News Update
March 26, 2010

Selection Made Simple in the Southwest

In southern New Mexico’s rough country, Norma Brennand spends her day like most cattle ranchers. With her husband, David, she works hard, repairs fences and carefully manages their purebred Angus herd, all while respecting both the bounty and wrath Mother Nature might bestow on the dry landscape — and their livelihood.

For 20 years, the couple has worked on their remote ranch near Pinon, splayed across the 6,000-foot-plus elevation and miles off the paved road. There, it’s just Norma and David.

With little outside help — their children were grown when they settled there — Norma says she cherishes the remoteness of the place, away from a world obsessed with technological gadgets and starved for attention spans. Not to say their locale and team of a meager two is problem-free. It poses its share of challenges, she admits. Read more.

USDA Seeks Comments on New Rule to Enhance Food Safety

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) Thursday, March 26, announced that it is seeking comment on proposed measures to enhance food safety. The proposed rule would implement a provision of the 2008 Farm Bill and is a priority for the Food Safety Working Group (FSWG).

“One year ago the President called on government to do more to ensure our food is safe, and we are working aggressively every day to improve the food safety system in the United States,” said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. “The steps we are announcing today will help prevent foodborne illness as well as speed our response when illnesses occur — two goals of the Food Safety Working Group.”

The new proposed rule would require that regulated establishments: 1) Promptly notify FSIS if any unsafe, unwholesome or misbranded meat or poultry product has entered commerce; 2) Prepare and maintain current procedures for the recall of meat and poultry products produced and shipped by the establishment; and 3) Document each reassessment of the establishment’s process control plans or Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) plans.

The new proposed rule supports the Food Safety Working Group Key Findings announced on July 7, 2009. President Obama created the Food Safety Working Group March 14, 2009, and charged Vilsack and Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, the co-chairs of the group, with working to upgrade our food safety laws for the 21st century; foster coordination throughout government; and ensure that we enforce these laws to keep the American people safe. Representatives from all federal food safety related agencies, including FSIS, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) meet regularly to discuss how producers, processors, retailers, consumers, and all levels of government can work collaboratively to make the food Americans eat as safe as possible.

Comments regarding the adopted regulations must be received on or before May 24, 2010, through the Federal eRulemaking Portal at www.regulations.gov, or by mail to: Docket Clerk, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food Safety and Inspection Service, Room 2-2127, George Washington Carver Center, 5601 Sunnyside Avenue, Mailstop 5474, Beltsville, MD 20705-5474. All submissions received through the Federal eRulemaking Portal or by mail must reference the Food Safety and Inspection Service and include the docket number “FSIS-2008-0025.”

For further information, contact Philip Derfler, Assistant Administrator for the Office of Policy and Program Development, FSIS, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Room 350-E, Jamie L. Whitten Building, 1400 and Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, D.C. 20250-3700, by phone 202-720-2709, fax 202-720-2025, or e-mail Philip.Derfler@fsis.usda.gov.

More information on the Food Safety Working Group can be found at www.foodsafetyworkinggroup.gov.

— Release by USDA.

Scholarships Offerd Through Kansas Livestock Foundaton

The Kansas Livestock Foundation (KLF), in conjunction with Intervet/Schering-Plough Animal Health (ISP), is offering $9,000 in scholarships for the 2010-2011 school year. Applicants must be pursuing careers in agriculture or a related field.

Proceeds from the ISP Ralgro Wheels for Bucks program will fund two $1,500 scholarships for Kansas State University (K-State) veterinary students, two $1,000 awards for students at K-State or Fort Hays State University and two $500 scholarships for students at any Kansas community or senior college in the fall of 2010. In addition, two $1,000 KLF “Youth in Agriculture” scholarships will be awarded to students at a Kansas community or senior college.

Students whose permanent residence is in Clark, Comanche, Edwards, Ford, Gray, Hodgeman, Kiowa, Meade, Ness or Pawnee County are eligible for the $1,000 KLF/Kansas Livestock Association (KLA) Old District 4 Scholarship. This award will go to a student from the area who is attending a Kansas community or senior college.

The application and more details are available by clicking here or by calling the KLA office. Completed applications for any of the scholarships must be postmarked by April 30. 

— Release by KLA.

Tetany Season Winds Down in Spring; Providing Cattle Magnesium Helps

The risk of grass or winter tetany is lessening as spring approaches, but it is not totally out of the picture for beef cows, according to Eldon Cole, a livestock specialist with the University of Missouri Extension (MU).

Tetany is a metabolic condition that results from low magnesium intake in older, heavy-milking cows. Symptoms in the affected cows show up as nervousness or marked changes in attitude (like a normally gentle cow acting aggressive and ultimately going into paddling convulsions). Death can occur if intravenous treatment is not given promptly.

Tetany is a complex condition that involves soil, plant, animal and weather interaction. It is most often noted in cool, damp, stressful weather with the cows grazing lush small grain or cool season grass pastures. It may occur earlier in the winter when grass hay is being fed.

“Some years seem much worse than others for tetany outbreaks. So far, this winter very few reports of tetany have been made,” Cole said.

Even though low magnesium levels in the forage or soil are blamed for tetany, phosphorus and potassium imbalances play a part in it.

Tetany risks are reduced as soil temperatures rise and cold, stressful weather disappears. The conditions usually occur in mid-April.

“The best advice to farmers who wish to keep their guard up if they have high-risk cows is to provide a supplement that contains magnesium,” Cole said.

Magnesium is not a mineral that can be stored in the animal so daily intakes in a mineral or concentrate supplement offer the best preventative help. The degree of risk can guide supplement purchases.

Mineral supplements that have a 2-ounce (oz.) to 4-oz. per day intake should have around a 10% to 12% magnesium level on the tag. This should provide adequate protection for most situations.

“The high-risk cows, those over six years of age near calving or with 6-week old calves, may need their magnesium blended in with a palatable concentrate feed. In this case the target intake is 1 to 2 ounces of magnesium oxide per day. Fall-calving cows typically do not present a tetany risk,” Cole said.

For more information get the University of Missouri Guide Sheet, “G4669 — Mineral Supplements” at the nearest MU Extension Center or online at www.extension.missouri.edu.

For more information, contact any of the MU Extension livestock specialists in southwest Missouri: Eldon Cole in Mount Vernon, 417-466-3102; Gary Naylor in Dallas County, 417-345-7551; and Dona Goede in Cedar County, 417-276-3313.

— Release by MU Extension.

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