News Update
March 7, 2013
Studying Manure in Cows, in Feedlots, in Fields
Studies at the USDA are shedding some light on the microbes that dwell in cattle manure — what they are, where they thrive, where they struggle, and where they can end up.
In one project, Agricultural Research Service (ARS) microbiologist Lisa Durso used fecal samples from six beef cattle to identify a core set of bovine gastrointestinal bacterial groups common to both beef and dairy cattle. She also observed a number of bacteria in the beef cattle that had not been reported in dairy cows, and identified a diverse assortment of bacteria from the six individual animals, even though all six consumed the same diet and were the same breed, gender and age.
In another study, Durso collaborated with ARS agricultural engineer John Gilley and others to study how livestock diet affected the transport of pathogens in field runoff from manure-amended soils. The scientists added two types of manure to experimental conventional-till and no-till fields at 1-, 2-, or 4-year application rates. The manure had been collected from livestock that had consumed either corn or feed with wet distillers’ grains.
After a series of simulated rain events, the team collected and analyzed samples of field runoff and determined that neither diet nor tillage management significantly affected the transport of fecal-indicator bacteria. They did note that diet affected the transport of bacteriophages — viruses that invade bacteria — in field runoff.
Gilley also conducted an investigation into how standing-wheat residues affected water quality in runoff from fields amended with 1-, 2-, or 4-year application rates of manure. The scientists found that runoff loads of dissolved phosphorus, total phosphorus, nitrates, nitrogen, and total nitrogen were much higher from plots with residue cover. The team also observed that runoff from fields amended with 4-year application rates of manure had significantly higher levels of total phosphorus and dissolved phosphorus than fields amended with 1-year or 2-year manure rates.
Results from these studies have been published in Foodborne Pathogens and Disease, Applied and Environmental Microbiology, and Transactions of the ASABE.
FDA Announces Public Meetings with
Food-Animal Producers and Veterinarians
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced March 6 a series of five meetings to provide the public with opportunities to discuss and provide critical feedback on the challenges faced by livestock producers and veterinarians as FDA phases in veterinary oversight of the therapeutic use of certain medically important antimicrobials. FDA is seeking input as it moves forward to further develop and implement its strategy to promote the judicious use in food-producing animals of antibiotics that are important in treating humans. The meetings are intended to provide a forum to discuss potential challenges faced by animal producers in areas that may lack access to adequate veterinary services and to explore possible options for minimizing adverse impacts. The meetings are jointly sponsored by FDA and the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS).
FDA has worked with many stakeholder groups and USDA to develop a strategy that it believes will be successful in reducing antimicrobial resistance while minimizing adverse impacts on animal health and disruption to the animal agricultural industry.
FDA will also seek public input and additional feedback through other forums, such as webinars, as it works collaboratively with USDA, veterinary and producer organizations to address this important issue. Comments also may be made to the FDA Docket No. FDA-2012-N-1046 at any time.
For more information and the whole release, click here.
NUBeef-Anatomy App Educates Across Professions
NUBeef-Anatomy allows users to navigate through the anatomy of beef cattle and learn more about bones and muscles found in the carcass. The app functions as a digital beef-anatomy textbook, said Steven Jones, professor of animal science at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, who developed the media with EdMedia’s instructional multimedia designer Vishal Singh.
“It is helpful for students to understand where each muscle is located in the beef carcass, its composition and eating quality,” Jones said.
The information offered in the app could be used by animal science and veterinary students, 4-H and FFA members, meat processors, chefs, consumers and others.
As a user views each cross-section, they can view a picture of a selected muscle and learn about the anatomical and physical features of each muscle.
Anatomical information for each muscle includes action, origin, insertion, blood supply and innervation. Meat-related information about the muscle includes composition and the eating qualities of tenderness, aroma, flavor and juiciness.
“This makes the app relevant to chefs and consumers as they determine proper methods of preparation,” Jones said.
The NUBeef-Anatomy app is available in the Apple iTunes app store for iPhone and iPad for $4.99. For more information, click here or visit the IANR website by clicking here.
Cargill’s Animal Nutrition Business Conducts Voluntary
Recall of Select Mineral Product Used in Ruminant Feed
Cargill’s animal nutrition business today, March 7, announced a voluntary recall of certain brands of its ruminant mineral products because they were deficient in vitamins A, D and E. The affected products were manufactured at Cargill’s facilities in McPherson, Kan., and Montgomery City, Mo., between Dec. 7, 2012, and Feb. 27, 2013. The absence of added vitamins in these products was due to an oversight in Cargill’s manufacturing process that has been remedied.
No adverse health effects related to these products have been reported to date.
This recall is limited to only those products and lot code ranges listed below. The affected product was sold in 50 pounds bags and the lot code can be found printed on the product tag that is attached to the bag. No other Cargill Animal Nutrition products are affected by this recall. Affected products can be found by clicking here.
March 14 Workshop: Use Cover Crops
to Improve Soil Health, Yields
Growers who want to improve soil health and increase yields may want to consider using cover crops such as oilseed radish, cereal rye, cowpea or Austrian winter pea, which have also been proven to lower input costs, an Ohio State University (OSU) Extension expert said.
Jim Hoorman, an OSU Extension educator and an assistant professor studying cover crops and water quality issues, will host a workshop, “Using Cover Crops to Improve Soil Health,” on March 14 to discuss cover crops and Eco Farming, or “ecological farming,” a method that is growing in popularity among farmers because of its success in increasing yields, he said.
OSU Extension is the outreach arm of the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences.
“Eco Farming includes using eternal no-till, continuous living cover and other best-management practices as an economically viable, ecologically sound and environmentally sustainable growing practice,” Hoorman said. “It uses a combination of cover crops and no-till worked into a corn/soybean/wheat rotation to more efficiently use the inputs farmers add to their soil.”
As more farmers learn more about it, more growers are incorporating the use of cover crops, with some 5% of farmers nationwide now using the method, he said.
For more information and the full release, click here.
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