Minnesota “Beef Times” Newsletter Available

The latest version of the Minnesota Beef Newsletter “Beef Times” is now available in PDF (Adobe Acrobat) by clicking HERE.

If you do not have the free Adobe Acrobat Reader, you may download it by clicking HERE .

Tenessee Animal Science Update Available

The Tennessee Animal Science Newsletter for July is available by Clicking HERE.
Note: all files are in Adobe Acrobat (PDF) format.

Herdcast: June Beef Management Checklist

Herdcast: June Beef Management Checklist

Matt Claeys, Beef Extension Specialist, Purdue University

In today’s Herdcast, Matt Claeys discusses Best management practices Spring calving beef producers should be considering during the month of July

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Darrell Peel: What Are The Pros & Cons Of COOL?

Darrell Peel: What Are The Pros & Cons Of COOL?

Cattlenetwork.com

Jolley: Let’s set aside the rhetoric for a moment. Can you bottom line it for me – what are the pros and cons of COOL?

Peel: COOL is a marketing program that ensures that consumers receive one piece of information about covered commodities: the country of origin. It cannot be construed as a food safety issue because it makes no changes in who can supply commodities or the requirement for supplying commodities in the marketplace. All food products offered to U.S. consumers have already passed existing food safety standards. COOL is administered by the Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) because it is a marketing program; food safety issues are handled by the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) or the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) along with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

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INDEPENDENCE DAY 2007

INDEPENDENCE DAY 2007

by: Baxter Black, DVM

Cattle Today.com

Happy July 4!

This Independence Day the tragicomedy infotainment news is presenting America as suffering from malaise, in a funk, stingy, frivolous and circling like a man with one oar.

There is another side, not the opposite side, just a view that looks at a cup half-full instead of half-empty. Polls show that Americans have become disenchanted with the war in Iraq. That we have lost patience with the administration, resent spending so much money, and are disappointed that the Iraqis have muffed such a great chance to become a free people. Why, we ask, lose one more American life for such ingrates?

Yet, in spite of everybody’s dissatisfaction, a British opinion poll of all Iraqis this spring found that by a 2 to 1 margin, they preferred life under the new government to life under Sadaam.

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Community, cattlemen unite against fire

Community, cattlemen unite against fire

Cattle and pasture lost

By Cassidy Friedman

Magic Valley Times-News

SHOSHONE – Firefighters, farmers and residents braced themselves Saturday evening for a possible second firestorm to follow Friday’s destructive combination of fire, wind and lightening.

It’s a combination that left 45,000 acres of private and public land charred or burning by Saturday evening, according to the Bureau of Land Management.

Officials said Saturday evening that they still don’t know how the 35,000-acre Red Bridge Fire started.

Late Friday night, fiery winds knocked down 45 power poles, burned cattle and destroyed thousands of acres of pasture between Jerome and Shoshone. However, firefighters acting with cattlemen managed to protect homes and other buildings. Only out-buildings were destroyed.

The fire abutted the southern city limits of Shoshone – with Red Cross opening a shelter at an LDS church in Shoshone – then receded.

“The city of Shoshone has been put at ease,” said Mary Christensen, a BLM spokeswoman. “People have returned to their homes. Pretty much the danger has passed for Shoshone.”

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Hay Storage

Hay Storage

A majority of beef producers in Tennessee are feeding hay stored as large round bales. Although the large round bales reduce the labor required when handling hay, there is a problem. Hay stored outside can have significant storage losses.

Most research and demonstrations show that the method of storage has a major influence on the amount of forage that is lost. Data from a hay storage demonstration in Moore County, Tennessee is presented in Table 1. Bales were weighed and stored in June with reweighing being done in January.

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Measuring merits of corn stover-based ethanol

Measuring merits of corn stover-based ethanol

By Robert Pore

Grand Island Independent

Research at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln is helping to create a new feedstock for ethanol production.

According to Wally Wilhelm, a plant physiologist in the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) Agroecosystem Management Research Unit at Lincoln, new advances will allow farmers to harvest stover for cellulosic sugars that can be fermented into ethanol.

Stover refers to stalks, leaves and cobs that remain in corn fields after the grain harvest. Farmers leave it there to revitalize the soil and prevent erosion. It also provides feed for grazing cattle.

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High cost of feed means foraging for best value is necessary

High cost of feed means foraging for best value is necessary

Springfield News Leader

In 2006 it was a drought. In 2007 it was a late freeze.

In both cases the result was a reduction in hay harvested and that means higher prices according to Dr. Tony Rickard, dairy specialist, University of Missouri Extension.

“Increased costs in purchasing forage would be a good reason to know what you are paying for,” said Rickard. “Locating a cheap source of forage is probably going to cost you more in production than you are willing to pay.”

Forages normally comprise 45 to 100 percent of the diet of cattle.

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Farm injuries an age-old problem

Farm injuries an age-old problem

As workers get older, they are more prone to serious, or even fatal, accidents

By John Seewer

Indianapolis Star

John Kidd has been farming since he was in grade school 70 years ago. He has had his share of bumps, bruises — and more.

This spring his legs were crushed when he was pinned by a truck that fell off a hoist at his farm near Bowling Green, Ohio.

“I’ve had a lot of things happen to me,” said Kidd, 82. “I’ve cut the tip of my nose off when a tire blew.”

In a dangerous occupation, the risks increase for older farm operators, who are a growing percentage of all farmers.

They can’t dodge cattle like they once did, and years of sitting on tractors and combines have left many with damaged hearing. Arthritis and poor eyesight are common.

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Tensions mount in Montana as brucellosis talks drag on

Tensions mount in Montana as brucellosis talks drag on

By SARAH COOKE

Casper Star Tribune

HELENA, Mont. — The future of Montana’s cattle industry, some say, is in the hands of the federal government and a Bridger ranching couple.

Ranchers and livestock groups from the state and around the country are anxiously watching negotiations between Jim and Sandy Morgan and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service over the couple’s quarantined cattle herd.

Seven cows from their ranch tested positive for brucellosis in May, and Montana could lose its coveted brucellosis-free status if the Morgans’ herd isn’t slaughtered within 60 days of that discovery — or by July 17.

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Ethanol’s impact

Ethanol’s impact 

Amount of pollution still a question mark

By MARK SZAKONYI

Centralohio.com

NEWARK — Determining the effect of Ohio ethanol plants on the environment is tricky considering none have started production.

But a Des Moines Register newspaper report on how ethanol plants affect Iowa’s air, water and soil points to concerns for Ohio’s own environment when its facilities go online.

Iowa’s ramped-up ethanol and biodiesel fuel production led to 394 instances during the past six years in which the plants fouled the air, water or land or violated regulations meant to protect the health of Iowans and their environment, according to a Register report.

In addition, many biologists consider the industry’s most prevalent environmental issue the water pollution and soil erosion that will accompany the increased corn production needed to meet ethanol’s soaring demand, the Register reported.

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Meaty fare at Live Earth events make some green fans see red

Meaty fare at Live Earth events make some green fans see red

Paul Burkhardt

Orlando Sentinel

NEW YORK – Organizers of green-themed Live Earth concerts face an uphill battle: how to pull off globe-spanning events in the name of curbing global warming while avoiding their own contributions to landfills and emissions from the events.

Animal lovers have already complained that the meaty food sold on the sidelines is cruel and wastes energy.

Live Earth was founded by former U.S. Vice President Al Gore and concert producer Kevin Wall to raise awareness about the global issue by interlacing its message through more than 100 acts at various venues during the course of 24 hours Saturday.

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Raise the steaks

Raise the steaks

By Miranda Reiman

Cabpartners.com

The consumer. As a beef producer the title conjures up all kinds of images. Perhaps you see a couple of city slickers, dressed in evening attire and paying high dollar to eat at an upscale New York restaurant. Maybe you think of a mother, three or four generations removed from the farm, trying to make food choices for her family.

Tonight you’ll meet these consumers. They’re coming to supper at your place. No need to clean the house or shine your boots, because he or she is actually a guest at your table almost every evening.

It’s you.

Most cattlemen have a personal favorite cut of beef. Maybe you like a healthy portion of prime rib or a tasty bit of tenderloin. No matter which one, you know how you like it. It should be cooked a certain way, and done beyond that just won’t do. You want it to have a certain flavor and tenderness, and if you go to a restaurant, they’d better watch out for your scrutinizing taste buds.

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Cattle Health: What Are The Possible Outcomes Of A BVD Infection

Cattle Health: What Are The Possible Outcomes Of A BVD Infection

Cattlenetwork.com

Here is where the story gets complicated. The outcome depends on the BVD biotype and the “resistance” of the cattle involved. In the simplest case, if the cattle are adult, non-pregnant cattle and have been vaccinated against the infecting biotype previously–nothing happens. No disease, no death loss, nothing more than if they received a vaccine booster. Also, the age of the cattle is important, particularly the age of the fetus. If the fetus is exposed to a non-CPE BVD virus prior to day 120 of gestation it is possible the calf born will be an immunotolerant carrier of the virus.

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Indiana Beef Council Supports County Fairs

Indiana Beef Council Supports County Fairs

Hoosier Ag Today

  This year, the Indiana Beef Council (IBC) has partnered with several Indiana counties to support their marketing efforts at the county level. “The County Fairs are a tremendous marketing opportunity to reach out with our message of beef nutrition, consumer enjoyment of eating beef and the availability of educational partnerships with schools and health organizations, said Joe Moore, IBC’s Marketing and Consumer Education Director. The one-on-one statewide consumer contacts made in the food stands and cattle barns during fair time is unmatched at any other event.”

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Tama beef packing plant could be sold

Tama beef packing plant could be sold

By MATTHEW WILDE,

WCF Courier

TAMA — Negotiations are ongoing between a group of foreign investors and the Iowa Quality Beef Supply Cooperative to buy its closed packing plant here.

Due to confidentiality agreements, officials close to the process can’t reveal the identities of the potential buyers or the asking price for the mothballed facility. The bidders are from the Middle East, reportedly Qatar, and want the facility since its already equipped to process cattle according to Islamic law.

While co-op members and local government officials are optimistic the sale will go through, co-op CEO Keith DeHaan is taking a more guarded approach. The initial offer was made two months ago, and the co-op countered within days, he said. It took five weeks for the possible buyers to respond, which makes him question the group’s commitment.

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Master Cattleman Summit Slated

Master Cattleman Summit Slated

Cattlenetwork.com

The Master Cattleman Summit is scheduled for Aug. 9-10 on the Oklahoma State University Campus in Stillwater. Due to classroom size limitations, registration is limited to the first 180 registrants. Registration is due by July 20.

 “The Master Cattleman Summit is open to anyone who wants to attend,” said David Lalman, OSU associate professor and Extension beef cattle specialist. “The summit is a great opportunity for producers to come together and learn about the current concerns in the cattle industry and discuss opportunities they can use to increase value through marketing and production decisions.”

Interested parties can register online at http://www.agecon.okstate.edu/cattleman or call Agricultural Conference Services at 405-744-6489. Registration is $25 per person. Cancellations can be refunded only if notified by July 30.

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