News Update
May 21, 2009

Obama Administration Launches Food Safety Working Group Web Site

Responding to President Obama’s directive to upgrade the nation’s food safety system, the White House Food Safety Working Group, led by Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, launched a web site to provide information about the group’s activities and progress.

“The Working Group will be an important tool for gathering ideas as to how we can strengthen the food safety system to be more accountable and accessible to the public it protects, flexible enough to quickly resolve new safety challenges that emerge, and able to meet the robust needs of our rapidly changing world,” Vilsack said.

“Families have enough to worry about. You shouldn’t have to wonder if the food you buy at the grocery store is safe,” Sebelius said. “Our Working Group is working hard to modernize our food safety system and protect the American people. The web site will help ensure all Americans can share their thoughts and contribute to this important process.”

The web site, www.foodsafetyworkinggroup.gov, will be an important resource for people who want to learn about the current food safety network as well as stakeholders and organizations working to upgrade America’s food safety system for the 21st century. The web site features social bookmarking tools, including an RSS feed and a widget that can be downloaded to help stay informed.

Last week, representatives from the White House Food Safety Working Group met and outlined principles to meet the President’s goal. In the weeks to come, the Food Safety Working Group will provide additional opportunities to engage stakeholders in conversations and help shape these principles.

A comprehensive approach to an improved national food safety system links regulatory actions and public health outcomes. This approach focuses resources according to risk, applies the best available science and high-quality data to the decision-making process, and strives for seamless coordination among federal agencies and their state, local and international public health partners.

— Release provided by US Department of Agriculture

‘After CRP’ conferences scheduled for Amarillo, Lubbock

Two conferences designed to explore the opportunities and alternatives available to landowners with expiring Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) contracts have been scheduled in Amarillo and Lubbock.

“After CRP: Wildlife, Farming and Grazing” conferences, sponsored by the Texas AgriLife Extension Service, will run from 8 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. on June 17 and June 18, said Ken Cearley, AgriLife Extension wildlife specialist in Canyon.

The conferences will be alike, varying only by regional differences, he said. Each will offer three general continuing education units toward pesticide applicator re-certification.

The June 17 conference will be at the Texas AgriLife Research and Extension Center-Amarillo, 6500 W. Amarillo Blvd. The June 18 conference will be at the Texas AgriLife Research and Extension Center-Lubbock, 1102 E. F.M. 1294.

They both will address: compliance issues, cost-assistance programs, land management and economics with wildlife in mind, the economics of farming and grazing alternatives, impacts on land value and the effect on future eligibility for federal farm programs.

Registration will be $40 through June 12 and $50 at the door. Lunch, refreshments and conference materials will be provided with registration. Participants may register online at http://agrilifevents.tamu.edu or by phone by calling 979-845-2604. For more information about this conference, contact Cearley at kcearley@ag.tamu.edu or call 806-651-5760.

— Release provided by Texas AgriLife Extension Service

High-Nitrogen Spring Forage Could Pose Cattle Health Problems

Early moisture has resulted in abundant grass in many Wyoming pastures. This early lush grass is high in nitrogen and may be low in certain minerals such as magnesium; both can lead to cattle health problems, said a University of Wyoming (UW) livestock nutrition expert.

Jim Waggoner, an associate professor in the College of Agriculture’s Department of Renewable Resources, said loss of old forage in many of the state’s range areas due to periods of drought the last several years has added to the potential problem. The old grass typically dilutes high nitrogen in the early grasses and decreases its potential negative effects on cattle grazing the area. It also helps reduce incidences of grass tetany, which is associated with an imbalance of minerals such as magnesium, calcium and phosphorus in early spring growth forage.

In addition, this old-growth grass helps reduce the incidence of larkspur poisoning that is prevalent in many areas in the state, Waggoner said.

One approach to help reduce these potential problems is to delay cattle turnout until there is at least 3 to 4 inches (in.) of grazable forage in the pasture.

In addition to health problems, high nitrogen levels can, for example, suppress food intake.

“That compounds the problem as cattle will stop grazing before their nutrient needs are met, resulting in weight losses and decreased milk production,” he said. “You can bring animals back in off the pastures and offer them hay, and they won’t eat it. Put them in a corral, and lock the gate. In two or three days, their blood has cleaned up, and they’ll start eating hay again.”

Waggoner advised waiting an extra 10 days to two weeks before turning cattle out on these lush areas and feeding a little extra hay and/or a protein and/or mineral supplement to ensure cattle are in shape to make optimum use of the lush grass resource.

“The urge to get the cows off of dry feed and out on grass into pastures is high,” he said. “But hang on for that extra 10 days or so, and get more hay or protein or mineral into them and curtail a potential wreck.”

For more information, contact Waggoner at 307-766-2365 or jwags@uwyo.edu, or a local UW CES educator. Contact information is available online at http://ces.uwyo.edu/Counties.asp.

— Release provided by UW CES

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