Ohio Beef Newsletter available

The June 7, issue # 490, of the Ohio BEEF Cattle letter is now posted to the web at: http://fairfield.osu.edu/ag/beef/beefJune7.html

Across much of Ohio, it was a great spring for getting new forage seedings planted. Frequently we are asked, “How soon should I harvest it this year (or should I?) . . . how often . . . how close should I cut it . . . how late in the year . . . etc ? ? ?

This week, Jeff McCutcheon addresses those questions and more.

Articles include:
* Improving Conception Rates
* Forage Focus: Do we really need to “baby” forage seedings?
* Fertilizing Forage Crops
* Weekly Roberts Agricultural Commodity Market Report

Stan
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Stan Smith
Program Assistant, Agriculture
OSU Extension, Fairfield County
831 College Ave., Suite D
Lancaster, OH 43130

Flight risk: Flies a health concern for beef cattle

Flight risk: Flies a health concern for beef cattle

Written Tuesday, June 06, 2006
Purdue Animal Science

What’s the buzz around cattle pastures these days? The same that it always is when the weather turns warm: flies.

The winged intruders are more than just an annoyance to grazing cattle. Flies also can transmit diseases and stunt growth, said Ron Lemenager, Purdue University Extension beef specialist. Producers can protect their herds with insecticides, he said.

FULL STORY

Modified Atmosphere Packaging Using CO is Safe and Criticisms Unfounded, Notes Guest Editorial

Modified Atmosphere Packaging Using CO is Safe and Criticisms Unfounded, Notes Guest Editorial

June 05, 2006
Meatami.com

“The claim that CO packaging will result in unsafe products is not scientifically sound,” notes a joint guest expert editorial in the April edition of Foodtechnology. The authors note that recent media reports generated by private interests have raised concerns about the use of carbon monoxide (CO) as a component in Modified Atmosphere Packaging (MAP), and have attempted to garner public, and legislative efforts to ban the innovative technology.

“CO is useful for fresh-meat packaging because the gas binds with the muscle pigment myoglobin to produce a bright red color,” sought after by consumers, note authors Drs. Joe Sebranek (Iowa State University), Mel Hunt (Kansas State University), Daren Cornforth (Utah State University) and Susan Brewer (University of Illinois).

FULL STORY

California bill would require evacuation plans for pets, livestock in a disaster

California bill would require evacuation plans for pets, livestock in a disaster

By: SAMANTHA YOUNG – Associated Press
Nctimes.com

SACRAMENTO — Martin Poldervaart knows how water can wreak havoc. When a levee burst two miles from his Yuba City dairy farm in 1997, more than half his cows drowned.

Poldervaart and his employees fled his flooded dairy farm at 2 a.m. after failed attempts in the dark to corral his cows to safe ground. For their own safety, Poldervaart made the decision to return at daylight.

But the following morning, the local sheriff refused to let homeowners and farmers back into the area for several hours. By the time Poldervaart got back to his dairy farm, the water was too high for him to truck his cows to safety.

FULL STORY

Ethanol boon providing good news for local farmers

Ethanol boon providing good news for local farmers

HEIDI DUNKLEMAN
Krikesville Daily Express

KIRKSVILLE – With the recent high prices of gas and concern for the environment, use of ethanol is becoming more popular in the United States, and that is especially popular with local corn farmers.

Tommy Teter, of Kirksville, heard about farmers’ successes with ethanol plants in other states, so when an ethanol plant, Northeast Missouri Grain LLC, opened in Macon, Mo., in 2000, he became a member.

Not only does Teter get a better price for his corn than in other local markets – he said it is usually about 10-30 cents higher – it is also convenient.

“It’s a local market that you can get to easily,” he said.

FULL STORY

YEAST PRODUCTS CAN HAVE POSITIVE EFFECTS ON CATTLE PERFORMANCE

YEAST PRODUCTS CAN HAVE POSITIVE EFFECTS ON CATTLE PERFORMANCE

by: Stephen B. Blezinger, Ph.D, PAS
cattletoday.com

In the last issue we began a discussion of feeding technologies in the beef industry. We began with the use of direct-fed microbial (bacteria) products and the impact they might have on production in beef cattle. In this issue we need to examine the use of one of the most commonly used products of this nature – yeast and yeast products. Yeast products may assist in digestion of forages. One of the most common strains is Saccharomyces cerevisiae and is produced by fermenting selected liquid and cereal grain raw ingredients with the specified yeast strain. Numerous strains or varieties of yeast products exist and there is some difference in the actual manner in which the different yeasts function. We will examine these differences a bit as well.

FULL STORY

Cattle are growing but so are subdivisions

Cattle are growing but so are subdivisions

Shelbyville Times-Gazette
By Clint Confehr

Monday’s weekly cattle auction in the stockyard near Unionville was a lot like others recently, but long-time observers have noticed rising land prices because of development and foresee more ranch homes and fewer ranches.

“It’s making the runs of cattle smaller,” says Wayne Wilson, one of the cattlemen among the buyers and sellers at the Mid-South Livestock Center on U.S. 41-A. “I’d say the livestock business will be a thing of the past in about 15 years in this area.”

FULL STORY

US Officials: Still Room For Negotiation On WTO Ag Deal

US Officials: Still Room For Negotiation On WTO Ag Deal

Cattlenetwork.com

WASHINGTON (Dow Jones)–World Trade Organization talks on agriculture trade concessions between the U.S. and European Union are still at a standstill, but there is room for negotiation if need be, U.S. government officials said Tuesday.

“We’re not saying, `take it or leave it,'” Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Agriculture Affairs Jim Murphy said about a U.S. proposal still on the table in the current WTO Doha round of talks.

“We’re still in negotiations,” Murphy said.

Gregg Young, a U.S. Department of Agriculture negotiator on multilateral trade talks, stressed that the U.S. has been very patient, waiting for European and other countries to match a U.S. proposal, and also said that negotiation was still possible.

FULL STORY

Showmanship Begins at Home

Showmanship Begins at Home

story by Jen Biser
Angus Journal.com

The first key to becoming a top showman is to realize it all starts at home, Cheramie Viator of Camp Cooley Ranch, Franklin, Texas, tells juniors and their parents.

The 1989 winner of the National Junior Angus Showmanship Contest has worked with junior exhibitors from coast to coast, presenting clinics about showmanship and show cattle management. She shared her expertise and advice during a showmanship clinic at the 2005 National Junior Angus Show (NJAS) in Denver, Colo.

FULL STORY