News Update
June 9, 2011

Bi-National Ranchers Conference June 29-30 in Laredo

A Bi-National Ranchers Conference is scheduled for June 29-30 in Laredo, Texas, and will feature programs on drought management, identifying global forces affecting American beef cattle trade, updates on livestock diseases and other topics, according to organizers.

The conference, which will feature industry representatives and participants from the United States and Mexico, will take place at the Embassy Suites Hotel, 110 Calle Del Norte. Cost is $45, and registration by June 24 is recommended to prepare for meals, seating and refreshments.

The conference will feature a trade show as well, and the booth fee is $200. “Several issues are affecting the beef cattle and wildlife industry and particularly producers in South Texas,” said George Gonzales, Texas AgriLife Extension Service agent in Webb County. “From the current impact of the drought to fluctuations in market prices, we have topics that will be of interest to every producer.”

Speakers include Larry Falconer and Parr Rosson, AgriLife Extension economists; Joe Paschal, AgriLife Extension beef cattle specialist; and John Smith, AgriLife Extension program specialist. Alfonso Ortega-Santos, research scientist, and Randy DeYoung, research assistant professor, both with the Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute, will also speak.

Additional speakers will include Megan Dominguez, AgriLife Extension range specialist, and Wayne Hanselka, AgriLife Extension specialist emeritus, rangeland consultant. Topics include essential records for ranch operations, grass-fed beef production and management, global forces shaping North American cattle/beef trade, ranch security, rainwater harvesting/water conservation strategies, holistic ranch management, water infiltration methods, cattle, range and forage management, drought management strategies, common misconceptions in whitetailed-deer management practices, foreign animal diseases and veterinarian updates.

Texas Department of Agriculture pesticide license holders will earn two continuing education units on June 29 and two on June 30. For more information, call Gonzales at at 956-721-2626 or 2627 or Flavio Garza at the U.S. Department of Agriculture-Natural Resources Conservation Service (USDA-NRCS) office at 956-723-6643, ext. 3.

— Release by Blair Fannin for Texas AgriLife Extension.

Kubota Encourages Safety First to Help Avoid Equipment-related Youth Accidents

School may be out and classrooms may be quiet, but now is the perfect time to study up on tractor and equipment safety. Warmer weather, longer days, outdoor fun and visits to the country — these are the makings of childhood memories, and Kubota Tractor Corp. wants to help ensure those memories are happy ones by providing some important safety reminders.

“Playing and working around equipment is second-nature for some older youth, but no matter how carefree they may feel, equipment is meant for experienced adult operators. Children of all ages need to be extremely careful around any type of equipment,” says Greg Embury, vice president of sales and marketing, Kubota. “June is the start of summer vacation for many, as well as the National Safety Council’s National Safety Month, and a great time to renew your commitment to safety and remind kids that tractors, lawn and garden equipment, and utility vehicles are tools and not toys.”

According to the Progressive Agriculture Foundation, each year an estimated 15,011 children who visit, live or work on farms or ranches are injured and more than 100 children die of ag-related injuries in the United States alone. These staggering statistics make it imperative to focus on safety education for the entire family — early and often. Kubota is an industry leader in promoting equipment safety and the company remains steadfast in its dedication to keep families safe. With that goal in mind, Kubota offers the following tips to help equipment owners and operators start the safety conversation with kids. Children should be told the following safety messages:

• Stop, look and listen when playing outside, especially on the farm, and always be aware of your surroundings.
• Farm equipment is not safe to ride on even when an adult is present.
• Tractors are not toys. They are powerful machines only to be used by adults who are thoroughly familiar with the equipment.
• Children should never ride on a tractor; a tractor only has one seat and that seat is intended for the operator. Just say “no” if someone wants to give you a ride. It is not safe to be a rider when the tractor is intended for one operator.
• Stay out of the path of all moving equipment. And, stand far away from a tractor when it is being started; when it is running; and, especially when it is working.
• Never stand behind a tractor — whether it is running or not. The operator might not see you, and you could get hurt.
• Be a “safety first sheriff” and encourage use of seatbelts for your entire family. Just like in a car, a tractor is equipped with a seatbelt for safety. Additionally, a Roll Over Protection Structure (ROPS) on a tractor is in place to protect the driver.

Kubota supports safety education for its customers and their families by sponsoring the Progressive Agriculture Safety Day® education program, part of an effort designed to make safety education and training available for children year-round. Now in its 17th year, the program will conduct more than 410 Safety Day events this year across the United States and Canada. In 2010, the programs reached more than 95,700 participants with 18,000 adult and older teen volunteers.

For more information visit www.kubota.com.

— Release by Kubota Tractor Corp.

Animal Health International Inc. Announces Stockholder Approval of Merger Agreement

Animal Health International Inc. (Nasdaq:AHII) announced June 8 that, at a special meeting of its stockholders, the holders of a majority of the outstanding shares of common stock of Animal Health adopted the previously announced merger agreement among Animal Health, Lextron Inc. (Lextron) and Buffalo Acquisition Inc., a Delaware corporation and wholly-owned subsidiary of Lextron. Animal Health also announced that the merger is expected to close on or about June 10.

— Release by Animal Health International Inc.

Small-grains Farmers Urged to be Mindful of Plant Variety Protection Regulations

Small-grains farmers should be aware of specific regulations regarding the Plant Variety Protection Act as harvest activities slow down across the state, according to a Texas AgriLife Extension Service expert.

Producers may be tempted to avoid federal law and should familiarize themselves with the details of the act, specifically with regards to saving or transferring seed.

“The bottom line is the risk isn’t worth the potential civil action that could be taken against someone who chooses to violate the law,” said Rob Duncan, AgriLife Extension small grains specialist.

The plant protection act began in 1970 with the original version allowing farmers to save enough seed for their own use or sell that amount to a neighbor if the original plans for the seed changed. The 1994 amendment to the Plant Variety Protection Act prohibits the sale of all farmer-saved seed without the permission of the variety owner, and each variety is covered under the act for 20 years. Seed can only be sold by its variety name as certified seed, Duncan said.

Violations of the act include selling, buying, delivering, exchanging or advertising a protected variety or selling a protected variety without permission from the variety owner. A third party can clean and condition a “reasonable” amount of seed for a farmer if the seed is only planted on the farmer’s holdings.

“Any action toward marketing a protected variety is a violation of the act,” Duncan said. Additionally, utility patents prohibit farmers from saving, cleaning/conditioning or selling any seed under this protection. “Examples include Clearfield wheat,” Duncan said.

Drought conditions have decreased wheat yields, which may lead to tight seed supplies, “but there will be certified seed available,” said Rob Borchardt, Syngenta Seeds Southern Plains business manager.

“We’re advising producers to book early,” Borchardt said. “Most of the certified seed is produced on the best ground and, in many instances, under irrigation. There will be seed available, but one needs to get ahead of the game.”

The purpose of the Plant Variety Protection Act is to encourage further development of new non-hybrid varieties in crops such as wheat, oats and other self-pollinating crops. Allowing plant breeders to determine who can sell seed of new varieties provides them with the ability to recoup investment spent in development and reinvest for future enhancements, Duncan said.

“If farmers want a new variety, the only option is to purchase certified seed,” Duncan said.

For a variety they already grow, they can save their own seed for their own use, but it needs to be quality seed, he said. And if a farmer is not going to take the time and effort to produce quality seed on their own for their own use, they are better off to purchase certified seed.

“Using the latest in seed varieties in a production system will better prepare a farmer in dealing with multiple challenges, such as disease, insects and weather events, such as too much rain or drought conditions like we are experiencing right now,” he said. “It’s worth it, because you are investing in the future of your farming operation."

A recent settlement resulted from Plant Variety Protection infringements by a custom farmer and a conditioner who were illegally cleaning and selling TAM 111, a wheat variety developed by Texas AgriLife Research and sold by Syngenta Seeds, the licensee. The settlement includes a substantial monetary penalty for each of the defendants.

“PVP infringements not only inhibit delivery of improved technologies for farmers from Syngenta, they also diminish the effectiveness of public variety development programs,” Borchardt said.

Other cases of infringement have come to light recently from North Dakota to Texas as all developers of new small-grain varieties are protecting their intellectual property, Borchardt said. In recent years, universities and private companies have joined together to form an educational campaign known as Farmers Yield Initiative to promote wheat research and stewardship. The initiative also provides a hotline where anyone can anonymously report illegal seed activity via a toll free number, 887-482-5907.

More information about the protection act and wheat variety yield results are available from AgriLife Extension at http://testing.tamu.edu/wheat.

— Release by Blair Fannin for Texas AgriLife Extension.

— Compiled by Linda Robbins, assistant editor, Angus Productions Inc.