Video Feature: Animal agriculture is part of the solution
Animals are often criticized for their impact on the environment but as we learned at The Ohio State University, they are in fact part of the solution if we are indeed to feed our world’s growing population. For more information, visit www.FeedstuffsFoodLink.com or www.FacesOfAg.com
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Producers need to be cautious of how they’re spending money.
Fred Minnick
Angus Journal
James Coffey is a fifth-generation Angus producer, and his Branch View Angus ranch has never seen costs skyrocket like they have this year. The 37-year-old board member of the Kentucky Angus Association says the protein industry is facing more challenges today than “they have in my lifetime. The cost of energy is changing everything. Every product that has a transportation or energy component is going up at an unbelievable rate.” …
FULL STORYPDF
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Obama Team Begins USDA Review
Charles Abbott
SouthernLivestock.com
Two former Agriculture Department officials, Bart Chilton and Carole Jett, will lead an examination of USDA to prepare for the Obama administration, the president-elect’s office announced on November 14th.
USDA is partway through implementation of the 2008 farm law with some key decisions remaining. Most prominent are how high to set the benchmark for a new revenue-guarantee program and how to tighten rules on farm subsidies.
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Q&A Was wondering how you figure out how many cattle it takes to support a family of 4?
Dr. Rick Rasby, Professor of Animal Science, Animal Science, University of Nebraska
The cost of living has increased over the past few years and has put some pressure on making a living in the cow/calf industry.
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Cattle Health: BVD – Focus On PI
cattlenetwork.com
Because of the complexity of BVD and the ability of PI cattle to spread the virus, veterinarians stress the importance of a multi-layered control strategy. The goal is to prevent, detect and eliminate PI animals.
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Tools for Cattlemen at Noble Foundation
Beef Mazgazine
Want a one-stop shop for all your basic calculations to keep your cattle business thriving? The Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation offers an entire list of tools for the busy cattle producer calculating feed rations, body condition scores, calving dates, drug withdrawal times and countless others.
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A horse is a horse, of course, but a tax break?
MICHAEL ANDERSEN
THE COLUMBIAN
Is a horse a form of agriculture? Or just a really big pet?
Saying horses might be more “farm” than “fun,” the state of Washington is considering extending a farming tax break to property owners with horses and other livestock boarders.
If it’s approved this winter, the rule change could be worth thousands of dollars a year to Clark County landowners who host livestock without breeding it themselves.
The rest of the county’s property owners would pick up the tab.
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Marketer sees better times for cattlemen
Ken Anderson
Brownfield Network
These are challenging times financially for many in the cattle industry. However, George Enloe with Amarillo Brokerage Company of Amarillo, Texas says there are reasons to be optimistic.
“I am excited because now we’re beginning to buy breakevens below cash and breakevens at lower levels than we’ve purchased in many, many months,” Enloe says.
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Cow Tax Proposal Would Threaten Agriculture Viability
Wyoming Farm Bureau Federation/Free Republic
“With the economy in bad shape and the possibility of a deep recession looming, the Environmental Protection Agency is proposing to levy new taxes—on cows and pigs,” American Farm Bureau Federation Director of Regulatory Relations Rick Krause told Wyoming Farm Bureau members at their annual meeting. Krause spoke in Sheridan on Nov. 7.
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Normal cut harvest best for corn stover harvesting
Feedstuffs
Agricultural Research Service (ARS) soil scientist Doug Karlen is determining which portion of the corn plant would work best for cellulosic ethanol production. He’s also studying the amount of stover that needs to remain in the fields to prevent soil erosion and recycle essential plant nutrients.
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Feeding In Cold Weather
James B. Neel, extension beef specialist,source: University of Tennessee
Southernlivestock.com
Many cow/calf producers are not aware that cold weather brings added nutritional needs for cattle. Or, if they recognize that their cattle are stressed, they aren’t sure how – or what – they should do to offset it.
Cold stress occurs when animals are exposed to weather conditions which put them below their lower critical temperature. For cattle with a dry winter coat, the lower critical temperature is 32 F. If the coat is extra heavy, that number drops to 18 F. If the normal coat is wet, however, the lower critical temperature may become 60 F.
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Cattle production: lean years ahead
Lamar James, Arkansas Extension Specialist
Delta Farm Press
Higher costs and lower selling prices are expected to rob cow-calf producers in Arkansas and the rest of the nation of profits in 2008. Arkansas cow-calf producers should expect two or even three lean years ahead, said Tom Troxel, Extension professor and associate animal science department head with the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture.
Troxel said producers could lose $30 or more per cow.
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R-CALF critical of USDA
KRVN
Today, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) announced yet another case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) – this time in a 7-year-old British Columbia dairy cow.
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Cattle Preconditioning: Fence Line Weaning For Beef Cattle
cattlenetwork.com
Weaning time can be stressful for cows and calves. Under traditional weaning systems, changes in environment, diet composition, and pathogen exposure can reduce animal performance and result in health problems. In response to these challenges, interest in fenceline weaning has grown in recent years. Fenceline weaning is a management system in which the calves are removed from their dams but are allowed to see, hear, and smell their dams.
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Sales of disease-fighting animal medicines rise
Tim Lundeen
Feedstuffs
Working with veterinarians to provide them the tools to keep farm animals and pets healthy, animal health companies increased sales of antibiotics in 2007. Antibiotics are critical disease-fighting medicines used to treat diseases in dogs, cats and other companion animals, and in farm animals to improve their well-being and ensure the production of safe and wholesome food.
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