Making Sense Out of All the Genetic Defect Buzz

Making Sense Out of All the Genetic Defect Buzz

Marty Ropp

SimTalk

Unless you have been hiding under a rock lately, you are well aware of the publicity surrounding “new” genetic defects that are significantly affect- ing both the commercial cattle business and the business of several breed organizations including our own.

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Foot Rot Info and Management Tips

Foot Rot Info and Management Tips

Southern Livestock Standard

 Producers who recognize foot rot and develop strategies to prevent and treat it can successfully protect their cattle herd’s performance. Causing an estimated 75 percent of all lameness diagnosed in beef cattle, foot rot, or interdigital dermatitis, can be detrimental to the health of a herd and profits of an operation.

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Will ‘cap and trade’ export ag out of the U.S.?

Will ‘cap and trade’ export ag out of the U.S.?

 Dick Hagen

The Land “If this cap and trade legislation were to pass, even with the important work Congressman Collin Peterson has done to better position agriculture, I’m afraid we’re setting ourselves up to export agriculture out of this country.”

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Time for TIME to Get Real

Time for TIME to Get Real

Matt Bogard

Agweb.com

In a recent article in Time Magazine, ( Getting Real About the High Price of Cheap Food) I think that I have witnessed one of the worst pieces of pseudo science I’ve seen in a long time.

Isn’t obesity the result of diet, genetics, and exercise? Personal choice and genetics are the drivers, not agricultural production practices as the author seems to claim. There are some other ‘unbalanced’ assertions made in the article as well:

‘He’s fed on American corn that was grown with the help of government subsidies and millions of tons of chemical fertilizer. ‘

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Skillman Attacks Cap and Trade

Skillman Attacks Cap and Trade

Gary Truitt

Hoosier AG Today

Indiana Lt. Governor Becky Skillman made an unprecedented appearance at the Indiana Farm Bureau policy delegate meeting on Saturday. While the main purpose of her appearance was to announce the appointment of the new director of ISDA, Joe Kelsay, she also took the opportunity to praise Farm Bureau and ask for support on key legislative issues. Skillman delivered a blistering attack on the cap and trade legislation.

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Get to Know Your Beef Checkoff

Get to Know Your Beef Checkoff

 Cattlenetwork.com

Take your shot at the “MyBeefCheckoff Quiz” — and get the latest information about your checkoff investments. Four random quiz participants with the right answers win a prize!

Click to take the survey.

Poison Ivy

Q&A:   I am about to turn my cows and calves into a pasture that has several large patches of poison ivy. Anything to worry about?

Dr. David Smith, Professor of Veterinary Science, Veterinary and Bilogical Sciences, University of Nebraska

A:   The poison ivy is unlikely to affect the cattle -it is not poisonous to them.

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Time Bomb

Time Bomb

Farms.com

John Reifsteck expresses his opinions about this week’s cover story in Time magazine. He is a board member of Truth About Trade and Technology, and his sentiments are shared by many farmers and ranchers. His comments follow:

“Farmers aren’t the enemy,” insists Time magazine in its current cover story. It’s just that everything we do is bad for people, animals, and the environment.

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Hereford Breeders to Gather in Kansas City

Hereford Breeders to Gather in Kansas City

KRVN

Members of the American Hereford Association (AHA) will gather in Kansas City Oct. 30 – Nov. 2 for the 2009 Annual Meeting. Hereford enthusiasts from across the U.S. will enjoy a full schedule of events and activities including the Annual Meeting and the National Hereford Show during the American Royal. The Annual Membership Meeting, which is open to the public, will be at 9 a.m. Monday, Nov. 2, at the Hilton President Kansas City.

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When do we intervene and assist a cow or heifer in labor?

When do we intervene and assist a cow or heifer in labor?

Dr. Glenn Selk, Extension Cattle Specialist, Oklahoma State University

Fall calving season is upon the Oklahoma ranches that have fall and winter calving.  An issue facing the rancher at calving time, is the amount of time heifers or cows are allowed to be in labor before assistance is given.  Traditional text books, fact sheets and magazine articles stated that “Stage II” of labor lasted from 2 to 4 hours.  “Stage II” is defined as that portion of the birthing process from the first appearance of the water bag until the baby calf is delivered.

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Police baffled as dozens of ‘suicidal’ cows throw themselves off cliff in the Alps

Police baffled as dozens of ‘suicidal’ cows throw themselves off cliff in the Alps

Freerepublic.com

In the picturesque Swiss village of Lauterbrunnen the locals are worried.

Dozens of alpine cows appear to be committing suicide by throwing themselves off a cliff near the small village in the Alps.

In the space of just three days 28 cows and bulls have mysteriously died after they plunged hundreds of metres to rocks below where they were killed instantly.

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Holy cow; it’s a herd of cattlemen

Holy cow; it’s a herd of cattlemen

Carol Ann Gregg

Allied News

Statewide Angus producers gather locally for field day

Angus breeders from around the state gathered at the farms of John and David McCullough, Coolspring Township, and the McKean Brothers Farm, to swap stories, view some excellent cattle and to return home with a new idea or two.

The annual Pennsylvania Angus Field Day began last weekend with a cookout, featuring Angus burgers served up at the McCullough Coolspring Corn Maze.

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The Cow Turns Green

The Cow Turns Green

Mac Margolis

NEWSWEEK

Vilified as an environmental disaster, the meat industry, abetted by science, is now trying to change its ways.

Few creatures would seem as beneficent as the cow. Properly grazed and groomed, it gives us burgers and brie, boot leather and fertilizer. Lately, however, radical green groups and celebrity vegans like Paul McCartney have made cows out to be weapons of mass destruction: not only has their meat caused an epidemic of hypertension and heart disease, but they also trample rainforests, trash the soil, and foul the air with greenhouse gases.

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Genomics poised to benefit beef cattle breeders

Genomics poised to benefit beef cattle breeders

Bob Weaber, Ph.D., State Extension Specialist-Beef Genetics, University of Missouri

Beef cattle genetics researchers across the country have recently been armed with a new tool to aid in the search for new DNA markers that describe variation in economically important beef production traits. This new tool is a rapid, high-volume genotyping platform that produces nearly 50,000 genotypes per animal genotyped and genotypes 12 animals at a time on a single chip or glass slide.

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K-State veterinary professor chairs international beef cattle welfare committe

K-State veterinary professor chairs international beef cattle welfare committee

High Plains Journal

A Kansas State University professor recently chaired an international animal health committee to develop beef cattle production and welfare standards worldwide.

Dan Thomson, K-State’s Jones Professor of Production Medicine and Epidemiology in the department of clinical sciences, traveled to Paris, France, in late July to chair the OIE Beef Cattle Production and Animal Welfare committee. Beef cattle production and international beef trading is important to the economic base of many developed and developing countries.

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BeefTalk: Not All Land Is Created Equal

BeefTalk: Not All Land Is Created Equal

Kris Ringwall, Beef Specialist, NDSU Extension Service

Land mapping process identifies potential forage production for all the individual ecosites to determine the number of acres needed to provide the nutritional requirement for a cow for a month.

Land mapping of “ecosites” in pastures is helping producers determine stocking rates. This mapping process identifies potential forage production for all the individual ecosites to determine the number of acres needed to provide the nutritional requirement for a cow for a month.

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More on a Feed Tag

More on a Feed Tag

Dr. Rick Rasby, Professor of Animal Science, Animal Science, University of Nebraska

The following information appears on a feed tag of a protein supplement. Because the feed is a protein supplement, the name on the tag usually indicates the percentage protein that the supplement contains. As an example, let’s evaluate the feed tag of a medicated protein supplement called Protein Gem Fortifier 32-10 B70. The 32-10 indicates that this supplement is a 32% protein supplement and that 10% comes from a non-protein nitrogen source; therefore 22% coming from an all “natural” protein source

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Steve Cornett: When Cheap Food is Bad

Steve Cornett:  When Cheap Food is Bad

Beef Today

The Internet, at least the part folks send me links to, is filled with folks mad at Time Magazine and writer Bryan Walsh just because of a poorly-reported article he wrote blaming farm policy for fat Americans.

I’m glad he wrote it. Maybe it will wake folks up to what’s going on under their noses.

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Meat Groups Have Their Say On TIME Cover Story

Meat Groups Have Their Say On TIME Cover Story

Lisa M. Keefe

Hoosier AG Today

  In the wake of the publication of TIME magazine‘s cover story on the meat industry – The Real Cost of Cheap Food – several industry organizations and others with a stake in the business are airing their discontent. The National Cattlemen‘s Beef Association, the only industry representative quoted in the piece, lashed out with a press release outlining the steps it took to provide information to TIME‘s writer, the vast majority of which was not included in the final piece. The organization indicates that they were called late in the reporting and writing process, and that the writer discussed the angle of his story only when pressed for details.

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New TV Show Tells the Story of Beef Producers

New TV Show Tells the Story of Beef Producers

Field Assignment

If you are looking for something to do this weekend, be sure to toon into Farm Journal Television Network, which produces AgDay and U.S. Farm Report , for the new series titled, ‘I am Angus.’ The American Angus Association announced the premier of the show earlier this week.

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