News Update
March 24, 2011

Plant Buffers Can Slow Runoff of Veterinary Antibiotics

Field tests by University of Missouri (MU) scientists have backed up laboratory research indicating buffer strips of grass and other plants can reduce the amount of herbicide and veterinary antibiotics in surface runoff from farm plots. Vegetative buffer strips have already proven effective in limiting erosion, as well as reducing sediment and nutrients in runoff.

The findings come amid concerns about the potential of veterinary antibiotics in surface water leading to emergence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. The antibiotics can enter the environment through manure from confined animal feeding operations (CAFOs) and from crop fields fertilized with manure.

“Vegetative buffer systems are recognized as one of the most effective approaches to mitigate surface water runoff from agroecosystems, and we think that such systems also have the utility for reducing veterinary antibiotic loss,” said Bob Lerch, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) soil scientist and MU adjunct professor.

Researchers compared the effectiveness of three grass buffer treatments in reducing the transport of herbicides and veterinary antibiotics in surface runoff. Plant species used in the three treatments included tall fescue, switchgrass and native warm-season grasses — mainly eastern gamagrass. The control treatment was cultivated fallow.

The researchers applied three herbicides and three antibiotics, then generated surface water runoff using a rotating-boom rainfall simulator to create uniform soil moisture content. Water and suspended sediment samples were collected and measured.

All vegetative buffer systems significantly reduced the transport of both dissolved and sediment-bound herbicides atrazine, metolachlor and glyphosate in surface runoff by 58% to 72%, said Chung-Ho Lin, research assistant professor with the MU Center for Agroforestry and Department of Forestry.

In addition, the processes governing herbicide fate also applied to veterinary antibiotics. Four to eight meters of grass buffers reduced more than 70% of veterinary antibiotics in runoff surface water, Lin said. Using certain species, such as hybrid poplar, can further enhance degradation of deposited antibiotics.

Antibiotics included Tylan, used in swine feed to promote growth and as a disease preventative; sulfamethazine, also used in swine feed with other antibiotics, and Baytril 100, used for swine and cattle for respiratory illnesses.

Filter strips provide an opportunity to use an accepted practice in a manner that people had not explored before, said Keith Goyne, MU assistant professor of environmental soil chemistry.

Much Missouri soil is claypan, which tends to enhance runoff. From a surface water standpoint, buffers can work well in these soils, he said.

One goal of the research is to provide simple, practical guidelines that agencies, land managers and agroforestry practitioners can use in the design of effective buffer strips, Lerch said.

— Release by Robert Thomas for MU Extension.

Guide Helps Farmers Navigate Legalities of Truck Accidents

No one wants to be involved in a vehicle crash, but a Purdue Extension publication can help farmers prepare in the event of a collision involving one of their trucks, tractor-trailers or implements.

Farm Truck Accidents: Considering Your Liability Management Options guides producers through the legal and business issues they’re likely to face. The 55-page publication, PPP-91, is $1 per copy or free if downloaded online. It is available through Purdue’s The Education Store by visiting https://mdc.itap.purdue.edu/item.asp?itemID=19888 or calling toll-free 1-888-398-4636.

“This publication is built around stories I’ve heard from growers who have been involved in traffic accidents,” said Fred Whitford, coordinator of Purdue Pesticide Programs and the publication’s lead author. “What we’ve tried to do is get growers to think about their driver, the trucks and equipment that they’re putting on the road and the legal structures such as trucking corporations and farming corporations. We’ve surrounded that information with how we can use insurance to help protect us.”

Farm Truck Accidents covers the sources of liability, practicing due diligence with drivers and equipment, ways to structure a farm to survive a catastrophic traffic accident, myths about corporations, seeking advice from an attorney and buying insurance.

Corporations are a major source of misunderstanding, Whitford said. The publication lists seven common myths:

• Corporations absolve personal liability.
• Sole proprietorships and partnerships protect an individual from personal loss.
• Corporations don’t require different ways of operating.
• Forming corporations means losing homestead exemptions.
• Corporations mean losing U.S. Department of Transportation farm exemptions.
• Creditors may collect half of a person’s property.
• Personal shares in a corporation are protected.

Insurance is another common problem area. Most farmers have insurance, although many either don’t understand their level of coverage or don’t carry enough, Whitford said.

“We rely on insurance so much to assume some of our risk,” he said. “What I ask growers to do is look at what’s called an umbrella policy. It’s relatively inexpensive insurance that provides tremendous amounts of coverage on top of what they already have, in the event of a catastrophic wreck. A $2 million to $5 million umbrella policy is not uncommon.”

Farm Truck Accidents contains more than 60 color photographs, many illustrating equipment safety measures and accident avoidance practices. There also is a list of other Purdue Pesticide Programs Extension publications on farm vehicle safety and legal issues available for download or purchase.

Others contributing content to Farm Truck Accidents were Donya Lester, executive secretary of Purdue Agricultural Alumni Association and a farm wife; David Gunter, attorney with the firm Dean Mead; Jim Schrier, attorney with the firm Reiling Teder & Schrier; Jim Taflinger, an insurance consultant; and Mike Templeton, president of Surface Transportation Consultant.

— Release by Steve Leer for Purdue University Extension.

Agricultural Animal Activist Visits Association

Karen Strange, licensed lobbyist and president of the Missouri Federation of Animal Owners (MoFed), gave two lunchtime presentations to employees of the American Angus Association March 22 concerning Missouri Senate Bill 113, which she said provides the specific language residents of the state viewed as the intent of the original ballot language for Proposition B, a Humane Society of the United States (HSUS)-funded drive to limit dog breeding and ownership.

Strange explained that SB 113 defines terms for the provision of food, water, shelter, veterinary care and exercise and makes those provisions enforceable with penalties for non-compliance. The bill punishes law breakers, not the law-abiding, funding increased enforcement to go after unlicensed breeders. (Prob B was an unfunded mandate with no provisions for legal enforcement.)

SB 113 eliminates the 50-dog limit, and makes it clear that the law refers to dogs and not to the broader category of domesticated animals, thereby protecting Missouri agriculture. Strange emphasized that SB 113 was not a repeal of Prob B, but a means to ensure that all dogs and puppies receive the utmost in humane and high-quality care in Missouri.

Strange provided information on MoFed and the 10 other lobbyists, each with a different area of expertise, with whom she works, who advise her on any issues that threaten the rights of Missouri residents who are farmers, breeders of companion or food animals, hunting, fishing, circus, riding or rodeo enthusiasts.

In too many states, she said, HSUS is using ballot initiatives as a first step in confusing the general public into combining an animal rights agenda with an animal welfare focus, and they are eroding people’s right to own or use animals for food, research or companionship. HSUS spent $4.7 million to get Prop B passed in Missouri, and the majority of that money was not received from Missouri residents.

HSUS makes tens of millions of dollars per year, Strange said, asking for an average of $20 per month “to help animals.” Out of that $20, just 10¢ actually goes to help animals, according to their public tax returns. The rest is spent on lobbying, retirement funds for its top executives and more fundraising.

HSUS is currently being investigated for tax fraud by the IRS, with an eye to removing its 501(c)(3) nonprofit status, Strange said.

“We don’t approve of anyone not taking care of animals, but Prop B was written in a way that it could have been applied elsewhere,” Strange said. Based on the 12 steps of the animal rights agenda outlined in “The Politics of Animal Liberation,” first published in 1987 in Animal Agenda magazine, Strange said the animal rights movement is gaining ground every day.

“We know HSUS will be back for more,” she said, adding that everyone should support local animal shelters and political organizations and make sure they are informed about issues in their state.

— by Linda Robbins, assistant editor, Angus Productions

Graduate Student Asks for Input

Mindy Montgomery, a graduate student at MU, has designed a Beef Cattle EPD app for iPhones, iPads, the iPod Touch and other Android operating system phones and tablets. There are four tabs in the app: Home, Breed Averages, EPD definitions, and DNA technology. The Home screen has three links: a Facebook page, an e-mail address to her, and a survey.

She is asking those who use the app, which will be available free until April 30, to complete the 10-question survey. Results from the survey will be used in her master’s thesis. No personal contact information is requested, and, she says, the survey will take less than five minutes to complete.

Montgomery would like to have 2,500 downloads by April 30. Her purpose in making the app available is to educate people on how to understand and implement DNA technology in the hope that it will increase the rate of adaptation of the technology on farms and ranches.

To download the app, search for “beef cattle EPDs” in your App Store.

— by Linda Robbins, assistant editor, Angus Productions

— Compiled by Shauna Rose Hermel, editor, Angus Productions Inc.