestigious gallery, located at the Kentucky Fair and Exposition Center (KFEC) in Louisville, Ky.

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Odds-Defying Triplet Calves Healthy

Odds-Defying Triplet Calves Healthy

Fox News

PRINCETON, Idaho — Odds-defying triplet calves, a heifer and two bulls, that were born on a northcentral Idaho ranch are healthy and growing, said the rancher and Washington State University College of Veterinary Medicine employee who found them in his pasture.

Experts at the school in neighboring eastern Washington say the odds of triplets born to beef cattle are about 1 in 105,000.

“I couldn’t believe it,”said Mike Carpenter, who with his wife, Gayle, raises registered Simmental beef cattle about four miles south of this Latah County town near the north slopes of Moscow Mountain.

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Iowa Cattlemen’s Association Faces Shortfall In Money, Membership

Iowa Cattlemen’s Association Faces Shortfall In Money, Membership

KCCI (IA)

DES MOINES, Iowa — The Iowa Cattleman’s Association faces budget cuts and member discontent just as the state’s beef industry is poised for a comeback.

The group is cutting $260,000, or nearly a fourth, from its budget for next year. It blames shortfalls in membership and in money from a checkoff program used to promote beef.

President Leon Yantis said the cuts will mean the elimination of an unknown number of staff positions at its headquarters in Ames.

Iowa cattle producers are trying to ride a wave of increased ethanol production. Using distillers’ dried grains, a cheap byproduct of the ethanol-making process, could be a way for Iowa’s cattle feeders to gain a competitive edge.

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Roseda Farm beef popular in Mid-Atlantic region

Roseda Farm beef popular in Mid-Atlantic region

By CARYL VELISEK

American Farm

WESTMINSTER, Md. — Ed Burchell, one of the owners of Roseda Black Angus Farm in Monkton, Md,. met with a group of Maryland beef producers on Sept. 12 at the Carroll County Ag Center in Westminster, Md., at a meeting called by the Maryland Angus Association to discuss the possibility of a new meat packing facility in the area.

Roseda Farm is one of Maryland’s largest beef producers. They manage 1,500 head of purebred Angus beef cattle, raised mostly by others under contract. Their beef, under the Roseda label, is marketed directly to consumers and to upscale supermarkets.

Demand for Roseda brand beef has grown to the point where, despite the use of packing plants in Maryland and Pennsylvania, Roseda can no longer expand their operation without the addition of more packing facilities in the area.

“About a year ago, we met with members of the board of directors of the Maryland Angus Association to enlist their aid in sponsoring a study,” Burchell said. With sponsorship of the MAA, a grant was negotiated and the study was begun.

“We wanted to know if the market was there for the amount of premium natural beef (raised without growth hormones), if there are sufficient feedlots that would feed natural beef and we wanted to look at the financial viability of a plant.”

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