News Update
May 19, 2009

Tuberculosis Case Identified on Indiana Cervid Farm

The Indiana State Board of Animal Health (BOAH) is investigating a case of bovine tuberculosis (TB) in a farm-raised cervid herd in Southeastern Indiana. “Cervid” is a category of animals that includes elk and various species of deer.

A BOAH veterinarian found the TB infection in a red deer being processed for meat. A U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) laboratory test confirmed the disease.

The animals in the cervid herd, which includes elk, red deer, fallow deer and Sika deer, are part of an ongoing targeted surveillance program. The farm sits in close geographic proximity to a beef cattle herd that was traced to a TB-positive cow in December 2008.

With this new finding, BOAH is collaborating with state, federal and industry partners to determine a course of action. More information will be released as it becomes available.

More information about the disease and the investigation, as it develops, will be available at www.boah.in.gov.

BSE Case Confirmed in Alberta
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) announced May 15 it has confirmed bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in an 80-month-old dairy cow from Alberta. No part of the animal’s carcass entered the human food or animal feed systems.
The animal’s birth farm has been identified, and an investigation is under way. The age and location of the infected animal are consistent with previous cases detected in Canada, CFIA reports.

May Is All About The Beef

Kansas Beef Month is in full swing, with checkoff promotions and educational outreach as the featured components. The goal is to heighten consumer awareness of the multiple benefits of beef, increase beef sales and encourage incremental consumption.

Radio ads in the largest Kansas markets are suggesting consumers have beef for their next meal. Ads in the Kansas City area focus on the Kansas Beef Council’s partnership with 22 Hy-Vee stores. Recipes and information on how to incorporate beef into a healthy diet are available at the Hy-Vee meatcases.

Beef Month activities will culminate with the American Heart Association Heart Walk, May 30 in Kansas City. Beef Council staff will be on hand at the Heart Walk to hand out beef samples and visit with more than 10,000 walkers about the power of protein in lean beef.

Another important aspect of Beef Month is emphasis on the financial contributions beef makes to the state economy. According to Kansas Ag Statistics, cattle and calves generated $6.32 billion in cash receipts during 2007. The Kansas beef industry provides jobs both directly and indirectly to thousands of Kansans. Employers include ranches, feedyards, trucking companies, consultants and hundreds of input suppliers. Consumers and decision makers are targets for messages about the economic significance of beef in Kansas.

— Release provided by KLA

Nebraska ag groups want livestock ID session in Omaha

Three Nebraska ag groups are supporting Senator Mike Johanns’ call for Omaha to be added to the USDA’s National Animal Identification System—NAIS—listening tour.

The Nebraska Farm Bureau, Nebraska Cattlemen and Nebraska Pork Producers Association issued a joint statement on the matter. Pork Producers executive director Larry Sitzman finds it odd that a Midwest location was not included on the tour.

“My immediate response was ‘The next thing the department will be holding is a listening session onpineapple growing in North Dakota’”, says Sitzman. “I mean, to me, that’s how silly this was.”

In addition to the region’s animal production, Sitzman points out that three major livestock purchasers and packers have numerous facilities in the Midwest—and should be consulted on animal ID.

“If you look within a 500-mile radius of Omaha, Nebraska, you’re going to find hundreds of thousands of livestock—whether they be cattle, dairy, beef cattle, swine, poultry, etcetera,” he says, “and this is more or less the breadbasket of animal agriculture production.”

Nebraska Cattlemen’s executive director Michael Kelsey agrees. “If you look at the original listening session locations that USDA issued,” Kelsey says, “it’s very clear, from a geographical standpoint, that there’s a major hole right in the middle of the country.”

Kelsey says it’s a “head-scratcher” as to why the Midwest wasn’t on the list. Does Sitzman have any theories on the apparent snub?

“I really don’t know. Maybe it’s got to do with political pressures—groups that feel that they’re more important—I really don’t know,” Sitzman says. “I just find it very, very surprising that they have overlooked the Midwest other than jumping out to Greeley, Colorado.”

Sitzman says the pork producers support animal ID and site registration. Kelsey says his group has a number of concerns with the NAIS—including confidentiality. But he says the USDA is doing itself a disservice by ignoring the cattlemen’s input.

For his part, Nebraska Farm Bureau president Keith Olsen says Midwestern producers have a lot at stake with NAIS and should have the chance to give their input.

Brownfield will provide coverage of next week's NAIS listening session in Austin, Texas.

— Release provided by Brownfield Network

Ohio Farmers And Humane Society Prepare For Fight

The Ohio Farm Bureau is ramping up fundraising to take on a leading animal rights group over the size of cages, crates and stalls used to confine of farm animals.

The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) has met with Ohio cattlemen, pork producers and the poultry industry, telling them to change the farming practices or face a ballot initiative.

The animal rights group has won legislation in six states to ban confinement systems that they say cramp animals. Three were passed with farm industry support and three by public vote.

The Ohio Farm Bureau Federation has more than 230,000 members and lobbies for the state's farmers. The Humane Society is the nation’s largest animal protection organization with more than 11 million members.

— Release provided by Associated Press

— compiled by Mathew Elliott, assistant editor, Angus Productions Inc.