News Update
April 15, 2014
Angus Foundation Seeks
Donations for Silent Auction
The Angus Foundation’s annual silent auction hosted during the National Junior Angus Show (NJAS), features a variety of items available for attendees to bid on and purchase. This exciting event will take place July 6-12 in Indianapolis, Ind. Proceeds benefit the Angus Foundation’s education, youth and research programs.
The Angus Foundation is seeking donated items from individual Angus friends, farms and corporations, or state junior and adult Angus associations for the silent auction. Previous donations have included jewelry, clothing, prints, paintings, gift baskets, books, cattle supplies, bull semen and other Angus memorabilia. The junior state Angus association who donates the highest selling silent auction item will receive $100.
“It’s always exciting to see the array of unique gift-in-kind items donated to the silent auction from our Angus family and beef industry friends,” says Milford Jenkins, Angus Foundation president. “The silent auction is a popular activity for all ages and every dollar raised helps the Angus Foundation achieve its mission.”
At the 2013 NJAS in Kansas City, Mo., the silent auction raised $11,900 in gross proceeds for Angus youth, education and research.
Unrestricted proceeds play a crucial role in funding events such as Leaders Engaged in Angus Development (LEAD) Conference, Cattlemen’s Boot Camps, Beef Leaders Institute (BLI) and research projects for the benefit of the Angus breed.
Those interested in donating an item, please contact the Angus Foundation at 816-383-5100. If you are planning to attend the show, you may bring your donated item by the silent auction area by July 7. All NJAS attendees are welcome to stop by and place a bid.
For more information about the silent auction visit www.angusfoundation.org. The website will also feature known items leading up to the event.
For more information, please view the full release here.
Scours in Beef Calves Prevalent This Spring
Although many beef producers experienced more than the usual number of hypothermia cases in calves born this year due to several days of sub-zero temperatures, scours is still the No. 1 neonatal calf disease producers will fight year after year, according to Kansas State University (K-State) veterinarian Gregg Hanzlicek.
Hanzlicek, who is director of production animal field investigations for K-State’s Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory, said scours has been a particularly common problem this spring. It is a disease caused by bacteria, viruses or protozoans, which leads to diarrhea and dehydration in calves.
Scours is considered a management disease, he said, because beef producers must understand the disease and do their part to prevent it through colostrum protection in their calves and environmental sanitation practices. If scours is present in the herd, producers should identify and treat the problem to prevent calf — and financial — loss.
The two bacteria involved in causing scours are E. coli and salmonella, Hanzlicek said. Two viruses, rotavirus and coronavirus, and two protozoans, cryptosporidium (crypto) and coccidium, also can cause the disease.
“Except for salmonella, the rest of those organisms are probably on every single cow-calf operation in the United States,” he said.
Hanzlicek said it might be a good idea for producers to obtain a manure sample and send it to a lab to find out what organism or organisms are causing the scours.
“Two of those organisms, salmonella and crypto, are zoonotic, meaning humans can pick them up from the calves,” he said.
If salmonella or crypto are involved, producers will have to be extra careful when they take their clothes or boots into the house after treating calves, as they could risk getting the disease themselves or passing the disease on to their family.
For more information, please view the full release here.
Nontoxic Fescue Varieties Ready to Use;
They Produce More Beef on Fewer Acres
Cattle producers facing fewer grazing acres for herd expansion can boost beef production with better grass.
One answer is more cows on fewer acres, says Justin Sexten, University of Missouri (MU) beef nutritionist.
Sexten is part of an Alliance for Grassland Renewal that holds fescue schools across the state.
“How many of you think land taken out of grass for crops will return to grass?” No producer held up a hand at the school hosted at Columbia. “Pasture land is expensive or not available,” Sexten said.
A main theme of the schools was to plant nontoxic novel-endophyte tall fescue to replace toxic Kentucky 31, the most widely grown grass in Missouri.
Producers saw results of 14 research studies that show calves grazed on novel fescue gained 0.7 lbs. more per day, on average, compared to calves on toxic K-31.
“You can produce more beef on the land you own,” Sexten said. Better gains are one of many benefits.
During the cold winter, several producers learned the cost of losing cows to “fescue foot.” One farmer lost nine cows out of a herd of 39.
“It’s not only the lost cows, but also costs of replacement heifers,” Sexten said.
Craig Roberts, MU Extension agronomist, described fescue foot as the most visible of losses from toxic fescue.
The toxin, produced by a fungus growing between cell walls of infected fescue, is a vasoconstrictor. It cuts blood flow to animal extremities. That causes feet, tails and ears to freeze. A cow can survive without an ear or tail, but not without a foot.
For more information, please view the full release here.
Ohio Agricultural Law Symposium is May 16
Attorneys with the Ohio State University (OSU) Extension Agricultural and Resource Law Program will offer a day-long legal conference May 16 designed to offer attorneys insight into key issues that affect farmers and agribusinesses, organizers said.
From helping attorneys understand the new provisions of the 2014 Farm Bill to considering how legal tools can reduce the impact of nursing home costs and Medicaid for family farmers, the Ohio Agricultural Law Symposium is set to offer attorneys detailed information and updates on issues significant to the agricultural community, said Peggy Hall, director of the OSU Extension Agricultural and Resource Law Program.
One of the goals of this year’s conference is to bring attorneys from all around the state together to spend time learning from each other and discussing legal issues affecting Ohio agriculture, she said.
“Agricultural law is a unique area of law that requires attorneys to understand both the special provisions that apply to agriculture and the agricultural industry itself,” Hall said.
“Attorneys who understand agriculture and its laws benefit the agriculture industry as a whole and can best meet the legal needs of Ohio agriculture.”
The conference, which will be hosted at the OSU Nationwide and Ohio Farm Bureau 4-H Center, 2201 Fred Taylor Drive, in Columbus, runs from 8:45 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., with registration beginning at 8 a.m. The conference offers 4.5 Continuing Legal Education credits for attorneys.
For more information, please view the Angus Journal Virtual Library calendar of upcoming events here.
Texas Well-Owner Training Set for May 22 in Conroe
Anyone interested in private water well management in the San Jacinto watershed area is invited to a Texas Well Owner Network (TWON) training May 22 in Conroe, Texas.
The training, which is free and open to the public, will be from 8:30 a.m.–3:30 p.m. at the Thomas Leroy Education Center, 9020 Airport Road, said Drew Gholson, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service program specialist and network coordinator in College Station.
“The TWON program is for Texas residents who depend on household wells for their water needs so they can learn about improving and protecting their community water resources,” Gholson said. “The program was established to help well owners become familiar with Texas groundwater resources, septic system maintenance, well maintenance and construction, water quality and water treatment.”
He said participants may bring well-water samples to the training for screening. The cost is $10 per sample, with payment due when samples are turned in during the training.
“We invite private well owners to bring in a water sample to be screened for nitrates, total dissolved solids and bacteria,” Gholson said.
Well owners who would like to have their water sampled can pick up two sample containers from the AgriLife Extension office in Montgomery County, Lone Star Groundwater District or Nova Biologicals offices.
Bringing water samples to the training is not required, Gholson said, but those wanting water samples analyzed must attend.
He said space is limited, so attendees are requested to register at http://twon.tamu.edu/training or by calling 979-845-1461 as soon as possible.
This training is one of 30 being conducted statewide through the Preventing Water Quality Contamination through the Texas Well Owner Network project. Other scheduled trainings include Hamilton, Fredericksburg, Refugio and Robstown.
For more information, please view the Angus Journal Virtual Library calendar of upcoming events here.
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