Transportation Standards
Canadian Livestock Transport could be model for United States.
Canada’s multispecies livestock transportation training and certification program could be the model for a similar program in the United States. Alberta-based livestock-handling specialist Jennifer Woods provided an overview of Canadian Livestock Transport (CLT) during the Cattle Transportation Symposium May 14-15 in Fort Collins, Colo. Also present was Texas A&M University Meat Scientist Dan Hale who talked about progress toward developing a program for certifying U.S. livestock transporters.
Calling it the product of industry-led initiative, Woods said CLT began as an Alberta-only program that has spread throughout Canadian provinces. CLT is a standardized, comprehensive training course, offering species-specific training modules for handlers and haulers of cattle, hogs, sheep, poultry and (meat) horses. Read more.
Jay Nordhausen
Association Perspective
Take advantage of genetic potential.
It’s been a year now since I started my new beginnings with the American Angus Association, and what a year it has been! It has truly been an honor to meet and build a relationship with all of the members, not only within my territory, but throughout the nation as well. Another privilege has been meeting all the commercial cattlemen who are the heartbeat and pulse of the business, and who solidify the foundation of the seedstock world. In all my travels during the last several months, I’ve had cattlemen ask about the GeneMax® (GMX) Advantage™ genomic test, and I thought this would be a great time to visit about the test more. Read more.
Emergency Preparedness:
Flooding and Livestock Safety
Disaster planning is important for all sizes of cattle operations.
Some low-lying, flat areas and canyon regions experience flooding when snow melts in springtime or heavy rains in summer and fall fill rivers beyond their banks. Ranchers in those areas are usually prepared for floods because they’ve experienced these events before. In regions where flooding is less common, people are caught unprepared.
Ragan Adams, coordinator of Veterinary Extension Specialist Group for Colorado State University, says nearly every farm or ranch is subject to some sort of hazard or disaster, whether it be fire, flood, tornado, hurricane, blizzard, power outage, etc.
“Everyone should have an emergency plan for their operation that takes into account the most likely risk for their area,” Adams says. “The goals for each plan are similar regardless of the hazard — to keep people and livestock safe.” Read more.
U.S. Food and Drug Administration Final Rule Released
AVMA welcomes release of federal rule focused on the judicious use of antibiotics in food animals.
The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) applauded the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its release of the Veterinary Feed Directive final rule June 2, which will cement veterinary oversight of medically important antibiotics used in feed for food animals, ensuring the protection of animal health and welfare, as well as food safety and public health. The AVMA’s early and ongoing collaboration with the FDA has helped ensure that the rule is practical and in the best interests of animal health, public health and the veterinary profession, according to a news release by the AVMA. Read more.
Register Today for the National Angus Convention
The American Angus Association hosts a must-attend event Nov. 3-5.
Registration is now open for the 2015 Angus Means Business National Convention & Trade Show schedule for Nov. 3-5 in Overland Park, Kan. Visit the convention website, www.angusconvention.com, to reserve your place today and make hotel reservations for the three-day event.
During the National Angus Convention, Angus breeders and commercial cattlemen are invited to learn from world-class speakers and educational seminars, network during the Angus Media Trade Show, and enjoy social events and entertainment with fellow cattle producers from throughout the country. At last year’s inaugural event, nearly 2,000 participants attended the conference in Kansas City, Mo. Read more.
What’s Inside …
In this June edition of the Angus Beef Bulletin EXTRA, you'll find valuable articles devoted to the management, marketing, and health and nutrition of your beef enterprise. Select from the tabs at the top of the page to access this month's entire offering by category. A few select features include:
- Where to Turn When Disaster Strikes
- Disposition has Effect Gate-to-plate
- Wet Pastures and Foot Rot
- Detect Illness
- CAB Price and Preference
- Beef Imports up 36%
- The Source: Value-added programs
News Briefs …
The American Angus Association and its subsidiaries generate a wealth of information to keep members and affiliates informed of what's happening within the industry, as well as with the programs and services they offer. Click here for easy access to the newsrooms of the American Angus Association and Certified Angus Beef LLC and the Angus Journal Daily archive available in the API Virtual Library.
Setting the Stage
As herd expands, demand for increasing average incomes and demand for high-quality beef paint a bright future for beef producers.
John Paterson sees tremendous opportunity for U.S. beef producers. The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association executive director of education and former Montana State University professor was the lead-off speaker for the Beef Improvement Federation (BIF) Annual Convention June 9-13, in Biloxi, Miss. Paterson’s comments set the stage for the opening general session’s discussion of rebuilding the nation’s cow herd.
Paterson recounted the reasons why, during recent years, U.S. cow numbers declined from 40 million head to around 28 million. He called drought a major factor, but also listed high feed costs, high operating costs, increasing age of producers and a shift in land usage from forage to row-crop production. Additionally, record cull-cow prices contributed to the decline in the inventory of brood cows. Read more.
Block Out Skin Cancer
Farmers could benefit from skin cancer research results published in Journal of Agromedicine.
Marshfield Clinic researchers have identified unique characteristics of farmers that can assist providers in caring for this population and also guide development of skin cancer awareness, prevention and screening initiatives.
Dermatologists Alexandra Carley and Erik Stratman used data collected during skin cancer screening conducted at the 2011 Wisconsin Farm Technology Days, Marshfield, Wis. A total of 476 people participated in the study, including 194 farmers. They were surveyed for self-reported sun protection use, sun exposure, and skin cancer and sun protection beliefs and knowledge. Results are published in the Journal of Agromedicine, Volume 20, Issue 2. Read more.
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