Book dispels many of the outlandish and irresponsible claims some organic promoters are making

Book dispels many of the outlandish and irresponsible claims some organic promoters are making

Cattlenetwork.com

(November 2, 2006) St. Louis, MO. Henderson Communications LLC announces it has published the new book “The Truth About Organic Foods.” Copies of the book are now available.

The author of the book is Alex Avery, Director of Research and Education for the Hudson Institute’s Center for Global Food Issues. Avery earned a Bachelor of Science in biology and chemistry from Old Dominion. He was a McKnight Research Fellow at Purdue University until starting with Hudson in 1994.

Since then, Avery has written several Hudson White Papers on food safety and environmental impacts of farming, and has been published on food and farming matters in scientific journals such as the Journal of the American Dietetic Association, Science, and Environmental Health Perspectives. In addition, he has written dozens of op-eds published in such newspapers as the Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, and Des Moines Register. He has also made appearances discussing organic foods on Fox News, CNNfn, and Penn & Teller’s show on Showtime.

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NMA: New Movie A Fast Food Fiction

NMA: New Movie A Fast Food Fiction

Cattlenetwork.com

OAKLAND, CA – The truth about the meat industry is far removed from the dark portrait the motion picture Fast Food Nation paints.

Fast Food Nation holds that meatpacking is the most dangerous job in the United States. Yet, the annual listing of the top ten most dangerous jobs does not include an entry for meatpacking.

This Fast Food Fiction also claims that ground beef is contaminated by high levels of pathogens, but government reports show that isn’t the case.

So, what are the real facts?

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Texas Longhorn sets record at competition

Texas Longhorn sets record at competition

Newark Advocate (OH)

BARNSVILLE — The Dickinson Cattle Co. Inc, of Barnsville, set a new record for the length of horns on a Texas Longhorn cow during the 17th annual International Texas Longhorn Association Championship show from Oct. 19-21 in Harrisonburg, Va.

Shadow Jubilee’s horns measured 79 1/8 inches from tip to tip at the Call of the Horns competition, thus earning the 6-year-old cow the championship title.

ITLA show records show no cow age six or younger ever has had horns that measured more than 79 inches across.

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Tests can Determine if Cattle are Infected with BVD

Tests can Determine if Cattle are Infected with BVD

by: Heather Smith Thomas

Cattle Today

Ever since scientists discovered the BVD virus, researchers have been trying to find ways to help cattle producers detect and prevent the disease. A modified live virus vaccine was developed more than 30 years ago, giving ranchers their first good weapon to protect susceptible animals. Vaccination is not effective however, in PI (persistently infected cattle); since their immune system does not recognize the virus as foreign, they cannot produce immunity to the virus. Scientists also worked on ways to test cattle to find out if they are infected, in order to detect PI cattle so they can be removed from the herd.

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Afghan Immigrant Becomes American Cowboy

Afghan Immigrant Becomes American Cowboy

By Bogdan Wojciechowski

Voice of America

There are many cowboys in America. But Miran Fareed is unique because he comes from Afghanistan. This immigrant does not live in the western U.S. like most American cowboys, but on the east coast in the state of Virginia. VOA’s Jim Bertel narrates this report.

Cowboys practicing team roping is a common occurrence in Midwestern states like Texas or Oklahoma, where ranchers use these skills to catch cattle for branding or medical check-ups. But in the eastern state of Virginia, barely a one-hour drive from Washington D.C., it is somewhat unusual.

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Maternal Block vs. Vaccines in Livestock

Maternal Block vs. Vaccines in Livestock

Protecting Young Cattle Could Save Producers Millions

High Plains Journal

OMAHA (DTN) — Using of a virus linked to the common cold is among the approaches that scientists with the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) are using to bypass maternal defenses that thwart vaccination of very young livestock, according to a news release from the agency.

Maternal antibodies are crucial to the offspring of animals such as cattle and swine, which are born with no protective antibodies of their own. These young get their immunity to disease from suckling colostrum, a protective substance in their mother’s milk, during the first 24 to 36 hours after birth. But these maternal antibodies also fight off virus strains that are placed in vaccines to initiate immunity against disease.

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If You Go: Architecture students tackle stockyards issue

If You Go: Architecture students tackle stockyards issue

Lexington Herald-Leader

We are a state that celebrates the horse and hides the cow, says Beth Hunter, a University of Kentucky student who has given this cultural bias a lot of thought.

Look at our license plates, our street names, our state slogan. Where are the tributes to cattle?

‘Cattle are basically ignored, but they have a pretty big impact,’ Hunter said.

She is one of half a dozen students in an advanced architecture class who are spending a semester studying the Blue Grass Stockyards as it tries to relocate from just west of downtown Lexington.

They produced an exhibit called Stock Exchange that opens tonight at ArtsPlace on North Mill Street as part of the Gallery Hop.

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Foul state of affairs found in feedlots

Foul state of affairs found in feedlots

Factory farms are harmful to the public and the environment, researchers report.

By Marla Cone, Los Angles Times Staff Writer

Growing so large that they are now called factory farms, livestock feedlots are poorly regulated, pose health and ecological dangers and are responsible for deteriorating quality of life in America’s and Europe’s farm regions, according to a series of scientific studies published this week.

Feedlots are contaminating water supplies with pathogens and chemicals, and polluting the air with foul-smelling compounds that can cause respiratory problems, but the health of their neighbors goes largely unmonitored, the reports concluded.

The international teams of environmental scientists also warned that the livestock operations were contributing to the rise of antibiotic-resistant germs, and that the proximity of poultry to hogs could hasten the spread of avian flu to humans.

Editor’s note: Stories of this ilk are included in the blog to inform those in our industry how agriculture is being presented to and perceived by the public.

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Bergers are serious about black-and-white Belties

Bergers are serious about black-and-white Belties

By Cathy Benson

The Castle Record (VA)

The Bergers are serious about natural down to the beef they grow. Amy and Bobby Berger and daughter Haley raise lean meat in their Belted Galloway cattle on Triple B Farm off Rt. 311 west of New Castle.

The “Oreo” cattle they raise are more than just meat to the Bergers.

“The more you interact with animals the better they interact with you,” said Paw-Paw Bob Berger. Triple B Farm that belongs to his son and family is a small farm located in the woods west of New Castle off Rt. 311.

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Ohio’s First Heifer Development and Breeding Service

Ohio’s First Heifer Development and Breeding Service

Cattlenetwork.com

RUSSELLVILLE – Heifer Development & Breeding Services (www.heiferdevelopment.com) is now accepting heifer enrollment applications from cattlemen interested in saving time and money while taking advantage of professional heifer development and breeding.

Professional heifer development and breeding offers cow-calf producers an opportunity to make more money by reducing bull costs, maximizing farm resources for mature cows and providing marketing opportunities for individuals who want to buy or sell replacement heifers.

Females contracted with Heifer Development & Breeding Services will be fed a diet designed to meet their unique nutritional demands, receive both pre- and post-breeding veterinary exams and be bred using registered AngusÒ calving-ease bulls or via artificial insemination (additional costs are associated with AI services). After females are confirmed bred, they can be returned to the herd as replacement females or sold by the farmer for profit.

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Wisconsin offers cost-sharing for animal ID

Wisconsin offers cost-sharing for animal ID

Brownfield Network

by Bob Meyer

The Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP) is offering a cost-share program for participants in the state’s voluntary animal ID program. Tags with official animal identification numbers (AIN) are now available from USDA. The program consists of sign-up, approval and confirmation of participation followed by tag purchase and application. Reimbursement is made once these steps have been completed and is on a first-come, first-served basis. A producer must have a premises registration number to qualify for the program.

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Winterizing: Be prepared to keep cattle healthy

Winterizing: Be prepared to keep cattle healthy

By MONETTE TAYLOR Country World (TX)

NOV. 16 – What’s the best ways to take care of beef cattle during the winter, especially when most have been under drought stress?

Dr. Rick Machen addressed the question during the Oct. 27 meeting at the Luling Foundation. Machen, a Texas Cooperative Extension beef cattle specialist, gave an informative presentation, and noted only time will tell how many of the area producers can get through the winter without selling off more of their herd.

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