EPA releases final Clean Water Act rule

EPA releases final Clean Water Act rule

Julie Harker

Brownfield AG Network

The Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers released the finalized Clean Water Rule this morning.  The EPA stresses the rule does not create any new permitting requirements for agriculture and maintains all previous exemptions and exclusions.

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Baxter Black, DVM: Hurricane Charlotte

Baxter Black, DVM:  Hurricane Charlotte

Every now and then a feller has a weekend that is hard to forget. I had one years ago on a beautiful ranch in southern California.

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Where Fly Control Starts Early and Goes Long

Where Fly Control Starts Early and Goes Long

Becky Mills

Progressive Farmer

On February 19, the temperature was down in the low 20s in Marianna, Fla. Hardly typical. But Lamont Ennis wasn’t complaining. "Isn’t it a beautiful day? This will knock the flies back."

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Newborn beef calf mortality has many sources

Newborn beef calf mortality has many sources

Aerica Bjurstrom

Beef Producer

As calving season is in full swing, you have probably prepared your farm to provide the best possible start for your new calf crop. A new calf crop is an exciting and stressful time on a farm. Most beef producers have an expected calf mortality rate, but suffering too much mortality can be devastating to your beef enterprise.

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Calving barn should meet basic needs.

Calving barn should meet basic needs.

Barb Baylor Anderson

Angus Journal

To make the most of the decision to calve indoors, set up your barn to meet basic needs.

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How EPA flooded the zone on water rule

How EPA flooded the zone on water rule

Washington Examiner

. . . EPA used government resources to coordinate with environmentalist groups in order to achieve this 90 percent support. Through an intense effort in what is known as "grassroots lobbying," the government worked to encourage people on one side of the debate to make their voices heard, so as to skew perceptions of public opinion.

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Feeding soybean hulls to beef cattle

Feeding soybean hulls to beef cattle

Drovers

Thanks to research conducted with beef cattle at the University of Kentucky’s Research and Education Center at Princeton, that research is now considered a success story.

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Japan Researchers Develop Scanner to Detect Marbled Meat in Cattle

Japan Researchers Develop Scanner to Detect Marbled Meat in Cattle

Jun Hongo

Wall Street Journal

Where’s the marbled beef? Thanks to a new machine created by a government-backed institute in Japan, one might soon be able to find those tender and juicy sections of meat without much difficulty.

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Bill Heffernan vows to block any US beef imports under Trans-Pacific Partnership

Bill Heffernan vows to block any US beef imports under Trans-Pacific Partnership

Daniel Hurst

The Guardian (AU)

Liberal senator Bill Heffernan has warned his colleagues within the Abbott government that he will fight and defeat any attempt to allow fresh US beef to be imported to Australia under the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).

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Breeding soundness exam key to expanding herd Darrin Pack

Breeding soundness exam key to expanding herd

Darrin Pack

AG Answers

Testing bulls for reproductive health is even more important now for beef cattle producers because feeder calves are expected to generate record prices this fall, a Purdue University veterinary scientist says.

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Wal-Mart’s Push on Animal Welfare Hailed as Game Changer

Wal-Mart’s Push on Animal Welfare Hailed as Game Changer

Anne D’innocenzio

NBC CHicago

Wal-Mart’s push to get its suppliers to give farm animals fewer antibiotics and more room to roam is expected to have a big impact on the food industry, experts say.

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Do antimicrobial growth promoters for beef cattle really improve performance?

Do antimicrobial growth promoters for beef cattle really improve performance?

Reynold Bergen

Canadian Cattleman

Ionophores (Rumensin, Bovatec, Posistac) are not medically important because the ionophores approved for use in cattle are not used in human medicine. Other antimicrobials used in livestock are medically important. Concerns around antimicrobial resistance in both human and veterinary medicine have led to increased scrutiny regarding how medically important antimicrobials are used in livestock production.

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Beef Quality Assurance and reproduction protocols

Beef Quality Assurance and reproduction protocols

Steve Boyles

Drovers

Lauren Mabry at North Carolina State University conducted a study comparing estrous synchronization protocols in beef cattle regarding injection sites on cattle. Beef quality assurance protocols have been very important for improving the quality of beef that producers provide for consumers.

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Copper Poisoning in Cattle

Copper Poisoning in Cattle

The Cattle Site

Acute or chronic copper poisoning is encountered in most parts of the world. Occasionally, cases copper poisoning has been associated with cattle eating pig feed or grazing pastures fertilised with pig manure.

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A red cow and a newborn calf can solve the mind vs. eyesight question

A red cow and a newborn calf can solve the mind vs. eyesight question

Jerry Crownover

Beef Producer

They say the mind is the first thing to go. I have never been able to figure out who they are, but there are days when I think they might be right. My calving season is almost finished, but I’ve got a few stragglers that I have to check each morning before I begin my day’s regular activities.

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High prices and heavier weights bolster beef output

High prices and heavier weights bolster beef output

John Otte

Prairie Farmer

USDA forecasts the 2015 annual average five-area fed steer price in the $157 to $167 range, up from last year’s $154.56 and almost 70% higher than the $98.35 average just five years ago in 2010.

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Mark Parker: The Top 10 ecologically sensitive practices in my yard:

Mark Parker:  The Top 10 ecologically sensitive practices in my yard:

FarmTalk

10. Miles and miles of mole trails loosen topsoil.

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Beef cattle like baleage, but it takes proper planning and storage

Beef cattle like baleage, but it takes proper planning and storage

Beef Producer

More beef producers are making baleage as hay is sometimes difficult to dry down in May, according to Rob Kallenbach, University of Missouri Extension forage specialist.

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In U.S., More Say Animals Should Have Same Rights as People

In U.S., More Say Animals Should Have Same Rights as People

Rebecca Riffkin

Gallup

Almost a third of Americans, 32%, believe animals should be given the same rights as people, while 62% say they deserve some protection but can still be used for the benefit of humans. The strong animal rights view is up from 2008 when 25% thought animals’ rights should be on par with humans’.

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Pressed by activists, agri-business alters care for livestock

Pressed by activists, agri-business alters care for livestock

Dan Voorhis

The Wichita Eagle

In a pasture north of Elbing, the cattle wander amid the damp, bright green grass. The cattle are watchful, a little skittish around humans, but Oeding walks close, holds out his hand to one of the herd matriarchs, an 8-year-old.

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