News Update
Oct. 25, 2010

$2 Million Grant To Help Improve Food Safety in Beef, Dairy Cattle Systems

A Kansas State University (K-State) epidemiologist will use a $2 million grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) for improving food safety in beef and dairy cattle systems in the U.S. and Canada.

H. Morgan Scott, a professor in K-State's department of diagnostic medicine and pathobiology, will collaborate on the project with researchers from the University of Guelph, Angelo State University, Texas Tech University, Texas A&M University, Cornell University, Colorado State University and the Public Health Agency of Canada. The progress and achievements of the integrated project will be evaluated by K-State's office of educational innovation and evaluation.

"Our overall goal is to identify, evaluate and implement practical interventions for managing antibiotic resistance in beef and dairy cattle systems," Scott said. "We focus on the longstanding problem of resistance emergence, dissemination and persistence among enteric bacteria. If pathogenic bacteria resistant to antibiotics enter the food chain, treatment of humans can be complicated."

Scott said researchers will use a variety of methods to assess, and then improve, the quality of education and Extension materials, such as veterinary curricula and commodity specific prudent-use guidelines.

"Threats to the continued use of several common agricultural formulations of antimicrobials are looming in the form of FDA guidance documents and draft federal legislation," Scott said. "Having scientifically proven tools available to veterinarians and producers to counter bacterial resistance where and when it arises is essential to maintaining public trust in our abilities to manage threats to public health."

The costs to animal agriculture will be tremendous if certain classes or uses of antibiotics are no longer available, Scott said.

"The use of antibiotics for treatment and prevention of bacterial infections in beef and dairy cattle is essential for producing safe and wholesome food for consumers, for maximizing the welfare of animals, and for sustaining profitability in animal agriculture," he said.

"We want to employ molecular microbiology to discover the mechanisms underlying several paradoxical responses of resistant strains to antibiotic selection pressures," Scott said. "Next it will be critical to field-test practical interventions designed to effectively manage antibiotic resistance levels in production, as well as near-slaughter phases of beef and dairy cattle systems."

Scientifically proven interventions will be shared with interested parties and decision makers in the cattle industry, who will be encouraged to further evaluate those methods in their production systems, Scott said. Decision makers also will be warned of ineffective interventions.

Scott said collaborating with other schools and working outside the research lab are important parts of the project. He and his lab students will visit feedyards and dairy production facilities to work directly with cattle.

"We plan to develop an integrated model to assess the temporal dynamics of antibiotic resistance and evaluate the effectiveness of interventions to mitigate its dissemination in cattle systems," Scott said. "This model will be available for education and Extension purposes as a very effective demonstration tool. We also hope this will greatly enhance detection of early-resistant E. coli, and we will be able to better estimate animal-level prevalence of resistance carriage through enhanced surveillance. We expect that our new approach will yield earlier detection and characterization of resistance to critically important antibiotics."

Scott said the ultimate goal of the project is to come up with solutions that can be used quickly and effectively industry wide.

— Release by K-State.

U.S. Cattle on Feed Up 3%

The USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) released its Cattle on Feed Report Oct. 22.

Cattle and calves on feed for slaughter market in the United States for feedlots with capacity of 1,000 or more head totaled 10.8 million head Oct. 1, 2010. The inventory was 3% above Oct. 1, 2009. The inventory included 6.60 million steers and steer calves, up 3% from the previous year. This group accounted for 61% of the total inventory. Heifers and heifer calves accounted for 4.12 million head, also up 3% from 2009 figures.

Placements in feedlots during September totaled 2.46 million, 3% above 2009 figures. Net placements were 2.41 million head. During September, placements of cattle and calves weighing less than 600 pounds (lb.) were 510,000; 600-699 lb. were 455,000; 700-799 lb. were 602,000; and 800 lb. and greater were 895,000.

Marketings of fed cattle during September totaled 1.80 million, 2% above 2009 figures.

Other disappearance totaled 54,000 during September, 15% above 2009 figures.

For your convenience, you may access NASS reports and products the following ways:

• All reports are available electronically, at no cost, on the NASS website: www.nass.usda.gov/.
• Both national and state specific reports are available via a free e-mail subscription. To set up this free subscription, visit www.nass.usda.gov/ and in the "Receive NASS Updates" box under "Receive reports by e-mail," click on "National" or "State" to select the reports you would like to receive.

— Release by NASS.

BQA Certification Recommended to Raise Consumer Confiidence

Rancher, feeder and dairy producer participation in the Beef Quality Assurance (BQA) program is a significant factor in building consumer trust in beef. According to veterinarian John Maas, chairman of the checkoff's Producer Education Committee, consumers see ranchers as people of integrity, but they continue to express concern about where food comes from and how it is produced.

"That's where BQA comes into play — by instilling a level of competency," said Maas, who practices in Clarksburg , Calif. "By following BQA guidelines, we're demonstrating to consumers that we're doing the right thing."

The new, checkoff-funded BQA website, www.bqa.org, provides training videos and other resources to help ranchers and feeders learn more about proper handling and care. KLA members can become BQA-certified online by completing educational courses on beef quality and safety offered by the Beef Cattle Institute (BCI) at K-State. To register for the courses, click here.

BQA provides standards and best management practices for high-quality beef production. The science-based protocols are coupled with day-to-day, commonsense husbandry practices. BQA raises consumer confidence by demonstrating a commitment to quality within every segment of the beef industry

— Release by the Kansas Livestock Association.

The 83rd National FFA Convention Sets a Record, Says Farewell to Larry Case

The 83rd National FFA Convention concluded Oct. 23 on a high note; the organization set an all-time event attendance record with a total crowd of 54,942 members, advisors, sponsors and guests. And, the organization recognized the service of and bid farewell to its longtime national FFA advisor, Larry Case, who will retire Jan. 1, 2011.

"It's only fitting that we should set our all-time convention attendance record at Dr. Case's 26th and final convention," said National FFA Chief Operating Officer Dwight Armstrong. "It's clear that a substantial number of chapters around the country made the trip to celebrate with him before he retires."

"When I say agricultural education is the noblest of professions and is important to me, I mean that," said Case. "If it's good enough for my family, it's good enough for you." Case wrapped up his onstage comments by assuring FFA members that they are in good hands. "I believe in you," he said, "and I shall never forget you."

— Release by FFA.

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