Damian Mason: Don’t Fall for the Food Guilt Trip
n their quest to end animal agriculture by controlling what you eat, animal rights radicals increasingly turn to guilt. A pig was “murdered” for your pork chop. The climate is changing because you eat cheeseburgers. A “baby” calf is thirsty now because you stole its mother’s milk. If only you’d switch to a steady diet of organic bean sprouts and dandelion greens, all would be right with the world.
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Livestock nitrate poisoning risk increases in drought
Tri State Livestock News
Livestock are at higher risk of nitrate poisoning during a drought, according to North Dakota State University Extension Service range and livestock specialists. Nitrate poisoning may occur if livestock eat drought-stressed crops and forages, which can accumulate nitrates. Feeding drought-stressed forages from oats, barley and corn causes the majority of nitrate poisoning cases in North Dakota.
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Supreme Court weakens property rights again
Alan Newport
Beef Producer
Chief Justice John Roberts, in his dissent, wrote the ruling was a significant blow for property rights. He said it would give greater power to government bureaucrats to pass rules that diminish the value of property without having to compensate property owners under the Fifth Amendment’s Takings Clause.
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Drought conditions push producers to sell cattle pairs
Connie Sieh Groop
The Cattle Business Weekly
“Borderline ballistic,” is how Steve Hellwig of Hub City Livestock in Aberdeen, S.D. describes the activity at the south sale barn in the first few weeks in June as trucks and trailers delivered animals to fill the pens. Those facing parched pastures and little feed trimmed their cattle herds to make use of available resources.
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Early Weaning Benefits First-Calf Cows, Calves
Robert Wells, Ph.D.
Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation
The southern Plains summer heat can be hard on pastures, cows and calves, especially first-calf cows. These cows are in a special class as they are still trying to maintain body condition, actively grow, support reproduction by gestating with her second calf, and lactating. Lactation is one of the most nutritionally intensive production stages a cow goes through on an annual basis.
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Modulating gut health in ruminants
Beef Magazine
Due to customer demands, producers have been asked to change the way they raise production animals. In order to maintain feed efficiency, growth rate and production standards, producers now seek to better understand the factors contributing to gut health.
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Rural Media Group launches new cable network, The Cowboy Channel on July 1
The Fence Post
Rural Media Group announced that its FamilyNet cable television network will be rebranded "The Cowboy Channel" effective July 1. Programming will shift from airing the nostalgic and popular comedy sitcoms of the 70s and 80s to being anchored by western sports and everything that encompasses the popular western lifestyle.
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NCBA urges NAFTA negotiators to "do no harm"
Larry Lee
Brownfield News Network
The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association is urging NAFTA negotiators to preserve access to Canadian and Mexican markets. NCBA President-Elect Kevin Kester told a U.S. Trade Representative’s hearing Tuesday it is difficult to improve upon duty-free unlimited access and urges them not to jeopardize access to those markets.
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Excellent animal care and environmental stewardship aren’t just items on a checklist
David Isermann
My Web Times
On our farm, we grow corn, soybeans, wheat, hay and beef cattle. Our cows and calves receive regular veterinary care with a preventive health plan designed with our vet to help avoid problems. During calving season, our cows are checked at regular intervals (including the 2 a.m. check), regardless of the weather or our schedule. The calves receive vitamins and immunizations at birth, and are monitored to ensure they are healthy. We take the health and well being of our animals very seriously. If our animals don’t do well, we don’t either.
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Farming might be hard, but it’s a valuable change from doing hard time
Ag Daily
. . . That’s in addition to the cattle, of which the center keeps an average of 400 brood cows and 80 replacements. There’s about 20 tons of corn silage made, and nearly 3,000 round bales produced.
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The Beef Blog 