No New ID Funding In House Appropriations Bill
P. Scott Shearer
Beef Magzine
The House of Representatives passed its fiscal year 2008 ag appropriations bill prior to leaving for its summer recess. The bill includes $18.817 billion in discretionary spending, which is $1.002 billion more than last year’s bill. Key items in the bill include:
* Animal ID — Provides no new funding for the animal ID program.
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Functional Anatomy of the Female Reproductive System
Ropin’ the Web
The purpose of the information presented in this section is to familiarize the reader with the terminology, anatomical location and functional anatomy of the important components of the cow’s reproductive system.
Hypothalamus
The hypothalamus is located within the brain and is considered to be the coordinating center for most of the reproductive activities and changes. Numerous neural cell bodies located within the hypothalamus are responsible for producing the reproductive hormone, gonadotropin releasing hormone (GnRH).
Under appropriate stimuli, GnRH is released from the hypothalamus into the capillary system (hypophysial portal system) which connects the hypothalamus with the anterior pituitary. Factors from both within the animal and from the outside environment affect the amount and pattern of GnRH production and release by the hypothalamus. Factors which can alter GnRH release in the cow include temperature, photoperiod, stress (social, behavioral, disease, nutrition) and stage of the reproductive cycle (estrus, pregnancy, parturition, suckling).
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35 Years of Feedlot Medicine 1972–2007
By Geni Wren
Drovers.com
A lot has changed in the feedlot industry in the last several decades. Feedlot veterinarians were asked to recall the disease challenges, issues, tools and events that happened in the last 35 years that have impacted feedlot medicine and the management of feedlot cattle.
In the mid-to-late 1970s, veterinarians started changing from individual animal medicine to herd health and “food-animal” medicine. In that decade they dealt with many of the same diseases they do today, even if they didn’t know it back then. Top of mind were Pasteurella, Hemophilus somnus, pneumonia disasters, bovine respiratory disease (BRD), acute bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV), coccidiosis, acidosis due to grain overload and new problems with sudden death syndrome which was thought to be clostridial. There was a rapid spread of disease entities due to close proximity of cattle in a confined setting.
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Storing Silage: Bunkers, Piles, or Bags: Which is the most economical?
K.C. Dhuyvetter,1 J.P. Harner, III,1 G. Boomer,2 J.F. Smith,1 R. Rodriguez2
Silage is an important feed ingredient for dairy cattle. Dairy producers must strive to deliver high quality forage in an economical manner to the cows. The “most economical manner” may not necessarily mean the lowest cost per ton of silage fed. It refers to the economics of the silage after accounting for the impact it might have on milk production (income) along with costs associated with producing, harvesting, storing, and feeding the silage. The lowest cost per ton should only be the goal if a milk-production-per-ton-adjustment has been made. The objective of this paper is to develop a framework for comparing the economics of three different types of silage storage structures. The framework includes procedures for evaluating bunker silos, driveover or wall-less piles, and silage bags. A companion Excel spreadsheet (SilageStorage$.xls) is available at http://www.agmanager.info/livestock/budgets/production/default.asp#Dairy). This spreadsheet can be used as an aid for making decisions regarding these systems.
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Body Weight Impacts On Herd Nutritional Program
Cattlenetwork.com
Because body weight is one of many factors impacting cattle nutritional requirements, dry matter intake and nutrient requirements should be determined for the specific animal or herd taking performance level, environmental conditions, and other factors into consideration. Even so, the effects of body weight on cattle nutrient requirements can still be illustrated assuming the other factors impacting these nutrient needs are similar across a given set of cattle. For example, the current Beef Cattle NRC publication lists daily dry matter intake requirements of mature lactating cows with 20 pounds of peak milk production per day at 2 months after calving at 25.0 pounds (with 15.2 pounds TDN and 2.79 pounds of crude protein) for a 1000-pound cow and 30.5 pounds (with 18.0 pounds TDN and 3.14 pounds of crude protein) for a 1400-pound cow. This 400-pound difference in cow body weight results in a 5.5-pound difference in daily dry matter intake needs. At 6 months after calving the same two 1000-pound and 1400-pound cows require 22.7 pounds and 28.6 pounds of dry matter intake per day, respectively (a 5.9- pound difference).
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Limi Boosters Name Scholars
Cattle Today
Emily Griffiths, Kendallville, Ind., and Katie Hefner, Seminole, Okla., received $500 scholarships from the Limi Boosters at the National Junior Limousin Show and Congress (NJLSC) awards banquet July 27 in West Monroe, La. Katie Crow, Leslie, Ark., and Ashley Doyle, Eddyville, Iowa, received the organization’s educational grants.
Griffiths, 18, joined both the Indiana Junior Limousin Association and National Junior Limousin Association (NALJA) in 1996. This fall, she will attend Black Hawk East Community College in Kewanee, Ill. She plans to transfer to Kansas State University to obtain her bachelor’s degree in animal science then pursue a graduate degree in meat science at South Dakota State University or Texas A&M University. Her goal is to work for a branded beef program.
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Nitrogen Fertilization Strategies for Annual Ryegrass Pastures
Thebeeefsite.com
By Robert Kallenbach, State Forage Specialist, Matt Massie and Richard Crawford, Southwest Research Center, Mt. Vernon. University of Missouri Extension. Livestock operations as far north as southern Iowa are planting annual ryegrass pastures as an alternative to feeding hay in winter.
Easy establishment, rapid autumn growth, and high forage quality are making annual ryegrass popular with dairy and beef farmers alike.
Annual ryegrass has several features that make it popular with livestock producers. When planted in late-summer, annual ryegrass can produce 2 to 3 tons of high-quality feed per acre before December and an additional 3 to 4 tons in the spring (Bishop-Hurley et al., 2001). Few other forage crops can produce this much forage for winter grazing. Annual ryegrass is able to achieve these yields in autumn because it continues to grow even after the first killing frost. Cold-tolerant cultivars can grow when average daily temperatures are below 39°F. In addition, the lack of true dormancy in annual ryegrass allows it to grow during warm spells in winter and to resume growth earlier in spring than many perennial cool-season grasses.
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Baxter Black: The Russian Dairyman
by: Baxter Black, DVM
Cattle Today
I don’t think of myself as a dairyman, though my first cow was an Ayrshire milk cow complete with long horns – Goldie was her name. My father milked her in the morning and it was my chore to do the evening milking. I was in the third grade when I began.
My younger brother’s job was to feed the chickens. His nemesis was a big red rooster named Oscar. Brother would have been 6 years old then, and was no match for Oscar. So we made a deal. I’d carry a stick and keep Oscar at bay while Brother gathered eggs and scattered chicken feed. This, in trade for him holding Goldie’s tail while I milked. In the warm months he’d slap my bare back with a wet rag to keep the flies off of me. Mother made butter. I recall we had a small electric churn. Brother #3 was born and Goldie kept our family supplied with dairy products.
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Slecks prefer Miniature Hereford cattle
Lugerville area farmers find smaller animals easier to raise, sell for meat
For many years, Marion Sleck and her husband operated a dairy farm northwest of Phillips in the Lugerville area. Now at 85 years of age, she continues to do a few chores on the farm which has become home to a small herd of Miniature Hereford cattle.
“After my husband died, Judy decided to move back home because I wanted to keep the farm in our family,” Marion said. “I had sold all the dairy cattle years ago but we wanted to have some animals on the farm, so I began doing some research on the Miniature Herefords.”
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K-State Agronomist Gives Tips For Fall Seeding Of Alfalfa
Cattlenetwork.com
MANHATTAN, Kan. – After the problems alfalfa has had in many areas of Kansas this year – including freeze injury, insect infestations, and flooding – many stands were severely damaged or destroyed. It´s time now to start getting ready to establish new stands of alfalfa this fall, according to K-State Research and Extension crop production specialist Jim Shroyer.
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Out of hay: What can I do?
By GARY TILGHMAN
Glasgow Daily Times
The “Easter freeze” and subsequent dry weather has left some cattle producers looking for more hay for their winter feed supply. It seems like extra hay is in short supply and a lot of late-cut (over-mature) hay is of poor quality. However, it was good to see many of our local producers harvesting the regrowth from their spring-cut fields, in recent days. The quality of that second cutting should be pretty good, if it was cut while immature.
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Genetic effects on coat colour in cattle: dilution of eumelanin and phaeomelanin pigments in an F2-Backcross Charolais x Holstein population
Beatriz Gutierrez-Gil , Pamela Wiener and John L Williams
Biomedcentral.com
Background
In cattle, the gene coding for the melanocortin receptor 1 (MC1R) is known to be the main regulator of the switch between the two coat colour pigments eumelanin (black pigment) and phaeomelanin (red pigment). Some breeds, such as Charolais and Simmental, exhibit a lightening of the original pigment over the whole body. The dilution mutation in Charolais (Dc) is responsible for the white coat colour of this breed. Using a F2-Backcross Charolais X Holstein population which includes animals with both pigment backgrounds, we present a linkage mapping study of the Charolais dilution locus.
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Watch For These Animal-Health Trends
Beef Magazine
We’ve all misread a few trends in life, some of which evolved into forces that drastically changed lives and entire industries.
Thirty years ago, who would have thought that the roughest, most mismanaged, cedar-infested grassland in the Flint Hills of Kansas would bring as much or more at auction than well-managed parcels? A lot of this market pressure results from the spillover of disposable income from urbanites looking for recreational ground, combined with some pretty reasonable interest rates.
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10 Tips To Better Handling & Administering Of Vaccines
Cattlenetwork.com
GERING, Neb. (August 2007)—Vaccinations are an important key to proper animal health, and herd health management. And, to ensure that vaccination is as effective as possible, proper vaccine handling and administration is very important. The following tips from Dale Grotelueschen, DVM and veterinarian with Pfizer Animal Health, will help get you on the right path to better herd health management:
1. Consult your veterinarian to develop a protocol that fits the health goals of your operation.
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Miss Cattle Shows Already? Hoosier Beef Congress on its Way!
Tom J Bechman
Indiana Prairie Farmer
Last week marked the end of the official 4-H showing season for livestock. For cattle junkies, at least, it’s only a short wait until the new season begins. Not long after the last Ribeye sandwich is sold and the last Hot Beef Sundae, new hit of the Indiana State Fair, were devoured, Indiana Beef Cattle Association staff will be turning attention to their next major production- the Hoosier Beef Congress. It’s grown into one of the premier preview shows for next year’s showing season in the entire Midwest. This year’s Congress is Nov. 30- Dec. 2, to be held on the Indiana State Fairgrounds.
Julia Wickard, executive secretary of IBCA, and her staff have other projects underway, but Hoosier Beef Congress involves lots of planning. Wickard’s assistant, Dawn Davis, will be devoting much of her time and energy to the effort.
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