News Update
August 23, 2011
Temple Grandin to Share Autism Insights
at Texas A&M Sept. 14
at Texas A&M Sept. 14
The Rosenthal Lecture Series and Texas A&M University’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences will host the presentation “Different Kinds of Minds Need to Work Together,” by Temple Grandin at 7 p.m. Sept. 14 at Rudder Auditorium.
Grandin, one of the world’s leading designers of humane livestock-handling facilities, is an animal scientist who has drawn from her experiences as a person with autism. Her story has been reported widely in the media, including most recently in Time magazine’s 2010 “The 100 Most Influential People in the World.” She is also the subject of the 2010 Emmy Award-winning HBO film Temple Grandin, which was a semi-biographical account of her life as a high-functioning person with autism.
The event, part of the college’s Centennial Lecture Series, is free and open to the public, but tickets are required. They can be obtained by contacting the Texas A&M University Box Office at 979-845-1234 or http://boxoffice.tamu.edu.
Grandin also will speak at 7 p.m. Sept. 15 at the Annenberg Presidential Conference Center at Texas A&M on the topic “Animal Welfare: A Practical Approach.” That event is also free and open to the public, but no tickets are required.
More information is available at http://aglifesciences.tamu.edu/100 or from Michaela Muck at 979-458-5714 or mamuck@ag.tamu.edu.
United States and Canadian Cattle Inventory Down 1%
Statistics Canada and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) reported Aug. 22 that all cattle and calves in the United States and Canada combined totaled 113.9 million head July 1, 2011, down 1% from the 115.1 million on July 1, 2010. All cows and heifers that have calved, at 45.8 million head, were down 1% from a year ago.
All cattle and calves in the United States as of July 1, 2011, totaled 100.0 million head, 1% below the 101.1 million on July 1, 2010. All cows and heifers that have calved, at 40.6 million head, were down 1% from a year ago.
All cattle and calves in Canada as of July 1, 2011, totaled 13.9 million head, down 1% from the 14.0 million on July 1, 2010. All cows and heifers that have calved, at 5.18 million, were down 2% from a year ago.
EPA Issues Compliance Orders to Six CAFOs in
Iowa, Kansas and Nebraska
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 7 announced Aug. 22 that it has issued administrative compliance orders to six concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) in Iowa, Kansas and Nebraska, directing those operations to correct a range of violations of the federal Clean Water Act.
Region 7’s latest round of CAFO enforcement activity, aimed at encouraging producers’ compliance with the Clean Water Act and the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permitting program, involves five beef feedlots, including three in Nebraska, one in Kansas and one in Iowa; and an egg-layer operation in Nebraska.
“The majority of livestock and poultry producers in Region 7 understand the importance of protecting our water resources, and they work hard to ensure their operations comply with state and federal laws,” EPA Regional Administrator Karl Brooks said. “However, when an operation fails to meet its responsibilities, EPA will continue to work closely with our state partner agencies and stakeholders to enforce the Clean Water Act and encourage compliance.”
Stormwater runoff from CAFO production areas such as confinement pens, feedstock storage areas and manure stockpiles, and runoff from land application areas, can cause exceedances of water quality standards, pose risks to human health, threaten aquatic life and its habitat, and impair the use and enjoyment of waterways. According to the administrative compliance orders issued by EPA Region 7 in Kansas City, Kan.:
M.G. Waldbaum Co., d/b/a Bloom N Egg Farm, Bloomfield, Neb. — An inspection of the egg layer operation in September 2010 found that it was illegally discharging wastewater from poultry manure stockpiles into a tributary of Little Bazile Creek in Knox County. Sample results indicated high levels of E. coli bacteria and other pollutants discharging into the tributary. The order requires the operation to cease all production area discharges, install runoff controls, and comply with the Clean Water Act. The operation, which has a capacity of 4,448,000 birds, was confining approximately 3.1 million layer hens at the time of the inspection. The operation has applied for an NPDES permit.
A.J. Jones, d/b/a Callicrate Feeding Co., Saint Francis, Kan. — An inspection in February 2011 identified significant NPDES permit violations, including failure to maintain adequate wastewater storage capacity, failure to meet Nutrient Management Plan requirements, failure to conduct operations within areas that are controlled in a manner capable of preventing pollution, and failure to maintain adequate records. The order requires the operation to comply with all terms of the Clean Water Act and its NPDES permit, and to coordinate with the Kansas Department of Health and Environment on its compliance. The order requires the operation to comply with the terms of its Nutrient Management Plan, including sampling and recordkeeping requirements. The feedlot has a permitted capacity of 12,000 cattle and was confining approximately 3,219 cattle at the time of the inspection.
Michael and David Uecker, d/b/a Dave Uecker Livestock, Norfolk, Neb. — An inspection of the beef feedlot and stream sampling in July 2011 found that the operation was illegally discharging manure, litter and process wastewater into a series of drainage ditches before discharging into an unnamed tributary to the North Fork of the Elkhorn River in Madison County. The operation has a capacity of 900 cattle and was confining approximately 450 cattle at the time of the inspection, classifying it as a medium CAFO. The order requires the operation to apply for an NPDES permit, and construct feedlot waste controls or reduce the number of cattle that it confines below the regulatory threshold.
John Reigle, d/b/a Reigle Farms, Madison, Neb. — An inspection of the beef feedlot in June 2011 found several NPDES permit violations, including illegal discharges from a holding pond to an unnamed tributary of Tracy Creek in Madison County, failure to timely notify state authorities of the holding pond discharge, failure to maintain adequate wastewater storage capacity in the holding pond, failure to maintain an accurate staff gauge in the holding pond, unauthorized discharges of livestock waste from land application fields, failure to maintain wastewater application records and failure to perform a liquid waste nutrient analysis. The order requires the operation to comply with the Clean Water Act, its NPDES permit and Nutrient Management Plan, and to cease operations in parts of its facility where wastewater cannot be properly managed. The operation has a permitted capacity of 9,000 cattle and was confining approximately 8,600 cattle at the time of the inspection.
Ritter Feedyards LLC, Beemer, Neb. — An inspection of the NPDES-permitted beef feedlot in April 2011 found the facility was discharging manure, litter and process wastewater into Rock Creek and an unnamed tributary of the Elkhorn River in Cuming County. The order requires the operation to comply with the Clean Water Act and its NPDES permit, and to construct feedlot waste controls. The facility has a permitted capacity of 1,200 cattle and was confining approximately 1,038 cattle at the time of the inspection.
S&S Cattle Co., Council Bluffs, Iowa — An inspection of the beef feedlot in May 2011 found that the operation discharges manure, litter and process wastewater into a series of drainage ditches that flow into an unnamed tributary of Mosquito Creek in Pottawattomie County. The operation has a capacity of 999 cattle and was confining approximately 730 cattle at the time of the inspection, classifying it as a medium CAFO. The order requires the operation to apply for an NPDES permit and construct feedlot waste controls, or reduce the number of cattle it confines below the regulatory threshold.
NIAA Symposium on Antibiotic Use in Food Animals
The National Institute for Animal Agriculture (NIAA) will host a dialogue among leaders from animal agriculture, public health, consumer advocacy and the media to discuss science and future strategies Oct. 26-27 at the InterContinental Rosemont Hotel in Chicago, Ill.
The use of antibiotics in the production of food animals elicits polarizing opinions across the media today as consumers become more aware and interested in the way their food is produced. While livestock producers have realized that significant animal illness can be avoided by the use of antibiotics, consumers are being told that any use of antibiotics leads to a lower effectiveness of antibiotics in humans.
Although there have been several debates and discussions on this issue, the NIAA is planning a national forum in which experts in animal agriculture, researchers in the area of livestock health, and experts in human health will come together to develop a dialogue with the common purpose of sharing fact-based information about the use of antibiotics in the sustainable production of food.
The agenda for the forum is being finalized and will be made available in the coming days.
For registration information visit www.animalagriculture.org.
Attendees might also be interested in attending Food Summit 2011, hosted by the Center for Food Integrity, which will take place at the same hotel immediately preceding the Antibiotics Forum. More information on Food Summit 2011 is available at www.foodintegrity.org/main/event/5.
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