News Update
April 4, 2013
Cattlemen’s Boot Camp Set for North Dakota State University
A Cattlemen’s Boot Camp is set for June 25-26 at North Dakota State University (NDSU), Fargo, N.D. The educational event is a 1½ day session co-hosted by NDSU, the American Angus Association and the Angus Foundation, and is open to all seedstock and commercial cattle producers.
The future of the beef industry, quality and yield grade, and range management are a few of the topics that will be discussed by NDSU faculty and American Angus Association staff. A tour of the Beef Cattle Research Center and Ekre Ranch is also scheduled during the event.
The $75 registration covers all meals and educational materials. Enrollment is limited, so register by June 10 to ensure your space in the Boot Camp. Area hotels are Candlewood Suites, 701-235-8200; Homewood Suites, 701-235-3150; and Days Inn, 701-232-0000.
For more information or to register, contact the American Angus Association at 816-383-5100 or go to www.angus.org. Cattlemen’s Boot Camps are just one of several educational events planned by the Association and funded by the Angus Foundation, which supports education, youth and research.
Ranchers’ Workshop On May 17 At Bronte To Target Small Acreage Landowners
The fourth annual Ranchers’ Workshop conducted by the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service is set for May 17 in the Bronte Community Center.
The program will begin with registration at 8 a.m. followed by opening remarks at 8:45 a.m. Adjournment is set for 3:15 p.m.
“This workshop is a collaborative effort between AgriLife Extension and the Coke County Soil and Water Conservation District,” said James Jackson, AgriLife Extension agent in Coke County. “The program content is designed specifically to help small acreage landowners with the problems and opportunities that growing segment of Texas agriculture often must deal with.”
The morning program will include talks on dryland termites, MAT 28 herbicide and the history and future of prescribed burning for long-term range improvement. There will also be demonstrations featuring heavy brush-removal equipment and efficient livestock-handling facilities.
The afternoon session, following a catered noon lunch, will include topics on the supplemental feeding of livestock, Texas Department of Public Safety on transit regulations for agricultural use and a look at seasonal stocker operations for today’s small-acreage landowner.
Four Texas Department of Agriculture continuing education units, three general and one laws and regulations, will be available to holders of private pesticide applicator licenses.
There is no fee for the meal or registration, but participants are asked to RSVP by calling the AgriLife Extension office in Coke County at 325-453-2461 so an accurate meal count can be made.
CSU’s Temple Grandin Recognized in Colorado General Assembly on World Autism Awareness Day
Timed to World Autism Awareness Day on Tuesday, April 2, Temple Grandin of Colorado State University (CSU) was recognized on the floor of the Colorado House of Representatives and the Colorado Senate for using insights gained from her autism to design humane livestock-handling systems that have revolutionized the agricultural industry.
State Sen. Irene Aguilar of Denver, a physician and chair of the Senate Health and Human Services Committee, delivered a joint Senate-House tribute Tuesday morning. The tribute was repeated in the House by state Rep. Dianne Primavera of Broomfield, a vocational counselor and chair of the House Public Health Care and Human Services Committee.
“Dr. Temple Grandin’s career has provided the global community with a stellar example of the irreplaceable value that people with autism can add to the workplace through their unique perspective and approach, with Temple Grandin proving that thinking in pictures and envisioning a perspective that others do not is a priceless advantage,” a draft of the tribute read, in part.
Grandin, a professor in the CSU Department of Animal Sciences, was not present in the Colorado General Assembly when she was recognized. Instead, she was on the Fort Collins campus teaching undergraduate students in her livestock-handling class — a commitment Grandin doesn’t miss, despite her demanding travel schedule.
She was a keynote speaker at an event in Denver the evening of 2013 World Autism Awareness Day. Called “The ‘A’ Typical Business Model: Capitalizing on Autism as a Competitive Advantage,” the event was a fundraiser for an international nonprofit called Specialisterne.
The fund-raiser was to help establish a Specialisterne office in Denver. The organization, founded in Denmark, is an information technology consulting firm that employs people with autism and advocates for the hiring of qualified candidates with the condition.
For more information and the full release, click here.
Beef Improvement Meeting in Oklahoma has Tips for Missouri Cow Herd Owners, says MU Specialist
Missouri producers interested in quality beef can attend a nearby national meeting. If they sign up by April 15, they get the early-bird rate, says a University of Missouri (MU) Extension geneticist.
The Beef Improvement Federation (BIF) meets in Oklahoma City, Okla., June 12-15. “It’s where researchers, producers and industry leaders meet to discuss discoveries in beef production,” says Jared Decker of the MU Extension beef team.
The theme is “Where Profit and Progress Intersect.” A major topic will be the crossbreeding vs. straightbreeding debate.
New genetic tools are available that aid production of quality beef. Producers will hear various sides of all issues.
MU beef reproduction specialist Dave Patterson will present results of research on breeding protocols. Those were developed and tested at the MU Thompson Farm, Spickard.
“It’s a chance to hear the latest in beef cattle breeding and genetics,” Decker says.
Decker is organizing an in-service training at the event for MU Extension regional livestock specialists. They work with producers improving herds to make quality beef.
It’s where ranchers discuss timely topics facing the industry, Decker says.
The main program is June 13-14. Other events and ranch tours surround the meeting at the Renaissance Hotel and Convention Center in Oklahoma City.
There will be more than serious science. The group visits the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum the evening of June 13. Entertainment includes the Bunkhouse Band.
Producers can sign up at the BIF website www.beefimprovement.org/convention.html. Hotel links are included. Additonal information and event coverage is at www.bifonconference.com.
There is one fee for all four days. However, various combinations down to one-day tickets are available. The early-fee deadline is April 15.
The event, which moves from state to state, attracts a large crowd, Decker says. This year, the faculty at Oklahoma State University takes charge.
Recent meetings have been in states as far away from Missouri as Montana. This year the educational event is next door. Decker urges Missourians to participate.
The MU beef team is part of the College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources.
Are There Health Impacts from Living Near Animal Feeding Operations?
Animal agriculture has become concentrated in many parts of the country with multiple operations in an area; each feeding large numbers of livestock. With this consolidation has come concern over human-health impacts of exposures to odors and gases associated with livestock production, including manure storage and land application of manure to croplands.
A number of studies have considered the impact on human health of living near animal feeding operations. In the 1990s, Susan Schiffman, then a professor at Duke University, conducted studies that showed people who lived near large swine farms in North Carolina self-reported an increased incidence of headaches, depression, nausea and vomiting as a result of exposure to odors from swine operations. More recently, a study was conducted by Stacy Sneeringer at Wellesley College that showed that infant mortality increased in communities as livestock inventories increased, based on data available from public health sources.
For more information and the full release, click here.
Purdue Gets Grant to Improve Heat-stress Tolerance of Maize
Purdue University scientists will receive $1.1 million to find ways to increase maize’s tolerance to heat.
The work will be done through the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center to develop heat-tolerant maize for Asia with funding from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).
Mitch Tuinstra, a Purdue professor, Wickersham Chair of Agronomy and principal investigator of the grant, said finding ways to grow maize in the hotter climates of South Asia could help combat malnutrition and hunger issues in those countries. Understanding ways to adapt the crop to heat and drought could also help growers in the United States where climate change is expected to increase stress on crops.
“There is a lot of concern about how climate change will affect crops, but we know almost nothing about thermal tolerance in corn,” Tuinstra said.
Tuinstra and co-principal investigator Guri Johal, a Purdue professor of botany and plant pathology, will evaluate temperate and tropical types of maize to identify genes and determine physiological mechanisms that allow them to stand up to heat and drought stresses. They will work with collaborators in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nepal.
For more information and the full release, click here.
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