News Update
Sept. 16, 2010

Beef Ambassadors To Compete In Rapid City, Oct. 1-3

Twenty-six students will compete for a position on the 2011 National Beef Ambassador Team, funded in part by the beef checkoff, as well as cash awards and college scholarships, at the National Beef Ambassador Competition held Oct. 1-3 at the Best Western Ramkota Hotel & Conference Center. Cash awards totaling $5,000 will be presented, as well as scholarship awards sponsored by the American National CattleWomen Foundation, Inc.

The National Beef Ambassador Program (NBAP) selects a team of five enthusiastic young adults to spend the next year telling the beef production story to consumers and students across the country. The program is funded in part by the Beef Checkoff Program and managed by American National CattleWomen, Inc. (ANCW) on behalf of America’s beef producers.

Contestants compete in four different judging areas: Consumer Promotion (scores individuals on their ability to educate consumers on the virtues of beef), Media Interview (scores the contestants’ ability to present a positive beef message to the media), Classroom Presentations (scored on the contestants’ ability to educate youth on beef and beef production through presentations), and, Issues Response (scored based on reaching online audiences).

For registration and more information, visit www.nationalbeefambassador.org. For questions regarding the National Beef Ambassador Program or this event, please contact Carol Abrahamzon at cabrahamzon@beef.org or 507-724-3905.

For more information about your beef checkoff investment, visit MyBeefCheckoff.com.

— Release by the Beef Checkoff Program.

Beckham Named Director of FAZD Center

Tammy Beckham has been selected as the new director of the National Center for Foreign Animal and Zoonotic Disease Defense (FAZD Center) at Texas A&M University. The announcement was made by Mark Hussey, vice chancellor and dean of agriculture and life sciences.

Beckham has served as the FAZD Center’s interim director since March. She will continue to serve as director at Texas Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory (TVMDL). Before joining TVMDL in 2008, she worked for the U.S. Departments of Homeland Security and Agriculture at the Plum Island Animal Disease Center.

“We are fortunate and excited to have a candidate with Dr. Beckham’s reputation, education and experience to lead the FAZD Center,” Hussey said. “Her relationships within industry and government, her experience at Plum Island, and her knowledge of emerging and zoonotic diseases are invaluable assets.”

First led by Neville Clarke, the FAZD Center was founded in April 2004 as a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Center of Excellence. The FAZD Center performs research and develops products to defend the nation from high-consequence foreign animal and emerging/zoonotic diseases. The center leverages the resources of 12 major universities and nine Minority Serving Institutions.

DHS recently renewed the FAZD Center as a Center of Excellence through 2016. The FAZD Center currently co-leads the DHS zoonotic and animal disease program with the Kansas State University’s Center of Excellence for Emerging and Zoonotic Animal Diseases (CEEZAD).

Click here to download a PDF of the full news release.

— Release by FAZD Center.

Cattle Producers Urged to Watch for Anaplasmosis

A seasonal spike in the deadly cattle disease, Anaplasmosis, has been reported in Kansas, Nebraska and Iowa and a Kansas State University (K-State) veterinarian is encouraging producers to be vigilant in monitoring their cattle.

“Producers need to watch for it,” said K-State Research and Extension veterinarian Larry Hollis. “It occurs almost exclusively in adult cattle — not calves. The most frequent observation is sudden death, even though it actually takes a few days from the time signs first appear until death occurs. If producers are not watching closely, it will sneak up on them. There is a big difference between sudden death and suddenly found dead.”

Early symptoms include white skin that appears yellow and whites of the eyes that will also appear yellow, Hollis said, and dairy cows will drop in lactation.

“Treatment with a long-acting oxytetracycline (LA-200 type products) will usually stop further death losses within a week following treatment,” he added. “However, producers should be careful as the simple exertion caused by driving cattle to or working them through the chute may be enough to kill more severely affected ones. Most producers who have been feeding chlortetracycline this summer (CTC or Aureomycin) will not have the problem. CTC feeding should continue until the end of fly season.”

Anaplasmosis can be transmitted any time blood is transferred from one animal to another by vaccination needles and such instruments as ear taggers and tattoo equipment, as well as by blood-sucking insects such as ticks and biting flies, he said. Producers should remember to disinfect their needles and other potential blood-transferring equipment between animals (except when giving modified live virus or MLV vaccines). When using MLV vaccines producers should change needles between every animal to prevent the disinfectant from killing the virus.

The use of any product names is not an endorsement by K-State Research and Extension, nor is criticism implied of any product not named.

— Release by K-State Research and Extension.

2010 Food System Summit Speaker: “Consumers Confused on How, Not What, to Eat”

Consumers are confused over what constitutes good eating habits, according to Sally Squires, a health and wellness communications consultant. Squires will address the widespread confusion among consumers on “how” to eat at the upcoming Center for Food Integrity 2010 Food System Summit.

“Consumers understand that they probably need to be eating more fruits and vegetables but they don’t know how to do that,” said Squires. “We need to help them understand that eating more fruits and vegetables or eating more whole grains or reaching for healthy fats or lean sources of protein doesn’t have to be hard decision, but we have to put it in food terms because consumers are so confused.”

Squires, an award-winning nationally syndicated nutrition columnist who specializes in the design and implementation of nutrition, food and health advocacy programs for government, nonprofit and corporate clients, joins Esther Myers of the American Dietetic Association in a panel discussion focusing on Nutrition and Health. Other sessions at this year’s Summit target Technology and Innovation, Food Safety, and Food Animal Well-Being.

Keynote speakers include Kathleen Merrigan, USDA Deputy Secretary, and Mary Lou Quinlan of Just Ask a Woman.

Leaders from across the U.S. food system are urged to attend the 5th annual Food System Summit sponsored by the Center for Food Integrity (CFI), the International Food Information Council (IFIC), and the National Council of Chain Restaurants (NCCR). The event takes place October 5-6 at the InterContinental Chicago O’Hare.

— Release by Center for Food Integrity.

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