Senators Want Breakdown of Cap and Trade Costs

Senators Want Breakdown of Cap and Trade Costs

Hoosier AG Today

  Senators Mike Johanns and Senate Ag Committee Ranking Member Saxby Chambliss have asked Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack to come up with an analysis of the cost of cap-and-trade legislation for agricultural producers. Johanns wants to see the analysis organized by commodity and by state. He says the USDA analysis is important because cap-and-trade will have tremendously different consequences for different agricultural industries and different regions of the country.

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Factors to Consider When Selecting a Vaccine

Factors to Consider When Selecting a Vaccine

Beef Today

Building immunity and preventing disease are integral parts to achieve livestock wellness on your operation. Incorporating demonstrated vaccines into a well-designed vaccination protocol helps enhance your livestock’s immune system response to disease, thus keeping cattle healthy. This in turn helps deliver optimal growth and production while minimizing costs associated with disease.

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Adding value to your cull cows

Adding value to your cull cows

Lura Roti

The Cattle Business Weekly

Cull cows are a source of revenue some producers may be ignoring, says Cody Wright beef extension specialist at South Dakota State University.

"Cull cows are often viewed as an afterthought. We don’t necessarily think about them as a way to add value," Wright says.

He encourages cattle producers to look into ways that they can take advantage of the revenue opportunity cull cows provide.

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Conditional US License for E.coli Cattle Vaccine

Conditional US License for E.coli Cattle Vaccine

Thebeefsite.com

AgriLabs, a longtime advocate of producer, industry and governmental efforts to strengthen U.S. food safety, has announced the availability of America’s first conditionally licensed E. coli O157 vaccine for cattle.

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W.D. Farr Scholarships Awarded at Cattle Industry Summer Conference

W.D. Farr Scholarships Awarded at Cattle Industry Summer Conference

Cattle Today

Two outstanding graduate students were recognized with scholarships awarded in honor of one of the cattle industry’s greatest pioneers. The National Cattlemen’s Foundation honored the late W.D. Farr, of Greeley, Colo., through two annual $12,000 graduate scholarships bearing his name.

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Groups want Japan to ease beef rules

Groups want Japan to ease beef rules

High Plains Journal

Representatives from Nebraska and Iowa are visiting Japan and South Korea during late June to promote the corn-fed beef that’s produced in the region.

The states’ Corn Boards and Beef Councils sent representatives to join the trip organized by the U.S. Meat Export Federation.

Nebraska Corn Board member Mark Jagels says its important for farmers to support the beef industry’s efforts to develop and expand markets.

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Consider ammoniating low quality forages

Consider ammoniating low quality forages

Kindra Gordon for Angus Productions, Inc.

Cattle Business Weekly

As an alternative to higher feed costs, ammoniating low-quality forages may be worth considering this fall.

Treating wheat, barley and oat straws, corn stalks or very mature, low-quality grass hay with anhydrous ammonia can boost crude protein levels to 8-9%, increase digestibility 10 to 30%, and improve livestock intake of those feeds by 15 to 20%.

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Valley Farmers, Lawmakers Oppose Curbing Antibiotic Use In Livestock

Valley Farmers, Lawmakers Oppose Curbing Antibiotic Use In Livestock

Tom Mitchell

Harrisonburg Daily News Record

A federal plan to ban many routine uses of antibiotics in livestock is meeting resistance in the Shenandoah Valley.

On Wednesday, area farmers and legislators questioned the Obama administration’s announcement that it would seek to limit the use of antibiotics in farm animals in the hopes of reducing the spread of dangerous bacteria in humans.

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Montana: Brucellosis free at last – so soon?

Montana: Brucellosis free at last – so soon?

T.J. GILLES

The Billings Outpost

After years of conflict and the eventual loss of the Montana cattle industry’s coveted status as free of brucellosis, state officials were somewhat taken aback when the U.S. Department of Agriculture quickly restored that status.

State Veterinarian Marty Zaluski told an Associated Press reporter he was both surprised and “thrilled” at the rapid designation. Continued ranking as non-free would have meant other states applying varying restrictions on the import of Montana cattle and added costs to producers.

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Strong Ties in the West and Beyond

Strong Ties in the West and Beyond

Kim Holt

Angus Journal

For the last 20 years the western ranching community has been able to market its cattle products to a national audience, thanks to two visionary livestock marketing professionals who’ve always had their customers’ best interests at heart.

In recognition for their innovative marketing achievements, Ellington Peek, Cottonwood, Calif., and John Rodgers, Visalia, Calif., co-founders of Western Video Market (WVM), Cottonwood, Calif., were presented with the 2009 Beef Industry Vision Award for Livestock Marketing.

The Vision Award, sponsored by Micro Beef Technologies in cooperation with the National Cattlemen’s Foundation (NCF), is presented during the annual National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) Cattle Industry Convention and Trade Show. Its purpose is to bring recognition to cattle industry individuals, businesses and organizations who have incorporated innovation in order to enhance their business and the industry as a whole.

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Beef Farm Field Day

Beef Farm Field Day

Heartland Connection.com

The 4th annual University of Missouri Beef Research and Teaching Farm Field Day is Thursday, September 17th starting at 8 am.

This year’s field day offers information on feed efficiency selection, antibiotic use, agricultural ethics and cattle handling and stockmanship.

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Livestock at Kansas State Fair May Get DNA Test

Livestock at Kansas State Fair May Get DNA Test

KSAL

Kansas State Fair officials may use a plan to allow DNA testing of livestock during the annual 10-day fair.

Fair board members approved the plan Wednesday that could start for the 2010 fair. The testing is designed to prevent cheating during livestock competitions.

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Farmers critical of food safety bill

Farmers critical of food safety bill

Kristina Sherry

Los Angles Times

Reporting from Washington — Farming and ranching representatives appeared before a congressional panel Thursday to express concern that a major bill pending in the House could unnecessarily complicate the marketplace without improving food safety.

Amid recent health scares involving cookie dough and pistachios, the Obama administration has pledged to modernize the food safety system. Lawmakers are considering the Food Safety Enhancement Act:h.r.02749: of 2009, aimed at broadening the Food and Drug Administration’s powers.

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Beef checkoff shifting demand up

Beef checkoff shifting demand up

Rod Smith

Feedstuffs

For every dollar beef producers put into the beef checkoff program between 2003 and 2008, they received $5.55 back in value, according to an analysis conducted by Dr. Ron Ward, emeritus professor for food and resource economics at the University of Florida.

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MSU’s Ag Expo celebrating 30 years of education

MSU’s Ag Expo celebrating 30 years of education

Marking its 30th anniversary, Ag Expo, Michigan’s largest outdoor farm show, returns to the Michigan State University campus July 21-23.

Ag Expo brings a variety of educational and commercial activities and exhibits to the state’s agricultural community as well as homeowners, families and anyone who wants to know more about the state’s second-largest industry.

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