Hone in on Heifer Health

Hone in on Heifer Health

by Barb Baylor Anderson, Angus Journal

You may already have a system in place for managing heifer health. But, Clifford Shipley, veterinarian with the University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine Farm Animal Reproduction, Medicine and Surgery (FARMS) Section, stresses that the most successful health programs for developing heifers must focus on a combination of nutrition, management, parasite control and the right vaccinations.

FULL STORY

Grasslands Sequester Greenhouse Gases Too

Grasslands Sequester Greenhouse Gases Too

Writer: Robert Burns, 903-834-6191,rd-burns@tamu.edu
Contacts: Dr. Vincent Haby, 903-834-6191,v-haby@tamu.edu
Ag News from Texas A&M

OVERTON – New equipment will enable Texas Agricultural Experiment Station scientists fine- tune grassland management to sequester carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas.

The new equipment, a carbon, nitrogen, sulfur analyzer, will also allow him and other researchers at the Texas A&M University System Agricultural Research and Extension Center at Overton to more quickly analyze the nutritive value of forages, said Dr. Vincent Haby, Experiment Station soil scientist.

Carbon sequestration is an important research area because of the rising concentrations of carbon dioxide in the Earth’s atmosphere. Rising carbon dioxide is now widely recognized by the scientific community to be linked to global warming.

FULL STORY

Gelbvieh Association Adds Balancer Shows to American Royal, National Western

Gelbvieh Association Adds Balancer Shows to American Royal, National Western

Cattlenetwork.com

The American Gelbvieh Association Board of Directors voted to add Balancer open shows to the 2006 American Royal in Kansas City, Mo., and the 2007 National Western Stock Show. A Balancer is hybrid seedstock combining Gelbvieh with Angus or Red Angus genetics. The American Gelbvieh Association documents the pedigrees, issues a registration certificate and provides performance data as well as EPDs for Balancer cattle.

“The American Gelbvieh Association was one of the first continental breeds to formally recognize hybrid seedstock and promote Balancers in an organized crossbreeding system,” says Wayne Vanderwert, AGA Executive Director. “We feel it is an excellent way to promote Balancers by adding separate shows at key events like the American Royal and National Western.”

FULL STORY

Authorities bust cattle-rustling ring

Authorities bust cattle-rustling ring
Brazoria County rancher is suspect; Nolan Ryan’s cows among the stolen

By ARMANDO VILLAFRANCA and ERIC HANSON
Copyright 2006 Houston Chronicle

Authorities said Tuesday they have cracked a cattle-rustling operation that stretched across eight counties and claimed 289 head, including 17 cows and 30 calves belonging to Hall of Fame pitcher Nolan Ryan.

The total value of the stolen livestock was estimated at up to $300,000.

FULL STORY

Livestock feed recalled over possible mad cow violation

Livestock feed recalled over possible mad cow violation

WOOD-TV

WASHINGTON Livestock feed ingredients shipped to Michigan and eight other states may have been contaminated with cattle remains in violation of a 1997 ban to protect against mad cow disease.
The maker, H-J Baker and Brothers, says it’s recalling three livestock feed ingredients, including two used to supplement feed given to dairy cows.

The Connecticut company says that a sample tested by the Food and Drug Administration was positive for cattle meat and bone meal.

The company shipped the ingredients to feed manufacturers and dairy farms in Michigan, Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi and Tennessee.

FULL STORY

Japan set to lift U.S. beef ban

Japan set to lift U.S. beef ban
Inspections deal to pave way for imports but doubts remain

By YUMI WIJERS-HASEGAWA
Staff writer, Japan Times

Despite lingering concern over the safety of U.S. beef, Japan continued final talks with Washington past midnight Tuesday on lifting the import ban, after winning a slew of concessions on inspection procedures for mad cow disease.

“I believe we will go to the next step” toward resuming imports, farm minister Shoichi Nakagawa had said earlier in the day, indicating senior officials from the two countries would reach the agreement at a teleconference in the evening. The lengthy talks, with a one-hour break, ended up continuing well into the night.

If the ban is lifted, U.S. beef shipments would reportedly resume late next month, albeit without blanket testing.

FULL STORY

Wildfires, drought pushing more cattle to market

Wildfires, drought pushing more cattle to market

ROXANA HEGEMAN
Associated Press / Kansascity.com

DIGHTON, Kan. – A lingering drought in the Southern Plains and wildfires that destroyed thousands of miles of fencing are forcing ranchers to send more cattle to the slaughterhouse.

Drought conditions in Texas, the nation’s biggest cattle producing area, are enough to drive the higher cattle slaughter numbers, said James Mintert, an agriculture economist at Kansas State University. But drought in other key cow states such as Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska and parts of Missouri are also fueling the higher kill rates.

Federally inspected beef cow slaughter in April was up 17 percent from the same month a year ago, coming on the heels of a 13 percent jump in March. May beef cow slaughter is estimated to be up 9.4 percent, Mintert said.

FULL STORY

It’s The Pitts: Beaker Burgers

It’s The Pitts: Beaker Burgers

Cattlenetwork.com

Sometimes I’m glad I won’t be around to witness the future that some scientists have in mind for us. As if soy burgers weren’t bad enough, a bunch of crackpots are going to make beef in laboratory crockpots. I don’t mean cook it… I mean make it from scratch. According to Elena Conis, writing in the L. A. Times, mad scientists are now making beaker burgers in the lab. The process is called vitro meat processing and these man-made steaks require no cowboys or cows. Oh my, there’s no cure for cancer yet but some scientists are spending their lab time making filet of petri dish!

FULL STORY

Cattle, Hay Producers May See More Problems Due to Drought

Cattle, Hay Producers May See More Problems Due to Drought

Writer: Paul Schattenberg, 210-467-6575,paschattenberg@ag.tamu.edu
Contact: Larry Redmon, 979-845-4826,l-redmon@tamu.edu
Jerry Warren, 210-467-6575,jw-warren@tamu.edu
Ag News from Texas A&M

SAN ANTONIO – As if cattle and hay producers haven’t had enough to worry about lately, the drought may spur additional problems, said a Texas Cooperative Extension soil and crop expert.

“Besides reduced production, lack of moisture can also potentially lead to toxic levels of nitrates in warm-season grasses, as well as the possibility of prussic acid poisoning,” said Larry Redmon, Extension state forage specialist.

During dry weather, warm-season annual grasses – including forage sorghums, sorghum-sudan hybrids and various millets – can accumulate nitrates to a level toxic for cattle, he said. Forages belonging to the genus Sorghum also can produce prussic acid (hydrogen cyanide) in quantities toxic to cattle.

“Accumulation of nitrate usually occurs when there is excessive fertilization followed by a period of drought,” Redmon said. “But toxic levels have been seen in warm-season annual grasses with as little as 50 pounds of nitrogen fertilizer usage per acre.”

FULL STORY