News Update

News Update
October 22, 2007

Annual Nick Petry Workshop Nov. 30

Methods and factors that define top beef cow operations will be the theme for the eighth annual Nick Petry Workshop, titled “The Optimal Beef Cow: Does She Exist?” Nov. 30 at the stadium arena at the National Western Stock Show Complex in Denver, Colo. The workshop is co-sponsored by Colorado State University’s (CSU’s) Western Center for Integrated Resource Management (WCIRM) and the National Western Scholarship Trust.

The daylong program will feature nationally known experts in beef cow production, including Don Adams, University of Nebraska; Robbie Baird LeValley, CSU Extension livestock specialist; Kit Pharo, Pharo Cattle Co., Cheyenne Wells, Colo.; John Welch, general manager, Spade Ranches, Lubbock, Texas; and Troy Marshall, editor of The Seedstock Digest.

The workshop will conclude with a panel discussion involving the speakers plus invited participants Scott Johnson of the Flying Diamond Ranch in Colorado, Manny Monseratte of the Y Cross Ranch in Wyoming, John Raptoupolus of the Raptoupolus Ranch in Colorado, and Sarah Shields of the San Isabel Ranch in Colorado.

Registration for the workshop is free and lunch will be provided. To register for the program, visit the WCIRM web site at www.wcirm.colostate.edu.

— Release courtesy of Colorado State University.

Candidates Sought for Texas Beef Ambassador Speech Competition

The chance to compete for $3,000 and the title of Texas Beef Ambassador is in store for the 2008 Texas Beef Ambassador Competition, March 15, 2008, in Corpus Christi.

Open to all youth between the ages of 17 to 20, but not over 20 as of Jan. 1, 2009, contestants are asked to deliver a five- to eight-minute speech pertaining to the positive aspects of beef consumption and the beef industry to promote the nutritional, economic, environmental and versatile uses of beef.

Top winners will receive prize money, while the first-place winner will also represent the state at various speaking engagements during the year and at the national contest in fall 2008.

The deadline to enter is Feb. 1, 2008. For more information about the Texas Beef Ambassador Program, visit the Texas CattleWomen Web site at www.texascattlewomen.org or contact Texas CattleWomen Melissa Muegge at 713-819-4603 or m_muegge2000@hotmail.com or Rosemary Gambino at 281-375-8836 or rgambino@consolidated.net.

— Release courtesy of Texas CattleWomen.

Texas Conditions Spark Wildfire Risk

The grass is high and drying down, the winds are blowing, and unusual lightning storms are occurring. Conditions are right. All it will take is a spark to set off a repeat of the 2006 wildfire season, Texas Cooperative Extension officials say.

“It’s setting up to be that kind of year again,” said Wayne Hanselka, professor and Extension range specialist in Corpus Christi. “We’ve had so much rain, a lot of moisture, and have grown a lot of grass.”

He said due to previous drought conditions, some areas don’t have that many cows grazing, which has left a lot of dry grass or fuel standing in pastures.

“If it turns off dry or with an early frost, it is setting us up to have another fire season like we had in 2006 and 2007,” Hanselka said.

Ted McCollum, Extension beef cattle specialist in Amarillo, agreed.

“It might be time for ranchers to make sure their fire-suppression equipment is working and the tanks are full of water,” McCollum said.

Already, he said, the Panhandle and South Plains area have seen a number of fires touched off by lightning this fall, which is a little unusual. A fire on Oct. 18 burned more than 20,000 acres of grassland in Deaf Smith County.

Andy Vestal, Extension agriculture education specialist, said the State Operation Center of the Governor’s Division of Emergency Management on Oct. 18 received reports of major fires in Hall, McCulloch and Llano counties. All were contained by local responders.

“I would say West Texas will be one of the earlier hot spots because of the wind velocity there,” Vestal said. “The wind dries things out a lot faster.”

“One of our big issues around here is CRP (Conservation Reserve Program) fields that aren’t grazed,” McCollum said. “They have a lot of biomass built up on them. Once one of them gets torched off, you have problems.”

The National Weather Service issued a fire weather watch for several areas of Texas Oct. 20 because temperatures were expected to climb back into the upper 80s and afternoon humidity was expected to drop.

This combination of conditions has led to increased fire weather concerns across Oklahoma and portions of western North Texas, as well as eastern New Mexico and across the Texas Panhandle, according to weather service reports.

Both McCollum and Hanselka said prevention is the best measure for homeowners and ranchers to consider at this time.

The Texas Forest Service advises wildfires are not just a problem for rural homeowners and ranchers, adding that during the last two years, 85% of the wildfires in Texas have occurred within two miles of a community.

Texas Forest Service officials warned wildfire can strike home unless some steps are taken to protect homes and property. They offered the following tips to lessen the threat of wildfire damage:

Propane tanks should be far enough away from buildings for valves to be shut off in case of fire. Keep area around the tank clear of flammable vegetation.
Store gasoline in an approved safety can away from occupied buildings.
Clear roof surfaces and gutters regularly to avoid buildup of flammable materials such as leaves and other debris.
In rural areas, clear a firebreak of at least three times the fuel length around all structures.
Have fire tools handy such as a ladder long enough to reach the roof, shovel, rake and a bucket or two for water.
Place connected garden hoses at all sides of the home for emergency use.
Know all emergency exits from the home and neighborhood.
Create a defensible space of at least 30 feet around your house and outbuildings, closely mow lawns, and trees should be pruned and spaced widely apart.
Establish fuel breaks along roadways and between buildings and fields or woodlands.
Keep mufflers and spark arresters on agricultural equipment in proper working order, and watch out for rocks and metal when bush hogging or mowing.
Monitor hay-baling operations closely; dry hay can ignite within the baler.
Watch out for sparks when using welding equipment to build fences or repair equipment.
Avoid driving or parking vehicles in grassy areas where tall, dry grass comes into contact with hot pollution control equipment under vehicles.
When debris burning is allowed, establish wide control lines down to bare mineral soil prior to lighting your fire.
Burn trash in a burn barrel or other fire-safe receptacle covered with a wire mesh or grid that will help contain burning debris. Stay with the fire until it is out.
Make onsite arrangements for removal of livestock and protection for feeders, pens, fences, oil and gas structures, wells, windmills, stored hay, barns and other structures.
Refresh or implement firebreaks.

More information and tips can be found at:

• http://texashelp.tamu.edu/004-natural/fires.php,
• http://texasforestservice.tamu.edu or
• http://agnews.tamu.edu/issues/fire.

— Release by Kay Ledbetter provided by Texas A&M University AgNews.

American Grassfed Association Rejects USDA Marketing Claim

The American Grassfed Association (AGA) Oct. 17 rejected the standard for grass-fed claims previously announced by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Meatingplace.com reported Friday.

AGA claims in a news release that because the USDA standard only required that animals have access to pasture during the growing season, animals could be kept in confinement for long periods. The association’s release also suggests, according to Meatingplace, that because the standard allows incidental supplementation of the forage diet to ensure the animal’s welfare, animals could be fed grain and still be marketed as grass-fed.

AGA is partnering with Food Alliance, a national nonprofit certification organization, to promote a separate standard and certification program for grass-fed livestock.

USDA’s standard is set to go into effect Nov. 15.

Purdue Professor Receives World Food Prize

Philip Nelson, Scholle Chair Professor in Food Processing, who helped build Purdue’s Department of Food Science, received the World Food Prize Oct. 18 in Des Moines, Iowa.

Nelson was honored for his work in aseptic processing, developing the “bag in a box” technology to process large quantities of seasonal crops such as tomatoes and oranges for long-term storage and bulk transportation without losing nutritional value or taste. In 1991, the Institute of Food Technologists rated aseptic processing and packaging as the No. 1 innovation in food technology, ahead of juice concentrates, safe canning processes, freeze-drying and food fortification.

The $250,000 award has been presented annually since 1986, when Nobel laureate Norman Borlaug created it. He envisioned it as agriculture’s Nobel Prize equivalent. Nelson is the first winner cited for work in the postproduction area of agricultural research.

— Release courtesy of Purdue University Ag Communications.

— compiled by Linda Robbins, assistant editor, Angus Productions Inc.