Study: Pharmaceuticals Pay Dividends
KRVN
A recent Iowa State University study found that in times of high feed costs, such as the cattle industry experienced in 2007, the positive economic impact of pharmaceutical technologies commonly used in beef production increased from 430-dollars per animal to 524 per head. That’s an increase of 22 percent. The previous study was conducted in 2005.
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Some Cattle Producers Have More Feed Options Than Others
cattlenetwork.com
Livestock producers can adjust feed costs by altering the types and amounts of feed in rations and by changing feeding practices. The resulting “least-cost” ration varies the amount of specific feeds, depending on costs. Typical feed rations are made up of energy (carbohydrates and fat) and protein. If feed costs increase, cattle can eat grass for growth and milk production. Cattle and dairy producers can reduce the amount of feed grains and protein meals fed to cattle by giving them more forage.
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Video Feature: Kansas Farm Bureau cattle care
Farmers and ranchers care deeply about the health, well-being and safety of our animals, and we ensure our animals’ well-being through proper management and shelter.
Healthy animals mean healthy food for you and your family. Without healthy and content animals, farmers and ranchers would not be in business.
Standards for animal care should be based on the expertise of veterinarians, farmers, ranchers and animal scientists — the people who work with farm animals daily.
As the people who work with livestock 24/7, farmers and ranchers, as well as veterinarians and animal care scientists, provide the voices of experience and reasn in addressing animal welfare issues.
Dr. Kelly Deewall is a veterinarian in Ashland, Kansas and president of the Clark County Farm Bureau.
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USDA Conference to Address Antibiotic Resistance
Thebeefsite.com
USDA’s Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service is teaming up with Ohio State University to host a conference on minimising antibiotic resistance transmission through the food chains.
The conference, with the full title Conference on Food Safety and Public Health Frontier: Minimizing Antibiotic Resistance Transmission through the Food Chain is scheduled for 2 and 3 April 2009 in Washington, DC.
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Calving System Shows Promise At Limiting New Calf Illness
cattlenetwork.com
Calf scours (diarrhea) cost cow-calf producers in Iowa a great deal in not only calf death loss, but also in lost performance, health treatments and labor. There is nothing more demoralizing than fi nding calves with scours, especially after the long hours spent managing the calving process.
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K-State: A Model for Cow Comfort
Thebeefsite.com
Using equipment not all that different from what a runner might take on a jog, veterinary researchers at Kansas State University are working to make life more comfortable for cattle.
A jogger’s heart rate monitor and an instrument similar to a pedometer are a few of the tools K-State researchers are using to measure discomfort in cattle undergoing two routine procedures, castration and dehorning.
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Scientists uncover secrets of potential bioterror virus
Major virulence factor for Rift Valley fever virus found to have dual mechanism
Innovations Report
Researchers at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston have discovered a key tactic that the Rift Valley fever virus uses to disarm the defenses of infected cells.
The mosquito-borne African virus causes fever in humans, inflicting liver damage, blindness and even death on a small percentage of the people it infects. Rift Valley fever also afflicts cattle, goats and sheep, resulting in a nearly 100 percent abortion rate in these animals. Its outbreaks periodically cause economic devastation in parts of Kenya, Somalia, Sudan and Zimbabwe, and bioterrorism experts warn that its introduction to the United States would cripple the North American beef industry.
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Nebraska program helping young ranchers
KRVN
To pay the bills, Richard Cool drives 45 miles down a lonely highway from the family ranch to a small-town auto parts factory where he works the overnight shift.
Like others with country roots, the simple love of working outside with cattle is what appeals to Cool. For years, his dream of doing it full-time seemed unattainable.
Now it’s within his grasp because of a first-of-its-kind program launched at a small school in western Nebraska.
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Cattle Show Thrives, As Industry Struggles
Sara Geake
KOLNKGIN.com
Nebraska’s single largest industry is facing record breaking declines.
The number of farms and ranches in the state dropped by nearly one percent last year.
According to the USDA, small farms are affected the most.
Operations selling more than $100,000 in products grew last year, while those with less sales declined by 1,200.
At the Nebraska Cattlemens Classic, attendance is up and prices remain steady.
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New rendering rule will put added costs on cattle producers
Julie Buntjer
Worthington Daily Globe
A new Food and Drug Administration rule that takes effect in late April will likely lead to higher costs for beef and dairy producers and require them to clearly mark animals for rendering that are 30 months of age or older. The rule was established as a precaution against bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), otherwise known as mad cow disease.
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Primin’ the prime: A trip to the Beef Center
James McDonnough
Daily Egyptian
Over the course of the next few months, a doctor and her students will feed 144 steers four different types of food to see which kind, if any, adds significant weight to their 575-pound-plus frames.
At its end, the study could show the steers’ weight increasing by 100 pounds or more.
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Feds find nearly 1 ton of pot in cattle trailer
KING-TV-5
It’s not exactly grass-fed beef, but federal authorities say a man hid nearly a ton of marijuana in a cattle trailer he tried to drive across the U.S.-Canada border.
Edwin Fuller, 39, of Langley, British Columbia, was driving a trailer carrying more than two dozen beef cattle into Washington state when he was arrested Tuesday, a federal prosecutor said
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IBBA Makes an Impact at the Southern Section Animal Science Conference
PR.com
The International Brangus Breeders Association (IBBA) is proud to announce the success of its recent participation in the Southern Section Animal Science Conference. The IBBA continues to aggressively establish contact with members of the educational extension system in an effort to both introduce new association programs and publicize recent advances in the Brangus breed.
“Reaching out to representatives of the University extension educational system is a fundamental step in our plan for the Brangus breed,” stated IBBA Executive Vice-President Dr. Joseph M. Massey. “Extension programs can be an effective pipeline in communicating Brangus advantages throughout the industry.”
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Keeping Records on Beef Cattle Pays
Seneca news Dispatch
Only 20 to 25 percent of cattle producers like to keep records according to Eldon Cole, livestock specialist with University of Missouri Extension.
However, Cole says there is a financial incentive to keep very complete production records on beef cow-calf operations. The incentive is significant for those with age and source verified feeder calves.
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2008 a good year for farmers and ranchers
Portland Business Journal
Oregon’s farmers and ranchers reported record sales in 2008.
Farmers and ranchers had estimated sales of $4.9 billion last year, which is the largest total in the state’s history and the sixth consecutive year of sales growth, according to a new report by Oregon State University.
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