Ohio Beef Newsletter Available

The July 11, issue # 545, of the Ohio BEEF Cattle letter is now posted to the web at: http://fairfield.osu.edu/ag/beef/beefJuly11.html

Many acres enrolled in the CRP program will be come available for grazing or haying next week if the proper procedure and management practices are followed. This week, Bob Hendershot discusses considerations for harvesting warm season grasses from CRP ground.

Articles this week include:
* Forage Focus: Summer Grazing Management
* Potential of CRP Warm Season Grasses for Hay
* How much of the hay you harvest gets to the feeder?
* That Doesn’t Make Any Sense

Stan
———-
Stan Smith
Program Assistant, Agriculture
OSU Extension, Fairfield County
831 College Ave., Suite D
Lancaster, OH 43130

e-mail:  smith.263@osu.edu
voice:   740.653.5419 ext. 24
fax:      740.687.7010
Visit:
Fairfield Co. OSU Extension – http://fairfield.osu.edu
OSU Beef Team – http://beef.osu.edu

Let’s fix Country-of-Origin Labeling, before it hurts cattlemen

Congress needs to repair several flaws before COOL’s 2008 effective date

by Steve Foglesong

MFA Health Track

Congress passed a mandatory country-of-origin labeling (COOL) law for many fresh meat products as part of the 2002 Farm Bill. Its implementation has been delayed a number of times, mainly because of the logistical nightmares it will create for the livestock industry.

NCBA members do not oppose the concept of COOL. We raise the safest and best beef in the world, and we are proud to put a USA label on it. But specific flaws in the 2002 law are harmful to cattlemen, which is why NCBA has made several efforts to fix the statute. Unfortunately, we’ve been unable to do so, and we are all out of reprieves. Mandatory COOL is going into effect in September of 2008 – there’s just no way around it. This gives us very little time to persuade Congress to address the shortcomings of this law. But that’s exactly what we need to do, and we need your help.

FULL STORY

Preconditioning roadblocks

by W. Mark Hilton

Beef Magazine

A recent study published in the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association (Vol. 229:9,1389-1400) compared calves selling after qualifying for a certified health program to calves with no history. The analysis showed an economic advantage to the cow-calf producer in the two most intensive programs each year in the 11-year study. The authors also noted that certified health program calves selling via video auctions increased from 16% in 1995 to 85% in 2005. The figures represent more than 3.2 million calves in 26,000 lots sold via video auction.

So why aren’t all calves preconditioned (PC) prior to sale?

The No.-1 reason is a perceived lack of financial reward. If you’re truly in the cattle business, you want a return on investment for any program. If it costs you $60/calf for feed, labor, vaccine, dewormer, etc., you must realize a return greater than $60 to make it a profitable proposition.

FULL STORY

CR Survey: Consumers want country-of-origin labeling

Comsumer Reports

With all of the recent concerns about tainted food additives and products from China, the results of a new Consumer Reports survey shouldn’t be surprising: According to the poll, 92 percent of consumers agree that imported foods should be labeled by their country of origin. While the federal government mandated country of origin labeling, or COOL, back in 2002 for nearly all food products, implementation has been delayed until October 2008, with the exception of seafood. Consumers Union, the nonprofit publisher of Consumer Reports, has called for immediate implementation of COOL.

FULL STORY

Darrell Peel: Will COOL Lead To Imposition Of An Animal ID Program?

Cattlenetwork.com

Jolley:  In an opinion piece in the July 3 issue of High Plains Journal, Ken Root, a farm broadcaster for WHO, Des Moines wrote, “A number of things can happen in the next 18 months that will make or break country-of-origin labeling.  If Congress holds the line on implementation, as it appears they will, then the packers will put their plan into place.  The feedlot can’t sell to the packer, if the cattle don’t pass specifications; so they will place requirements on the cattle they accept. The stocker operator and the cow-calf producer will have to conform or not be allowed to sell.” 

Underlying that statement is a suggestion of a direct tie between COOL and NAIS.  Will COOL inevitably lead to the legal imposition of an animal ID program?

A. The current COOL law forbids a mandated animal ID program as part of COOL so unless the law is changed COOL will not lead to a mandated animal ID program.  That said, I believe that COOL will be much more costly to implement without animal ID and I expect many producers to use animal ID individually to facilitate compliance with COOL. 

FULL STORY

USDA bitten by proposed animal ID system

By JoAnn Knutson

Brighton Standard Blade

What is proposed as a systematic method for tracking the spread of disease by livestock has turned into a monster with 50 heads for every one potentially impacted by the program.

 “That’s exactly what it has become,” said John Heller, animal identification coordinator for the Colorado Department of Agriculture. “That’s a perfect description of it.”

The National Animal Identification System or NAIS program was first introduced in November 2004. Nearly three years later the program is still in draft form and has met serious opposition in Colorado, especially in Lincoln County.

FULL STORY

US Animal Health Association Selects St. Joseph For New Headquarters

Cattlenetwork.com

ST. JOSEPH, MO– The United States Animal Health Association (USAHA) proudly announces the relocation of its headquarters to St. Joseph, Mo., from Richmond, Va. and is conducting operations from the new offices. USAHA added three jobs as a result of its move, and expects to add more in the future. 

 “This is a very exciting time for USAHA,” says USAHA president and Georgia State Veterinarian Lee M. Myers.  “We have been pleased with the results of our transition to Missouri, and plan to continue the same valuable contribution to the animal health community.”

Established in 1897, the USAHA aims to protect animal and public health by eliminating live stock disease. Its 1,400 members include state and federal animal health officials, national allied organizations, regional representatives, and individual members. 

FULL STORY

Taking Advantage of the Drought??

Dr. Glenn Selk, Extension Cattle Specialist, Oklahoma State University

The hot dry weather across the Southern Plains and much of the Midwest certainly creates a hardship for commercial cow calf operations that are short of standing and stored forage. Water supplies also are limited in some areas. It is difficult to see a silver-lining to this “lack of clouds”. However, some producers are using this as an opportunity to tighten the management and improve the genetic standards in their cow herd. Culling must be more rigorous in this situation than in most years. Therefore, this is an uninvited opportunity to identify marginal cows and remove them from the herd.

Visit with your local veterinarian and schedule a date to have the females in the herd pregnancy checked. Ask the veterinarian to not only tell which cows are “open” and which are bred, but to also identify those cows that are “late bred”. These are the cows that extend the calving season and because their calves are younger, they usually are lighter weight at sale time. Culling the late calving pregnant cows as well as any “open” cows will leave a herd that is very uniform in the calving date next year. Even though smaller in number, they can become the core of a much more tightly managed group of cows. These cows will breed and calve in 60 days or less and produce a more uniform calf crop in the future. As replacement heifers are brought back into the herd to replace the culls, it will be easier to time their breeding and calving to match the core group of mature cows that survived the drought.

FULL STORY

Truth can be inconvenient

By Steve Suther

Cabpartners.com

“Rrringggg . . . rrringggg . . . rrringggg . . .” Hello?

“Yes, I was calling to let you know there’s a calf out on the road over here and we think it’s yours.”

Don’t you just hate that? Especially at dawn or worse, dusk? For a minute or two, most of us harbor negative feelings for the caller. Sure, they saved a whole lot of trouble, but we hate to deal with it right then and admit our fences are that poor, our calves that clever.

Say you worked for years to get a few heifers that seem bred to start a new foundation herd. The first test comes as Doc Jones closes his eyes and frowns after a long minute, announcing, “She’s open.” When he says two more of those darlings are merely feedlot heifers, you might want to hit him.

The meteorologist on Channel 2 says it looks like rain, but your hay is down. Change channels, quick. Maybe the local weatherman will downplay those chances. If not, turn off the TV and walk away under your own cloud of gloom.

FULL STORY PDF

A meaty discussion

Amador Ledger Dispatch

By Jenifer Gee

Amador County Department of Agriculture vector controller Matt Blankenship, left, and county Agricultural Commissioner Mike Boitano, slice meat for the taste-test lunch at a local meat marketing workshop held Monday.

Grass-fed animals are the way to go, according to local farmers who recently gathered for a local meat marketing workshop held by the Amador Resource Conservation District.

The day-long workshop at the American Legion Hall in Martell included discussion on slaughter and processing, marketing meat locally and a taste test lunch where workshop attendees blind tasted different meats to see if they could tell the difference between locally grown and lot-fed cattle.

FULL STORY

Swift sale is final

The Tribune (CO)

Sharon Dunn

A Brazilian beef processor can officially name Swift & Co. among its assets.

JBS SA, Latin America’s largest beef processor, finalized the $1.5 billion deal Thursday to buy Greeley-based Swift & Co., to become what the company claims will be the largest beef processing company in the world.

Former owners HM Capital Partners, a private equity firm based in Dallas, and Vail-based Booth Creek Management Corporation had put Swift up for sale in January after years of declining margins. It was the company’s first food company.

FULL STORY

US beef for sale in South Korea after lifting of ban sparked by mad cow disease worries

Thestar.com

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) – U.S. beef was being sold at major South Korean stores Friday for the first time since a ban triggered by mad cow disease fears was lifted, but protesters prompted one store to pull the meat from its shelves after scuffles with police.

South Korea shut its doors to American beef in December 2003 after an outbreak of mad cow disease in the U.S.

It partially reopened its market last year, but agreed to accept only boneless meat from cattle under 30 months old, thought to be less at risk of carrying the illness.

South Korea was the third-largest foreign market for American beef before it banned imports.

FULL STORY

Garlic-flavoured beef a breath of fresh air

By DAN HUTCHINSON

The Press/stuff.co.nz

Garlic breath may prove to be a sweet relief for the planet as new research shows cows fed on the pungent cloves produce half as much greenhouse gas.

The Institute of Rural Sciences at the University of Wales in Aberystwyth has begun a three-year study into the effectiveness of various plant compounds in reducing methane gas emissions from livestock.

Team leader Jamie Newbold said initial results showed garlic extracts could reduce the amount of methane produced by animals by up to half.

If the claims prove to be true, garlic could have a massive effect on New Zealand’s efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

FULL STORY

Miller returns to Cattle-Fax as COO

By Tom Wray

ProvisionerOnline

DENVER – Industry information service Cattle-Fax announced Wednesday that Mike Miller will return as chief operating officer.

Miller had been with Cattle-Fax for ten years before leaving the organization in 2006, a release from the National Cattlemen’s Beef Associated stated. He served most recently as director of research. Previously, he served as director of business development, director of cost and performance analysis, and as editor of several Cattle-Fax publications.

FULL STORY

Wisdom: Good for cattle and people

Shelbyville Times Gazette

By John Teague, UT Extension Service

Wisdom is a good thing to have. One of the old Biblical characters, Solomon, asked for wisdom instead of riches. It helped to get him richer than he was at the start of his reign. Wisdom is both spoken and shown. We all could use more of it.

Phil Ayers of Normandy is a wise man. He shows it. He is soft spoken, but he says a lot of wise things. He does some wise things. His humbleness, one guesses, he would claim to be foolish at times, but his wisdom is a great example.

Ayers and his late wife worked hard, operating a dairy for years and raising their three sons on the farm. There he taught them some wise things.

FULL STORY

Wendy’s to give preferential buying to pork, chicken suppliers adopting animal welfare techniques

Ag Professional

DUBLIN, Ohio — Wendy’s International Inc. has strengthened its animal welfare guidelines by giving preferential buying to its pork and chicken suppliers who improve systems for humane animal welfare.

Buying pork from gestation-free stalls

A recent trend in the pork industry is the elimination of single stalls or crates that house pregnant sows, allowing the hogs to freely move around. Currently, at least 10% of Wendy’s pork products are from hogs not raised in gestation stalls. The goal is to reach 20% by the end of 2008 and continue to increase over time. Wendy’s is encouraging suppliers to eliminate gestation stalls and will give preferential buying to suppliers adopting these plans. Progress will be monitored through Wendy’s ongoing animal welfare reviews.

FULL STORY

Mineral Intake Critical for Reproductive Performance

By: Dr. Stephen B. Blezinger, Ph.D, PAS

Cattle Today

The old saying goes “if you don’t get them bred, you’re not going to accomplish much.” Over the years we have addressed nutrition’s effect on the brood cow and this factor just cannot be minimized. We know the three sides of a beef operation – genetics, management and nutrition are important. We know the nutritional plane the cow is on directly affects breeding, gestation and parturition (calving). Over or underfeeding are equally detrimental to normal reproductive function. Nutrients out of balance are also detrimental. Protein and energy are the nutrient components needed in the largest quantities and directly effect condition scores and normal reproductive performance and we have covered this on several occasions in the past. For this article, however, we are going focus on another set of nutrients: the major and trace minerals and their importance. Not only will we look at the minerals but we’ll discuss the need for a quality mineral supplementation program. One of the most common problems I see on cattle operations I visit and work with is the mineral program. Pound for pound, mineral supplements are the most expensive of all the nutrients we supplement. They are also fed in the smallest quantities. Pound for pound, they also may very well have the greatest impact on cow performance.

FULL STORY

Alabama Extension cooperates in interactive beef nutrition series

Southeast Farm Press

Beef cattle producers in Alabama, Florida, Louisiana and Mississippi can learn the latest in beef nutrition thanks to an interactive video short course.

The Fall Nutrition Series, sponsored by the Alabama Cooperative Extension System and the Gulf Coast Beef Cattle Educational Alliance, will be offered once a month beginning late this month and will continue through November.

The interactive course is open to any producer interested in learning more about beef nutrition. Sessions will run from 6:45 p.m. to 9:00 p.m CDT. The sessions are slated for July 31, Aug. 28, Sept. 25, Oct. 30 and Nov. 27.

Interactive video allows presenters to reach many geographic locations at once. However, questions can be asked at any time during the presentations, and all other participants will hear the question and the response. Moderators will be present at each location throughout Alabama to answer additional questions.

More than 15 sites across the state will host the program.

The July 31 session will focus on assessing cattle’s nutritional needs and available feed. Darrell Rankins, an Extension animal scientist and Auburn University animal science professor, will be joined by animal scientists from Louisiana State and Mississippi State universities.

FULL STORY

Now is time to plan pasture renovation

By GARY TILGHMAN

Glasgow Daily Times (KY)

Pasture quality and quantity are very important because grazing pastures is one of the cheapest feed sources for ruminant animals. To help maintain quality and quantity, pastures must be properly managed and that means sometimes renovating.

It is difficult to determine when pastures need renovating because there is not a set schedule. However, a good rule of thumb to follow is, if the pasture contains 75 percent or more desirable species of preferred forages, then the field needs to be managed. If the field contains less than 40 percent of desirable forage species, then the field needs to be renovated.

FULL STORY