News Update
April 24, 2009

Preliminary Tests Indicate Cattle TB Infection in Texas Dairy

Preliminary test results indicate that a dairy in west Texas is infected with cattle tuberculosis (TB). Cattle TB is caused by the Mycobacterium bovis bacteria and can cause internal lesions in animals.  Milk from commercial dairies is pasteurized, killing bacteria with heat, so there is no public health concern from this herd detection.

“Animals from the 2,600-head dairy were being prepared for sale and some reacted to TB skin tests. The follow-up blood tests on these animals also were positive,” said Bob Hillman, Texas state veterinarian and executive director of the Texas Animal Health Commission (TAHC), the state’s livestock and poultry health regulatory agency. “Samples were collected from two of the cattle slaughtered for examination, and the tissues were submitted to the National Veterinary Services Laboratory in Ames, Iowa, for additional testing. The lesions are microscopically compatible with TB, and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests on the tissues have detected the DNA, or the basic genetic material of the disease. The final confirmation is based on a culture, which may take several weeks. It involves identifying bacterial growth from the tissue samples as Mycobacterium bovis.

“We will be determining the dispensation of the herd in the next few days,” Hillman added. “An epidemiological investigation has been launched to determine the source or possible spread of the disease.”

Texas regained cattle TB-free status in fall 2006, after losing the coveted status in spring 2002. Hillman noted that one TB-infected herd will not affect the state’s status, but two infected herds within a 48-month period will result in a loss of TB-free status. Texas’ most recent TB-infected herd was a dairy, detected in 2004 and depopulated. California lost its TB-free status in September 2008, and Minnesota, Michigan and New Mexico are split states, meaning areas within these states have different TB statuses. All other states currently are TB-free.

— Release provided by Texas Animal Health Commission.

FDA to Implement Feed Ban Despite Public Objections

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) plans to proceed with implementation of a new feed ban on April 27, 2009, according to the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA).

FDA is establishing a compliance date of Oct. 26, 2009, according to NCBA, to give renderers additional time to comply with the new regulations and allow producers more time to identify appropriate methods of disposal.

NCBA noted its displeasure with the announcement, saying FDA has not provided a means to resolve the disposal issues created by the rule.

“This decision is extremely disappointing,” says Elizabeth Parker, chief veterinarian for NCBA. “By going ahead with implementation of this unnecessary ban, the FDA is ignoring the substantial costs and environmental burdens it imposes on America’s cattle producers.”

NCBA reports the decision exacerbates carcass disposal problems for producers, noting that many renderers discontinued their services in anticipation of the ban.

For more information, see NCBA’s April 7, 2009, press release available at www.beefusa.org./news_resources.aspx.

— Release provided by NCBA.

Texas wheat program suffers two-year setback from freeze

Back-to-back freezes damaged wheat across many of the wheat-producing regions of Texas. While some fields will still yield grain, major damage was done to future seed availability.

When the freezes occurred on March 28-29 and April 5-6, much of the wheat crop across the state was at susceptible-growth stages to be injured by freezing temperatures, said Gaylon Morgan, Texas AgriLife Extension Service wheat specialist in College Station.

Brent Bean, AgriLife Extension agronomist from Amarillo, said about a third of the state’s crop grown north of Amarillo is still expected to have good production.

“Really the only bright spot is the wheat north of Amarillo,” Bean said. “We’re not going to have record yields, but we are going to make a crop.”

He said wheat south of Amarillo and into the South Plains region has mixed prospects, due to drought damage that preceded the freeze damage. It finished off most dryland fields, while irrigated fields are showing damage but will still make some grain.

Todd Baughman, AgriLife Extension agronomist at Vernon, said basically all wheat from Wellington to Abilene suffered some kind of damage, either from the drought or the two freezes.

But the hardest hit might be to the wheat-seed production system due to freeze damage suffered at the Texas Foundation Seed Service south of Vernon.

“This freeze damage could have an impact throughout the system, from the research programs to the producers,” said Steve Brown, director of Foundation Seed. “We have experimental lines that are frozen out, and it will take two years to get back where we were with them.”

Morgan said based on observations, late freezes will affect seed quality in Central Texas, the Blacklands, northeast Texas and the Rolling Plains.

Visit http://texasextension.tamu.edu/agnews/index.php?id=1149 for more information.

— Adapted from a release provided by Texas Agrilife Extension.

Agriculture Secretary Vilsack and Maryland Governor O’Malley Sign Agreement to Protect Drinking Water, Chesapeake Bay

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack joined Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley today at the Richard Soper Jr. farm near Westminster, Md., to sign an agreement that will protect drinking water for Baltimore residents.

Maryland's Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP) helps protect soil and water quality in the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries by offering financial incentives to farmers and ranchers to take steps to protect streams and rivers from nutrient runoff.

Since the inception of CREP, Maryland farmers, ranchers and landowners have enrolled more than 74,000 acres and removed sensitive cropland and marginal pastureland out of production. Instead of tilling these acres, they have used program incentives to plant streamside buffers, establish wetlands, protect highly erodible land and create wildlife habitat.

The agreement signed today simplifies the way in which annual rental payments are derived. Now, the farmer will get a percentage of Maryland’s state determined soil rental rate. This will not only simplify the program for landowners and county offices, but in most cases will result in increased rental payments to the producers. The agreement signed today will also increase the one-time signing incentive payment for producers who are enrolling for the first time or re-enrolling expiring acres.

President Obama, Secretary Vilsack Intend to Nominate Edward Avalo as Undersecretary for Marketing and Regulatory Programs

President Barack Obama has announced his intent to nominate Edward Avalos as Undersecretary for Marketing and Regulatory Programs at the USDA. Avalos will serve with Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack.

Avalos has served with the New Mexico Department of Agriculture for 29 years where he established the New Mexico Specialty Crops Program. This program provides matching funds to entities, which can improve rural economies and provide assistance with marketing projects for specialty crops and value-added products. He also spent five years with the Texas Department of Agriculture.

— Releases provided by USDA.

Nominate Your Fellow Cattlemen for the 2010 National Beef Quality Assurance Award

Applications for the second annual National Beef Quality Assurance (BQA) Award are now being accepted.

The National BQA Award will recognize one outstanding beef and dairy producer who best demonstrates animal care and handling principles as part of the day-to-day activities on their respective operations. A common trait among all contest entrants must be a strong desire to continually improve BQA on their operations while encouraging others to implement the producer education program.

The National BQA Award is funded by Safeway's Rancher’s Reserve® beef brand and Cargill, and is supported by the Beef Checkoff Program. The program promotes beef quality assurance in all segments of the industry, including commercial cow-calf, seedstock, stocker operators, feedlots and dairy operations.

Two National BQA Award winners will be selected by a committee of representatives from universities, state beef councils and affiliated groups. Nominations can be submitted by any organization, group, or individual on behalf of a U.S. beef producer. Individuals and families may not nominate themselves; however, the nominees are expected to be involved in the preparation of the application. For further information on the award or to download the application, please visit http://www.bqa.org.