Bill would ban nonmedical drug use in US livestock

Bill would ban nonmedical drug use in US livestock

Christopher Doering

Reuters

Despite growing public support to ban the nontherapeutic use of antibiotics in food animals, a U.S. representative said on Tuesday efforts to move legislation through Congress this year could be met with resistance.

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Bulls entering Texas must be tested for Trich

Bulls entering Texas must be tested for Trich

Beef Today

Beginning April 1, 2009, breeding bulls entering Texas from any other state must be either 24 months of age or younger and certified as a virgin, or be tested negative for cattle trichomoniasis within 30 days prior to entry.

The entry requirements are part of a regulatory package adopted by the commissioners for the Texas Animal Health Commission (TAHC) February 24 to address trichomoniasis, a venereal disease of cattle that causes infertility and abortions,  and results in extended breeding seasons and diminished calf crops, which costs livestock producers valuable income.

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Producer Focuses on Consumer to Build Future

Producer Focuses on Consumer to Build Future

Eric Grant

Cattle Today

Scanning the horizon south of Hobart, Okla., there are several surprises that meet the eye.

The first and most obvious are the mountains that rise from this productive valley floor.

At one time, herds of Texas Longhorns streamed across these ragged outcrops on their way to the railheads and markets in the north.

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Magnetic Fields From Power Lines Disorient Cows

Magnetic Fields From Power Lines Disorient Cows

Fox News

High-voltage power lines mess with animal magnetism.

Researchers, who reported last year that most cows and deer tend to orient themselves in a north-south alignment, have now found that power lines can disorient the animals.

When the power lines run east-west, that’s the way grazing cattle tend to line up, researchers led by Hynek Burda and Sabine Begall of the faculty of biology at the University of Duisburg-Essen in Germany report in Tuesday’s edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

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U.S. ranchers eye more EU access for beef

U.S. ranchers eye more EU access for beef

Reuters

U.S. ranchers who raise cattle without growth hormones may gain more access to European markets if the United States and European Union settle a beef trade dispute that has lasted more than 20 years, a U.S. industry spokesman said on Monday.

But the size of the additional market access has not been determined, and EU concerns about antimicrobial treatments continue to stymie talks, said Gregg Doud, an economist with the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association.

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Cattlemen say manure rules pose threat

Cattlemen say manure rules pose threat

DAN PILLER

Des Moines Register

Although state officials insist their proposed rules controlling manure applications in winter wouldn’t ban the practice, Iowa cattle raisers appeared at a public hearing Monday to protest that the future of their industry was at stake.

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Ranching enters the satellite era

Ranching enters the satellite era

David Finlayson

The Edmonton Journal

Musing on how to find a lost or stolen dog has led to satellite technology that can track cattle for their entire lives.

The Wandering Shepherd ear tag, developed by Edmonton’s iFind Systems, will provide the traceability demanded by Alberta beef customers around the world since the BSE crisis, founder Neil Helfrich says.

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South Dakota Department of Agriculture Announces Changes to the South Dakota Certified™ Program

South Dakota Department of Agriculture Announces Changes to the South Dakota Certified™ Program

 The South Dakota Department of Agriculture (SDDA) recently announced changes to the rules administering the South Dakota Certified Enrolled Cattle™ program. These changes reflect an effort to strengthen the program while providing greater flexibility for producers.

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Renderer to end dead cow collection; expert fears disease

Renderer to end dead cow collection; expert fears disease

Lancaster Intelligencer Journal

By RYAN ROBINSON

A federal rule created to provide an additional safeguard against mad cow disease could result in increased health risks in Lancaster County.

Thanks to a federal Food and Drug Administration rule set to go into effect April 27, the main renderer of dead cattle here will stop picking up dead cows after Friday.

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Drought in Texas

Drought in Texas

Maggie Lineback

Fox News

For television news, Murphy’s Law is always in full effect. We go to do a story on the drought and, predictably, it rains. Unfortunately, for farmers and ranchers across Texas, what little bit of precipitation they may get this week is not going to make much of a dent in the drought they’ve been suffering for months.

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Recession, drought and hurricane recovery figure in usually successful cattle auction

Recession, drought and hurricane recovery figure in usually successful cattle auction

KYLE PEVETO

Beaumont Enterprise

The 900-mile trip from Bay, Mo., to Beaumont has always been a profitable one for Steve Swanson.

While he loads up his bulls today to sell at Saturday’s 14th annual Independent Cattlemen’s Association of Texas auction at Ford Park, the rancher hopes he will get as much as he has for the past 12 years.

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High Quality Beef Shines Through in the US

High Quality Beef Shines Through in the US

Thebeefsite.com

Amid news of decreased consumer spending and falling stock prices, the beef industry has its bright spots.

Market analyst Dillon Feuz says overall protein purchasing patterns point out a dedication to beef. “So far the data has not shown that consumers have really cut back on beef consumption,” he says. “They’ve just altered that consumption.”

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Dust Regulations Disappoint Producer Organizations

Dust Regulations Disappoint Producer Organizations

Thebeefsite.com

Both the National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) and National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) have expressed disappointment with a recent federal court ruling that upholds a US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) decision to regulate dust on farms under the Clean Air Act.

NPPC and NCBA were among organizations that had asked the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit in Washington to review EPA’s decision to regulate emissions of coarse particulate matter (PM), or dust, in rural areas.

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Advice For Pasture Management Post Burn and Rains

Advice For Pasture Management Post Burn and Rains

Southern Livestock Standard

Don’t pug your pastures” is the advice a Texas AgriLife Extension Service expert offers producers who received much-needed rain last week on recently burned pastures.

Dr. Wayne Hanselka, AgriLife Extension range specialist at Corpus Christi, said pugging is a term used when too many cattle or other livestock are kept too long on wet pastures with limited or no forage. The result is intensively trampled soil which leads to soil compaction, poor plant growth and greater fertilizer requirements on tame pastures.

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An idea to chew on: Grass-fed local beef

An idea to chew on: Grass-fed local beef

Animals have ‘higher level of care,’ cattleman says

MERIDITH FORD GOLDMAN

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Will Harris III speaks into the phone with a long Southern drawl. His voice sounds like what good scotch tastes like.

Harris’ family has been in the cattle business for five generations, and he used to be a conventional cattleman — the kind who sold to the industrial commodity production system, where his cows might have been trucked thousands of miles to a slaughterhouse and processed at the rate of 400 head per hour, 16 hours a day.

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