News Update
Dec. 3, 2008

Bovine TB Case Traced to Indiana Farm

The Indiana State Board of Animal Health (BOAH) announced Dec. 2 it is investigating a case of bovine tuberculosis (TB) in a beef cattle herd in southeastern Indiana. The TB-positive cow was identified through routine testing at a meat processing facility in Pennsylvania.

The state’s veterinarians are in the very early stages of conducting a thorough investigation of the animal’s movements within the state, according to the BOAH. Few details are currently known about the herd; as the investigation moves ahead, more information will be released.Indiana has had a bovine TB-free status since 1984 with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). Under federal guidelines, that status remains. The last time an Indiana herd tested positive for the disease was in the 1970s. 

— Release provided by the Indiana BOAH.

Applied Repro Symposium: Narrowing the Selection Process

Choosing the right estrus synchronization protocol can be a daunting task for producers, Sandy Johnson, Kansas State University (K-State) Extension livestock specialist, said Tuesday during the Robert E. Taylor Memorial Symposium in Fort Collins, Colo. Johnson presented two assistants to help guide producers through the decision-making process.

First, the Beef Cattle Reproduction Leadership Team has compiled a short list of protocols recommended for heifers or cows based on various levels of heat detection.

“When in doubt, use something off these sheets,” she advised, explaining that the leadership team had considered available research to establish the recommendations. “If someone suggests you use something else, ask them what data they have to support it.”

Johnson presented a page summary of protocols for cows and a page summary of protocols for heifers, each broken out by desired level of heat detection.

She also demonstrated an Excel spreadsheet-based tool, available through the Iowa Beef Center, to help producers apply synchronization protocols more effectively.

To learn more, click here to read the complete summary, or visit the newsroom at www.appliedreprostrategies.com for symposium proceedings and Johnson’s PowerPoint presentation.

The Angus Productions Inc. (API) site, www.appliedreprostrategies.com, contains summaries, proceedings, audio and PowerPoints (where available) of presentations going on this week at the the Robert E. Taylor Memorial Symposium in Fort Collins.

The symposium is conducted by Colorado State University (CSU) every other year to provide current, research-based information for improving profitability in the beef cattle industry. In 2008, CSU and the Beef Reproduction Task Force collaborated to present Applied Reproductive Strategies in Beef Cattle.

Canada challenges COOL through WTO

The Canadian government has filed a complaint with the World Trade Organization (WTO) against the United States over mandatory country-of-origin labeling (COOL).

The complaint alleges that COOL will impose unnecessary costs on meatpackers using Canadian animals and that the law could lead to more extensive and restrictive labeling requirements in other countries.

“We believe that the country-of-origin legislation is creating undue trade restrictions to the detriment of Canadian exporters,” Canadian Trade Minister Stockwell Day said in a statement.

The filing initiates a consultation period between the United States and Canada to work on a resolution to the dispute. If those discussions fail to resolve the issue, the matter can be referred to a WTO dispute settlement panel.

— by Ann Bagel Storck, Meatingplace.com.

Precautions for Grazing Frost-Damaged Forages

With the onset of colder weather, the potential for animal death due to grazing frost-damaged forages increases. Careful attention to local pasture and environmental conditions will greatly reduce this risk.

“The major concern is the risk of prussic acid (hydrogen cyanide) poisoning of animals that are grazing sorghum, Sudan grass, or sorghum-Sudan forages,” explains Robert Bellm, crop systems educator with University of Illinois Extension. “When sorghum or Sudan grass is damaged by frost, large amounts of prussic acid are rapidly released. So, avoid grazing these pastures for at least five days to allow the plant to dry and prussic acid to dissipate from plant tissues.”

Symptoms of prussic acid poisoning include excessive salivation, difficult breathing, staggering, convulsions, and collapse. The animal dies rapidly, often within minutes, due to asphyxiation.
Bellm offers this advice to avoid prussic acid poisoning:

• Do not allow hungry cattle to graze where prussic acid may be a problem. Feeding grain or hay before turning animals to pasture will reduce rapid intake and dilute the amount of prussic acid consumed. Animals do not become immune to prussic acid, but they can detoxify low levels.
• Do not allow animals to graze prussic acid containing forages after a frost until the plants have dried for at least five days.
• Ensile plants with high prussic acid concentrations.
  
• Have suspect forages analyzed before feeding to determine prussic acid content.
  

“There is also some concern with grazing legume forages such as alfalfa and red clover after a frost until it is well-wilted or dried,” Bellm says. “Although there is no known toxic compound produced in these forages, cattle tend to have diarrhea and bloat responses when grazing freshly frosted legumes.”

Problems with legumes can be avoided by holding cattle off the pasture for a few hours until the forage dries and wilts. Feeding dry hay to the animals before turning them onto the pasture will also reduce the rapid intake of easily digested forage, and reduce bloat potential.

— by Robert Bellm, Extension educator at the University of Illinois

— compiled by Crystal Albers, associate editor, Angus Productions Inc.