News Update
Sept. 1, 2009

Live Cattle, Feeder Futures Began Week Lower

Live cattle and feeder cattle futures were lower on Monday due to a wary short-term outlook for beef prices, according to the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) Daily Livestock Report. “Lower grain prices, shaky consumer demand and increased competition from pork and chicken continue to weigh on the beef market and have pressured prices this summer. The decline in pork and grain markets is part of the reason why the nearby CME October live cattle contract is down some $6 per hundredweight (cwt.) since mid-July, while December live cattle futures contract is down a little over $4 per cwt. in the same time frame.”

According to the Aug. 31 report, Choice and Select cutout values are currently 10% below levels achieved a year ago, despite a significant reduction in the number of fed cattle going to market.

On Monday, packers appeared to be well booked for the next few days, potentially putting pressure on feedlots, CME noted. However, there remain a few encouraging signs. Prices for round cuts have posted significant gains, and light harvest could further boost prices in the weeks ahead, according to the report. An upward move in the price of rounds and chucks bodes well for cattle prices going into the fall and winter months, and the price of byproducts has made a recovery.

Wyoming Instructor Studies BRD

Rick Landeis, an animal science instructor at Sheridan College and veteran rancher, has spent most of his summer located in the Bighorn Mountains, where, according to the Billings Gazette, he sleeps in a simple cabin and works alone on horseback, surrounded by cattle.

Landeis is in the second year of a research project examining bovine respiratory disease (BRD) in calves grazing the mountainside. He hopes to learn why some cattle contract the disease, while others develop antibodies even though they haven’t been vaccinated. Read more.

Vaccine Promises Greater Productivity, Obesity Treatment Without Drugs

A new vaccine technology that stimulates the body to release more of its own Growth Hormone (“GH”) and Insulin Growth Factor 1 (“IGF-1”) is expected to open a new world of vaccine options for enhancing livestock productivity and also create specialized vaccines to treat obesity in dogs and cats.

Braasch Biotech LLC announced Aug. 31 that they have successfully created a second-generation vaccine technology specifically designed to generate a high level of antibodies against somatostatin, the inhibiting hormone that controls the release of GH. The vaccine’s mode of action is to generate highly specific antibodies which attenuate but do not entirely eliminate the mostly inhibitory actions of somatostatin, which helps the body to continue to release more of its own GH and IGF-1. Braasch’s innovative approach allows the body to do this on its own without having to use “drugs” and thereby presents important new treatment options for veterinary medicine. Visit www.braaschbiotech.com for additional information.

House Bill Would Ban Antibiotics as a Preventative

An Oklahoma state legislator is urging constituents in the state to oppose a bill in Congress that would amend the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act to ban the use of antibiotics for use to prevent animal diseases.

According to state Rep. Brian Renegar (D-Blanco), the Preservation of Antibiotics for Medical Treatment Act (PATMA) would ban antibiotics as a preventative measure.

“Specifically, the prevention and control of anaplasmosis, coccidiosis and respiratory infections would go unchecked,” Renegar told the McAlester News-Capital. Read more.

Federal Agencies Join with Sesame Workshop to Launch National PSA Campaign to Prevent H1N1 Flu Infection

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the Department of Education (ED) and Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit educational organization behind Sesame Street, have teamed up to launch a new, national public service advertising (PSA) campaign designed to encourage American children and families to practice healthy habits and to take steps to prevent the spread of the 2009 H1N1 flu virus. The PSAs featured in this campaign can be viewed on www.flu.gov.

The PSAs will be distributed nationwide and will be supported in airtime donated by television stations.

The PSAs are part of an initiative to provide practical steps recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to help prevent the spread of the flu virus and other infectious diseases. For more information on how to take steps to prevent the flu, visit www.flu.gov.
Read more.

NCR-SARE Announces 2009 Farmer Rancher Grant Call for Proposals

The 2009 North Central Region — Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program (NCR-SARE) Farmer Rancher Grant Call for Proposals is now available online at http://sare.org/ncrsare/cfp.htm.

Farmers and ranchers in the North Central Region are invited to submit grant proposals for projects to explore sustainable agriculture solutions to problems on the farm or ranch. Proposals should show how farmers and ranchers plan to use their own innovative ideas to explore sustainable agriculture options and how they will share project results.

Grants can range from $6,000 for individual farmers up to $18,000 for groups of three or more farmers. NCR-SARE expects to fund about 50 projects in the 12-state North Central Region.

The deadline for proposals is Thursday, Dec. 3 at 4:30 p.m.

For more information, contact Joan Benjamin, NCR-SARE Farmer Rancher Grant Program coordinator, at jbenjamin2@unl.edu or 402-472-0809 or 1-800-529-1342.

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