Anti-Horse Transportation Bill Moves Forward
BEEF Magazine
The horribly misguided and misleadingly named Prevention of Equine Cruelty Act (H.R. 6598), a bill which would criminalize the sale and transportation of horses for the purposes of slaughter, was approved and recommended to the House of Representatives by the House Judiciary Committee. The bill passed by a voice vote. The Committee is finalizing its report for submission to the Rules Committee.
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Care of the Newly Purchased Young Bulls
Dr. Glenn Selk, Extension Cattle Specialist, Oklahoma State University
Yearling Bulls
Yearling bulls should be well-grown but not too fat. The energy content of a ration should be reduced if bulls are getting too fat. Fat bulls may fatigue rapidly, contributing to fewer cows conceiving.
For a yearling bull to be used successfully, he should have reached puberty 3 to 4 months before breeding time. The age of a bull at puberty depends on several interrelated factors, but size or weight and breed are probably the controlling factors.
The production of semen by a young bull largely depends on his overall growth as well as the development of his testicles and other reproductive organs. The size of testicles and volume of semen produced are positively correlated.
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Bovine Leukosis Virus
Boyd Kidwell
Angus Journal
Bovine leukosis virus (BLV) is one of those insidious diseases that can kill cattle and reduce overall productivity of a beef herd, even when there are no obvious signs of infection. In less than 5% of infected cattle, BLV causes malignant lymphoma that leads to cancerous tumors (lymphosarcoma) and death. Most animals don’t die of the disease, but the virus can never be eliminated, and BLV-positive cattle remain a source of infection for other animals. Fortunately, there is no evidence that BLV is transmissible to humans.
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Official Animal Disease Traceability Plan Released
Thebeefsite.com
The Official version of the US Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), Business Plan to Advance Animal Disease Traceability has been released.
The plan provides benchmarks to guide the National Animal Identification System’s progress towards the long-term goal of 48-hour traceback of affected or exposed animals in the event of an animal disease outbreak.
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CDA strives to protect Colorado’s livestock from disease
High Plains Journal
The Colorado Department of Agriculture’s Division of Animal Industry is responsible for animal health and livestock disease control activities in Colorado. The total value of the state’s cattle, sheep, hogs, and chickens is $2.97 billion; cattle accounts for 95 percent of this amount with 2.75 million head of cattle and calves.
“Livestock disease control goes beyond our back yard and across state lines,” said Assistant State Veterinarian, Dr. Keith Roehr. “The Colorado Department of Agriculture takes an all-hazards approach to animal health; we strive to be prepared for any emergency.”
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Most producers ready for COOL implementation
By Jeff DeYoung
The Prairie Star
Dave Petty says he’s cool with COOL.
“I think it’s good for our industry,” says Petty, a cattle producer and past president of the Iowa Cattlemen’s Association.
“We need to be able to step up and take responsibility for what we produce.”
COOL (Country of Origin Labeling) becomes law Sept. 30. It requires labeling of most perishable ag commodities, including beef, pork, lamb and chicken.
The provision was initially part of the 2002 farm bill. Implementation of COOL was delayed in 2004 and again in 2005 for all commodities except wild and farm-raised fish and shellfish.
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Whence the beef? U.S. consumers soon will know foods’ origin
Gabriela Rico
Arizona Daily Star
Americans have enjoyed Mexican meat exports for many years but until now, those products did not need to list the country of origin — as they will starting Tuesday
Beef may be what’s for dinner, as the slogan goes, but until now it was hard to know where it was coming from.
Country Of Origin Labeling (COOL) requirements for agricultural commodities, including beef, go into effect Tuesday, and activity at cattle ports along the Mexican border is idle as breeders in Sonora, along with buyers in the United States, wait to see what sort of impact the new law will have on their long-standing relationship, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
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Gus Douglass going strong, ready for another term
Mannix Porterfield
Register Herald
If the telephone rings at 3 a.m. about a homeland security breach, Gus Douglass says he is ready to answer.
Except for a bum knee, America’s longest serving agriculture commissioner says his health is excellent.
“I feel good,” he said in an interview with The Register-Herald editorial board. “I feel like I can handle it another four years.”
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Mineral Considerations For Beef Cows
cattlenetwork.com
Feed costs, labor costs, fuel costs and machinery costs have contributed to the increase in cow costs. Mineral cost, especially phosphorus costs have increased substantially this year. Mineral costs are not a major costs as compared to other costs such as harvested feed costs, but as producers strive to remain competitive in a climate where costs continue to go up, they will need to push the pencil on every management decision.
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Time to bone up on EPDs
By Kris Ringwall, NDSU Extension Service
Prairie Star
At this time of year, most producers are preparing for the future as they gear up to purchase bulls for their cow herd. These purchases, which start with solid relationships between the seed stock supplier and the commercial beef producer, have a huge impact on the future of the beef business.
The livestock periodicals are filled with bull advertisements. The business of selling bulls is very competitive and lots of prospective bulls are at the bunk being fed for their two minutes in the sale ring.
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House Hears Evidence Against Antibiotic Use
Thebeefsite.com
Today the Livestock Subcommittee of House Agricultural Committee held a hearing on the animal use of antibiotics that failed to address the mounting body of scientific evidence concluding that the overuse of antibiotics is contributing to the No. 1 public health problem facing the U.S., the crisis of antibiotic resistance, according to the group Keep Antibiotics Working.
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Texas concerned about cattle TB in other states
Carla Everett,TAHC
North Texas E-News
The Texas Animal Health Commission (TAHC) has measures in place in an effort to protect Texas’ cattle tuberculosis (TB)-free status, after two more states, New Mexico and California, lost their TB-free status in September. Minnesota’s cattle TB status was downgraded in April 2008, and in Michigan, only the Upper Peninsula is cattle TB-free.
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The “Positive Associative Effect” Of High Protein Supplements
cattlenetwork.com
As you drive across much of Oklahoma this fall you see many big round bales of hay stored for winter feed. If you are a frequent traveler down the same roads, you may have noted some of these bales are left over from last winter. The high cost of grains and protein commodities are influencing many cattle producers to look to feeding hay as the primary winter feed for beef cows.
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AFBF Concerned About COOL Interpretation
Thebeefsite.com
In a letter this week to USDA Undersecretary Bruce Knight, AFBF President Bob Stallman said Farm Bureau is concerned about USDA’s interpretation of COOL, as passed by Congress.
USDA’s interpretation would allow marketers to use a less-demanding “mixed origin” or “from multiple countries” label, even for meat that was exclusively U.S. born, raised and slaughtered. Instead, AFBF believes meat that is exclusively born, raised and slaughtered in the U.S. should carry an exclusive U.S.-origin label.
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Ranchers worry new label law will slow sale of beef from Mexico
Gabriela Rico
Arizona Daily Star
Beef may be what’s for dinner, as the slogan goes, but until now it was hard to know where it was coming from.
Country Of Origin Labeling (COOL) requirements for agricultural commodities, including beef, go into effect Tuesday, and activity at cattle ports along the Mexican border is idle as breeders in Sonora, along with buyers in the United States, wait to see what sort of impact the new law will have on their long-standing relationship, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
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