News Update
Aug. 6, 2009

K-State SW Research-Extension Center Plans Aug. 27 Field Day in Garden City

Kansas State University’s (K-State’s) Southwest Research and Extension Center in Garden City, Kan., is planning an Aug. 27 field day that promises something for beef and crop producers.

The field day begins at 8 a.m. with registration, coffee and doughnuts and an opportunity to have a first look at agricultural product displays. The program begins at 9 a.m., with three separate tours beginning at 9:15 a.m. Those tours will be repeated at 11 a.m., followed by lunch at 12:15 p.m., and seminars that begin at 1:15 p.m.

The field day is free and open to the public, and includes a lunch sponsored by various companies. The center is located at 4500 E. Mary St. in Garden City.

Tour topics include:

• Switchgrass Varieties Under Irrigation;
  
• Skip-Row and Solid Planting of Corn and Grain Sorghum;
  
• When Does it Pay to Manage Volunteer Glyphosate-Tolerant Corn in No-Till?
  
• Grain Sorghum Nitrogen Rate and Timing Effects on Grain Yield and Biomass;
  
• Grain Sorghum with Resistance to Postemergence Grass-Control Herbicides;
  
• Controlling Glyphosate-Resistant Kochia;
  
• Plant Population Effects on Nonstructural Carbohydrates in Sorghum;
  
• Update on Spider Mite Management in Corn;
  
• Dectes Stem Borer Distribution in Soybean;
  
• Yield vs. Irrigation Amount: A Five-Year Summary; and
  
• Grazing crop residue program (CRP) - Animal Performance.

Topics for the afternoon seminars include:

• Converting CRP Land to Crop Production;
  
• Rumen-Protected Choline Supplementation and Reproductive Performance of Beef Cows;
  
• Low-Input Storage of Wet Distillers’ Grains (WDGS) – No Bags, No Forage, Just WDGS; and
  
• Core Hour – Laws, Safety, Labels, and Environmental Concerns.

 More information about the field day is available by calling 620-276-8286.

— Release provided by K-State Research and Extension.

How Do You Dispose of 10,000 Dead Cattle?

How do you dispose of thousands of dead cattle legally, quickly, economically and safely?

This was the question for Texas government officials and Texas AgriLife Extension Service personnel after Hurricane Ike in 2008. “We believe about 4,800 adult cattle were lost and 5,600 calves were lost in the surge zone after Hurricane Ike,” said Dee Ellis, assistant state veterinarian, Texas Animal Health Commission. Only about 1,400 cattle casualties of Hurricane Ike cattle were buried in landfills or on site, Ellis said. Many cattle carcasses were inaccessible because of flooding or were never found.

As another hurricane season approaches, the Texas Animal Manure Management Issues conference is set for Sept. 29-30 at the Austin Marriott North in Round Rock. Speakers with hands-on experience with animal mortality management will present “Disposal of Catastrophic Animal Mortality — Lessons from Hurricane Ike” at the conference.

The early conference registration deadline has been extended to Aug. 20. Cost of registration is $75 by Aug. 20 and $125 thereafter. More information on the programming, hotel accommodations and speakers can be found at http://grovesite.com/tamu/tammi.

Other disasters can result in large numbers of dead animals that must be disposed of, said Robert DeOtte Jr., associate professor of environmental engineering at West Texas A&M University and another conference speaker.

“In March 2006, the largest one-day wildfire in U. S. history engulfed 930,000 acres, resulting in the death of 3,000 to 4,500 head of cattle,” DeOtte said.
Some of the questions DeOtte will address include:

• How are the resources for identification of dead and stranded animals to be found and organized quickly?
  
• Incineration, burial, landfill and composting are all options, but how can emergency managers select the most appropriate one?
  
• How can different responders coordinate resources for a rapid and complete recovery after a catastrophic livestock and poultry disaster?
  
• What actions are the same and which are different between wildfires and hurricanes?
  “Disposal works best when carcasses are found early and disposed [of] before decomposition has advanced,” DeOtte said. “The planning and logistics of the response dictate many of the disposal issues.”
  

The Texas Animal Health Commission, as the lead agency addressing animal issues during disasters, has been working with the Texas Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service, AgriLife Extension and other agencies on new state-response plans using lessons learned from Hurricane Ike.

“The new plans will include carcass disposal contingencies through better local, state and federal plans and partnerships,” Ellis said. “We are also working with new industry partners to assist with animal issues, both live and dead.” Other issues that must be addressed are livestock ownership and reimbursement for producers, Ellis said.

Ellis emphasized that producers and industry groups have been involved and should continue to be involved in the planning process.

“The Texas and Southwest Cattle Raisers organization was very involved using their special rangers to assist in the Ike response, and they, along with other industry groups, will be key participants in future responses,” he said.

In addition to animal mortality management, other conference topics will include energy production from manure and new advances in animal manure management, Mukhtar said.

— Release by Robert Burns, Texas AgriLife Extension Service.

Ohio Cattlemen Invite Indiana and Kentucky Livestock Producers to Summer Meeting

You might find a few poultry, dairy, or pork producers at the Cattlemen’s Roundup planned for Aug. 29. With the growing threat from radical animal rights groups, the Ohio Cattlemen’s Association (OCA) is inviting all of the livestock industry to their summer meeting near Oxford, Ohio. With the location just a few miles from Indiana and Kentucky, they are also inviting out-of-state farmers to the event.

The event will feature two speakers who know the hidden agendas of the many animal rights groups: Wes Jamison from the University of Florida (UF) and David Martosko of the Center for Consumer Freedom (CCF). Jamison has studied the animal welfare movement for nearly 20 years. The reason the animal welfare movement is having success is because society has changed. More and more people believe farm animals should be treated as well as their own pets, Jamison says.

Livestock transportation could be targeted by using the interstate commerce clause to raise the cost of transportation across state lines. Activists will want animals to lie down with access to food and water. Jamison says that message will play well to an urban audience — and to the new President and Congress.

David Martosko of the CCF says, “The Humane Society of the United States is the single biggest threat to animal agriculture that Americans have ever seen.”

Join Martosko for a frank discussion about the need for an aggressive, take-no-prisoners approach to dealing with this wealthy and dishonest organization.

Martosko is the principal expert on animal rights for the Center for Consumer Freedom, a Washington, D.C., nonprofit watchdog group. He led CCF’s launch of groundbreaking Internet web sites like PetaKillsAnimals.com, ActivistCash.com, and MercuryFacts.org.

Martosko has testified before Congress about the threat of animal rights violence and the hidden agendas of deceptive groups like the Humane Society of the United States. He has also lectured about the threat of animal-rights and eco-radicals in Europe.

The early registration deadline has been extended to Aug. 19. The special package price for anyone who is a member of a commodity group is $30 for the tours, lunch, steak dinner and entertainment. Non-members and at the door rate is only $40. For information call: 614-873-6736 or e-mail Beef@ohiobeef.org. Make checks to: Ohio Cattlemen’s Ass’n., 10600 U.S. Hwy. 42, Marysivlle, OH 43040. See the Roundup program and registration details on the web site: http://cattlemencare.net/default.aspx or www.OhioCattle.org.

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