News Update
Oct. 6, 2009

Producers Get Hands-on Experience at Cattlemen’s Boot Camp

Cattle producers from six states gathered at Michigan State University (MSU) Sept. 22-23 for intensive training during a Cattlemen’s Boot Camp hosted by MSU and the American Angus Association®. Funded through the Angus Foundation, the one-and-a-half-day program included sessions on marketing, herd health, animal welfare and handling, as well as a variety of demonstrations both at the MSU meats lab and purebred beef teaching center. Read more....

For more information about Angus cattle and the American Angus Association’s programs and services, please visit http://www.angus.org/.

— Release provided by American Angus Association.

Statement by Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack Regarding Recent E. Coli Story

“The story we learned about over the weekend is unacceptable and tragic. We all know we can and should do more to protect the safety of the American people and the story in this weekend’s paper will continue to spur our efforts to reduce the incidence of E. coli O157:H7. Over the last eight months since President Obama took office, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has been aggressive in its efforts to improve food safety, and has been an active partner in establishing and contributing to President Obama’s Food Safety Working Group.”

“Protecting public health is the sole mission of the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS). FSIS has continued to make improvements to reduce the presence of E. coli O157:H7 and the agency is committed to working to reduce the incidence of foodborne illnesses caused by this pathogen.

“Shortly after coming into office, the Administration created a high-level Food Safety Working Group to coordinate food safety policies, focus greater resources on prevention, and improve response to outbreaks. Since doing so, we have taken the following actions:

• Launched an initiative to cut down E. coli contamination (including in particular contamination from E. coli O157:H7) and as part of that initiative, stepped-up meat facility inspections involving greater use of sampling to monitor the products going into ground beef.
  
• Appointed a chief medical officer within USDA’s FSIS to reaffirm its role as a public health agency.
  
• Issued draft guidelines for industry to further reduce the risk of O157 contamination.
  
• Started testing additional components of ground beef, including bench trim, and issuing new instructions to our employees asking that they verify that plants follow sanitary practices in processing beef carcasses.
• Designed the Public Health Information System (PHIS) in response to lessons learned in past outbreaks.

“USDA is also looking at ways to enhance traceback methods and will initiate a rulemaking in the near future to require all grinders, including establishments and retail stores, to keep accurate records of the sources of each lot of ground beef.

“No priority is greater to me than food safety and I am firmly committed to taking the steps necessary to reduce the incidence of foodborne illness and protect the American people from preventable illnesses. We will continue to make improvements to reduce the presence of E. coli 0157:H7.”

— Release provided by USDA News.

Angus EPD Judging Contest in Kansas

Poland Angus Ranch, Isabel, Kan., is having an Angus EPD (expected progeny differences) Judging Contest Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2009, at the Poland Angus Ranch. The contest will be held again at Richards, which from Isabel, is one mile east, three miles south, one mile east and 1/2 mile north.

Registration will start at 8:30 a.m. with the contest starting at 9: a.m. We will once again start with a brief explanation of EPDs and what the judge is looking for in the cattle.

We will have 4 classes of females and 4 classes of bulls.

Senior 4-H and FFA A-teams will give two sets of oral reasons, and Junior 4-H and FFA B-teams will answer questions on those two classes. 

A complimentary lunch will be served. Let us know how many you plan to bring by Oct. 12 so we can have the necessary materials and meal items ready.

For more information call 620-739-4587 or e-mail: polandangus@havilandtelco.com.

— Release by the Kansas Angus Ass’n.

Ohio State University Tips for Grazing Harvested Corn Residue

Corn crop residue is practical for feeding dry, gestating beef cows in mid-gestation providing they have average or better body condition. Managed correctly, one acre of corn residue can yield up to 60 animal unit grazing days (60 days of grazing for a 1,000-lb. animal).

Grazing “efficiency” will determine exactly how much feed is realized from corn residue. Moveable electric fencing can increase utilization up to 50% by allowing cattlemen to control the amount of area grazed thus, preventing the cattle from “selective” grazing or “trampling” many of the leaves or husks. Strip-grazing the cows will also reduce the potential for acidosis in situations were there may have been excessive field losses of grain. Simply “dumping” the cows onto the entire cornfield will be least efficient but will allow more residue to remain on the field over the winter for cover. Cattle will select and eat the grain first, then the husk and leaves, and finally the cobs and stalks.

Fields containing corn residues should be grazed soon after harvest for optimum quality, and fields with poor drainage or compaction problems should not be grazed for extended periods of time. Producers with a Conservation Plan should check with Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) to be certain that the grazing of corn stalks does not violate the Plan.

If corn stalk fields are not presently fenced, temporary electric fencing is an economical alternative. Harvested cornfields can be encircled with a single strand of poly or high tensile wire supported with fiberglass posts for less than $10 per acre. Even if a fence charger must be purchased to allow the grazing of corn residue, up to 60 days per acre of feed may be provided a brood cow at a cost of less than 20¢ per head per day. And, of course, the materials purchased to provide this temporary boundary may be reused from year to year, thus, making the “annual” cost of ownership even less.

For more information, check out the OSU Extension Fact Sheet “Grazing Corn Residue” found at: http://ohioline.osu.edu/anr-fact/0010.html.

— By Stan Smith, Ohio State University Extension-Fairfield County

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