Cattle Temperament Impacts Immune Response

Cattle Temperament Impacts Immune Response

Calm calves appear to have a better response to vaccination at weaning than temperamental calves, says the Texas Ag Experiment Station. This better vaccination response means the calmer calves are less likely to develop sickness or die of disease.

Earlier research has shown cattle that speed out of the handling chute eat and gain less, and yield tougher steaks. The Texas A&M University (TAMU) study is one the first to look at the animal’s immune response in relation to temperament.

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Eliminating antibiotics may not discourage resistance

Eliminating antibiotics may not discourage resistance

Drovers alert from the Drovers Journal

Eliminating antibiotic drugs from food-animal production may have little positive effect on resistant bacteria that threaten health, according to the Institute of Food Technologists. The group stated that prior human exposure to antibiotics is the greatest factor for acquiring an infection with antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Eliminating antibiotics promoting animal growth in Europe has actually resulted in increased disease among the animals and more therapeutic applications of antibiotics on resistant bacteria. It has not been shown to reduce the prevalence of some antibiotic-resistant strains affecting human medicine, but resistance increased among some pathogens.

Cattlecast: Indiana’s Premise ID program

In today’s Cattlecast, Dr. Jennifer Greiner, Indiana Board of Animal Health, explains the Indiana premise ID program. Follow the link below to watch the presentation.

https://breeze.itap.purdue.edu/p95482145/

To view the presentation you must have the free Adobe Flash player installed.
Click Here to download the player.

NCBA: Leadership Conference Gives Cattle Producers Total Industry Insight

NCBA: Leadership Conference Gives Cattle Producers Total Industry Insight

Cattlenetwork.com

DENVER (June 28, 2006) – Future cattle industry leaders recently expanded their knowledge of the cattle and beef business, as 47 young cattle producers participated in the 27th annual Young Cattlemen’s Conference tour. The program is a comprehensive, nationwide tour of various industry sectors, designed to enhance leadership skills in young cattle producers. The tour is sponsored by the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA), NCBA state and breed affiliates, Tyson Fresh Meats, Five Rivers Cattle Feeding and John Deere.

Most participants in the 8-day tour were nominated by their respective NCBA affiliates. Additional cattle and beef industry representatives also attended.

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Cattle Tracking Programs Emerge, Draw Criticism

Cattle Tracking Programs Emerge, Draw Criticism

By Kim Souza
The Morning News (AR)

Satellites and microchips might soon be the modern equivalent of horses and cowboys in the arena of tracking cattle.

Like the OnStar global positioning systems that pinpoint exact locations of cars in a matter of seconds, Arkansas cattle farmers could use the same technology to track the age and source of their herds.

More than two years after the first case of mad cow disease was discovered in the United States, two new programs are being implemented that will change how Arkansas cattle are identified.

The Quality Systems Assessment Program (QSA) is a voluntary program sponsored by the Arkansas Department of Agriculture, in conjunction with the Agricultural Marketing Services Division of the United States Department of Agriculture, said Richard Bell, Arkansas’ secretary of agriculture.

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Angus Celebrates 50th Birthday in St. Joseph

Angus Celebrates 50th Birthday in St. Joseph

KQTV-St. Joseph, MO

A national organization celebrates success locally.

The American Angus Association celebrates its 50th anniversary in St. Joseph.

Employees say many people drive by their building on Frederick and have no idea what they do inside, so they opened their doors today to community members, business leaders, and city and state government officials to find out.

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Tough time ahead for US beef to regain Japan market

Tough time ahead for US beef to regain Japan market

KTIC

TOKYO, June 28 (Reuters) – U.S. beef, expected to re-enter Japan next month in line with a new bilateral accord, will have difficulty regaining the market share it once held as consumer confidence has yet to return, industry officials said.

Concerns about further U.S. violations of beef trade rules are also making Japanese firms wary of restarting purchases. Nearly 30 percent of Japan’s beef supplies came from the United States before Japan banned U.S. beef in December 2003 after the discovery of the first U.S. case of mad cow disease.

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Cattle Update: Simmental Juniors To Compete In Madison

Cattle Update: Simmental Juniors To Compete In Madison

Cattlenetwork.com

BOZEMAN, MT. Members of the American Junior Simmental Association (AJSA) are eager to attend the 2006 AJSA National Classic XXVI being held July 10-14, at the Alliant Energy Center in Madison, Wisconsin.

Nearly 250 junior Simmental members representing 27 states will travel to Madison to participate in a variety of cattle-related competitions. Divided into novice, junior, intermediate, and senior divisions, members will have the opportunity to develop and showcase their skills in a number of events covering a wide range of topics, including public speaking, beef industry knowledge tests, advertising skills, judging, as well as the traditional Simmental and Simbrah cattle shows and showmanship. Extra-curricular activities on the schedule include a team cook-off, Barnyard Olympics, a youth dance, and a family fun night sponsored by the Wisconsin Junior Simmental Association.

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Reduce Your Risk

Reduce Your Risk

by Kate Royer
Hay and Forage Grower

Examine your business risks and insure what you can’t control. That’s how custom harvesters can reduce those risks — and their insurance costs, says an insurance agent who regularly works with custom operators.

“There are certain things that every custom harvester can do to help reduce his risks and make himself more marketable, so to speak, to insurance companies,” says David Anderson, director of agriculture insurance with Vincent, Urban, Walker & Associates, Inc., Green Bay, WI.

Employees are a custom harvester’s biggest risk, he says. That’s why it’s important to train them well and to communicate what they are expected to do.

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Hiring the good agriculture employee

Hiring the good agriculture employee

by Bill Whittle, Extension Agent for Farm Business Management, VCE
onthefarmradio.com

When farmers discuss problems in agriculture, sooner or later labor issues come up. The refrain starts with “How can I find and keep good employees?” and is often followed with “How much should I pay an employee?”

Employee compensation is a touchy topic in all industries, but especially in agriculture because the owner is often receiving a less than generous return on his or her investment. From an employee’s perspective, the farm work environment can be difficult – long hours and the work physically demanding. The question, “How do you hire and retain good farm help?” requires separating the two components – hiring and retaining.

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MLV Manners

MLV Manners

by Micky Wilson
Angus Journal

“Doing nearly everything right in a vaccination program can cause you some real problems,” says Ron Gill, Texas A&M University (TAMU) Extension livestock specialist. “Vaccine is not 100% effective in the first place. If we had done everything right, we could get close to getting 85% of the cattle immunized on the first vaccination.”

Immunity is “an animal’s long-term response mounted against invasion from a bacteria, virus, toxin, etc.,” explains Scott Nordstrom, manager of veterinary technical services for Intervet Inc.

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The Basics of EPDs

The Basics of EPD’s

Shorthorn Country

It’s hard to believe in this day and time there still exist a good deal of mistrust and misunderstanding when it comes to Expected Progeny Differences (EPDs). As a purebred breeder, it is critical that you not only understand the application of EPDs, but also how they are calculated. I don’t mean the specific statistical methodology, but rather how the data you submit affects the EPDs of your cattle. If you read no further, remember this, EPDs work, but only with complete data submission and proper contemporary grouping.

EPDs are a prediction of the genetic transmitting ability of an animal. They tell you in a given environment how one animal will compare to another; they do not estimate actual weights, only weight differences. An animal’s genetic value does not change over time, but the amount of information we have to estimate that value does. The difference in that animal’s true genetic value and the predicted value is known as accuracy. EPDs with a higher accuracy have less chance of changing far from their predicted value. It is also important to realize that the EPD value is reflective of the average of an animal’s calves and could represent a wide range.

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