Are Cattle Genetically Modified?
Joe Epperly
I was confronted with this question on a flight last summer. I was talking about the beef industry and what I do with a fellow passenger when she began asking if we genetically modify cattle “like corn and soybeans.” It’s an interesting question and one I was not sure how to answer but that day was a good time to try and I have pondered on it since.
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Impacts of Consolidation in the Industry Back
Lynn Gordon
iGrow
Consolidation of the beef industry was on the mind of cow-calf producers as they gathered at the annual Cattle Industry Convention in Nashville, Tenn., Feb. 1-4th. 2011 was a challenging year for cattle producers in the southern states as they faced a monumental drought, one that will go down in the record books as the driest year on record in Texas.
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Saving Our Border Beef
Congressman John Carter (R-Texas)
Beltway Beef
The Presidential debates highlighted varying national opinions on how best to secure the troubled southern border. Our Governor Rick Perry pointed out that fencing the entire 2,000 mile border with Mexico was not the way to go, and that more boots-on-the-ground was the correct approach.
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Friendly Fire
Troy Smith
Angus Journal
It’s kind of like an old-fashioned cow-country branding. Some planning and preparation must take place prior to the chosen date. Meanwhile, the host rancher frets about the weather. When the big day finally arrives, the neighbors show up to help get the job done. They share a meal and fellowship afterward. And it happens again and again as neighbors take turns hosting similar events throughout the season.
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Take the threat of agroterrorism seriously
Tom Quaife
Bovine Veterinarian
Since 2005, I have had the opportunity to attend four conferences on agroterrorism sponsored by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
They are serious affairs, considering the subject matter. I think back to the time someone showed a simulation model of how fast a certain infectious animal disease would spread within the state of Iowa.
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The Secret to Daytime Calving
Del Deterling
Progressive Farmer
Whether you have 20 cows or 200, there is nothing less pleasant than crawling out of bed in the middle of a cold night to check for calving problems. What if you don’t have to?
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Beef Industry Voices Sounding Off on ‘Pink Slime’ Myths
Oklahoma Farm Report
Organizations representing beef producers are letting their voices be heard on a controversy which has stirred up main stream Americans at fast food restaurants and meat counters across the country.
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Daily serving of red meat raises risk of cancer, heart disease
Robert Bazell
NBC News
Editor’s note: Stories of this ilk are included in the blog to inform those in our industry how agriculture is being presented to and perceived by the public.
It is far from a shocking revelation that red meat is not health food. But a new study from the highly respected researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health offers some of the best and most detailed evidence yet that a daily serving of meat can increase risk of heart disease or cancer.
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New BSE Rule Would Boost U.S. Beef Export
AgriMarketing
Chief Veterinary Officer for the USDA, Dr. John Clifford, said a proposed rule to bring U.S. import regulations for bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in line with science-based, international animal health standards will help open markets for U.S. beef.
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Cow-Calf Corner: Take advantage of the drought of 2011
Glenn Selk, Oklahoma State University Emeritus Extension animal scientist
TSCRA
The hot, dry weather of 2011 across the Southern Plains certainly created a hardship for commercial cow calf operations that are short of standing and stored forage. Water supplies also are limited in many areas.
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