News Update
April 9, 2010

Angus Artist Recuperating

Longtime Angus artist Frank Champion Murphy is recuperating this week at an Illinois rehabilitation center following injuries resulting in a broken pelvis.

In recognition of Murphy’s contributions to the Angus industry, the American Angus Association is currently accepting cards, well-wishes or notes for the artist and his wife of more than 65 years, Evelyn. Send your comments for Murphy to: American Angus Association, ATTN: Frank C. Murphy, 3201 Frederick Ave., Saint Joseph, MO, 64506; or angus@angus.org.

Murphy is best known for his nearly 60-year career creating artwork for the American Angus Association and its entities. Murphy produced more than 80 paintings and drawings featuring Angus cattle, beginning in 1951 when the Chicago, Ill., artist was commissioned by Angus public relations masterminds Lloyd Miller and Harry Barger to illustrate the popular advertising campaign for the then-American Aberdeen-Angus Breeders’ Association (the name was changed to American Angus Association five years later).

The quality of his art and contrast of those early drawings depicted well the Angus breed’s physical attributes, black hair and hides that — until then — proved difficult to capture with the relatively primitive photography and printing processes of the times.

He was quickly commissioned for additional drawings and continued to illustrate Association national advertisements — approximately 45 in all — from 1951 to 1975, until photographs were introduced to the campaign in 1976.

Murphy continued to actively produce artwork of Angus cattle in a variety of settings until 2009, including more than 37 oil and acrylic paintings, most of which hang at Association headquarters in Saint Joseph, Mo. Read more.

Prevent Salt Toxicity in Livestock

The latest power outages in North Dakota are causing some salt toxicity problems for livestock.

Salt toxicity, also known as water deprivation sodium ion toxicosis, occurs when animals go without access to fresh water for an extended period of time. The condition usually is seen in swine but also can be seen in cattle, says North Dakota State University (NDSU) Extension Service veterinarian Charlie Stoltenow.

When water consumption is limited or nonexistent, animals’ sodium-regulating systems become ineffective, and the amount of sodium ion in the animals becomes too high, which ultimately can lead to death. The problem can be compounded when animals on range have free access to salt or a mineral supplement high in salt and limited access to fresh water.

Clinical signs of salt toxicity in cattle include salivation, increased thirst, abdominal pain and diarrhea followed by wobbling, circling, blindness, seizures and partial paralysis. Sometimes the cattle become belligerent. Other central nervous signs include dragging a hind limb or knuckling of the fetlock joint.

No antidote or specific treatment is available for water deprivation sodium ion toxicosis, so preventing it by ensuring animals have access to fresh water at all times is critical, Stoltenow says.

While supplying water is imperative, animals should drink water in small amounts at frequent intervals, he says. Allowing animals to drink their fill actually can make the neurologic signs worse because of brain edema (swelling of the brain).

Severely affected animals may need to be given water by a stomach tube. However, the mortality rate can be more than 50% in affected animals regardless of treatment.

— Release by NDSU Extension.

Develop a Plan Before Burning Pastures

Safety and smoke management should be key considerations for landowners and tenants planning a prescribed burn this spring. According to Kansas State University (K-State) Associate Professor of Range Management Walt Fick, ranchers should plan to have enough help and equipment to do the job safely and effectively. Providing notice to local authorities and/or obtaining a burning permit may be necessary, depending on county regulations. Notifying neighbors adjacent to the planned burn also is a good idea.

Fick suggests picking a day when the smoke will not cause a downwind problem. Smoke should not create visibility problems on major roads and highways or around airports.

Optimum environmental conditions for burning, said Fick, are air temperatures from 50°-80° F, relative humidity of 40%-70% and winds of 5-15 miles per hour out of a predictable direction. Specific burning conditions are available for your area by clicking on the “Fire weather” tab at www.weather.gov.

— Release provided by the Kansas Livestock Association.

NRCS Provides Technical Support for Award Winning Environmental Research Team

The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality recently honored the “Air Quality: Reducing Emissions from Cattle Feedlots and Dairies” research team with the state’s highest environmental honors for the 2010 Texas Environmental Excellence Award.

The Texas Environmental Excellence Award is presented annually to recognize outstanding contributions to environmental projects that demonstrate excellence in resource conservation, water reduction and pollution prevention.

The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) is one of five agencies that provided support for the research team that worked together in applying extensive research to develop science-based emission factors and cost-effective abatement technologies for the feedlot and dairy industry.

“This air quality research project for NRCS in Texas has formed the basis for the ‘Beef Air Quality Program’ through the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP),” said Mickey Black, NRCS assistant state conservationist in the High Plains area.

“This is an outstanding award and well-deserved recognition for research team coordinator John Sweeten, resident director for research at the Texas AgriLife Research and Extension Center in Amarillo and the project research team,” Black added. “Some of the research is currently being utilized in the NRCS Beef EQIP Air Quality Emphasis with beef feedyards in Texas.”

Greg Sokora, NRCS Zone Engineer for the High Plains Region, and Greg Zwicke, Air Quality Engineer with the USDA-NRCS Tech Center in Portland, Ore., served in a consultative capacity on the advisory board for the research team.

“Texas NRCS is proud to be a member of the Industry Advisory Committee for this project, and through this cooperative effort, NRCS has been able to request specific research objectives to enhance the delivery of the USDA-NRCS technical assistance to animal feeding operations in Texas,” Sokora said.

“The scientific innovation and leadership this team has brought to develop better environmental practices and the implementation of new processes that will improve air quality is something that benefits all Texans,” he said. “We applaud their successes in leading the cattle feedlot and dairy industry toward a new, cleaner future.”

The field and laboratory research is aimed at accurately determining emissions of dust/particulate matter, ammonia, hydrogen sulfide, odor and volatile organic compounds from cattle feedlots, and developing technologies to mitigate such emissions.

In a letter supporting the project, Don Gohmert, state conservationist of the Texas NRCS, said, “Our partnership with this project is an excellent example of technology transfer by taking outstanding, but practical environmental research and applying it on the land to address environmental resource concerns for agricultural industries. The research developed by this project has allowed Texas beef feedyards to be proactive in treating their air quality resource concerns on their animal feeding operations.”

According to Sokora, examples of the project’s success in the feedyards include:

• The research team’s data has been used by the NRCS to custom design 15 dust-control sprinkler systems in beef feedyards on the High Plains of Texas. The sprinkler systems were installed through the Beef EQIP program.
  

• NRCS has developed site-specific Manure Harvesting Management plans using field and laboratory research to determine emissions of dust/particulate matter. More than 50 High Plains feedyards have implemented management plans that require feedyards to clean cattle pens frequently to control dust emissions.
  

— Release by NRCS.

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