News Update
October 8, 2012
Effects of a Freeze on Forages
If you haven't experienced a freeze yet this fall, you soon will. When plants freeze, changes occur in their metabolism and composition that can poison livestock, but you can prevent problems.
Sorghum-related plants, like cane, Sudan grass, shattercane and milo, can be highly toxic for a few days after frost. Freezing breaks plant cell membranes. This breakage allows the chemicals that form prussic acid to mix together and release this poisonous compound rapidly. Livestock eating recently frozen sorghums can get a sudden, high dose of prussic acid and potentially die. Fortunately, prussic acid soon turns into a gas and disappears into the air. Wait 3 to 5 days after a freeze before grazing sorghums; the chance of poisoning then becomes much lower.
Freezing also slows down metabolism in all plants. This stress sometimes permits nitrates to accumulate in plants that are still growing, especially grasses like oats, millet and Sudan grass. This build-up usually isn't hazardous to grazing animals, but green chop or hay cut right after a freeze can be more dangerous.
Alfalfa reacts two ways to a hard freeze, down close to 20° F, cold enough to cause plants to wilt. Nitrate levels can increase, but rarely to hazardous levels. Freezing also makes alfalfa more likely to cause bloat for a few days after the frost. Then, several days later, after plants begin to wilt or grow again, alfalfa becomes less likely to cause bloat. So waiting to graze alfalfa until well after a hard freeze is a good, safer management practice.
Frost causes important changes in forages so manage them carefully for safe feed.
For more information and the full release, click here.
Ohio, Illinois Teams Take Home Top Honors at KILE Livestock Judging Contests
Ohio State University (OSU) and Illinois 4-H rose to the top to claim the highest honors during the Keystone International Livestock Exposition (KILE) Collegiate and Junior Livestock Judging contests on Saturday, Oct. 6, at the Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex and Exposition Center in Harrisburg.
Teams traveled from across the country to compete in the contest that consisted of twenty-one collegiate, 4-H and FFA teams, including 103 individuals. These individuals judged five classes of cattle, four classes of swine, and three classes of sheep. Collegiate individuals presented reasons on eight classes, and 4-H and FFA members presented reasons on four classes and answered questions on two classes.
OSU earned top honors in the collegiate contest by placing in the top five for cattle, swine, sheep and reasons categories, scoring 4,626 points. Team members included Trey Miller, Nathan Benich, Nick Wright, Kyle Nickles, Lindsey Howell, Bailey Harsh, Jacob Boyert, Lindsey Grimes, Audrey Neal and Coach Kyle Culp.
Illinois 4-H was the highest scoring junior team with 2,448 points. The team consisted of Andy Roth, Dayton Coyne, Jacob Baker, Carson Hank, Tyson Schulte, Gage Hank and Coach J.D. Schulte. The team had high scores in swine and reasons.
Sarah Kennedy, a member of the Michigan State University team received the top individual award for the collegiate contest by scoring 960 points. She was a top five individual for cattle, sheep and reasons.
Tyson Schulte, a member of the award winning Illinois 4-H team, received the top individual honors for the junior contest by scoring 838 points. He was a top five individual for cattle, swine, sheep and reasons.
For more information and the full release, click here.
2013 National Beef Ambassadors Announced
Erin Morrison (Minn.), Katie Stroud (Calif.), Emma Jumper (Ark.), Jacquelyn Brown (Ore.) and Chandler Mulvaney (Ala.) were chosen as the 2013 National Beef Ambassador Team at the annual National Beef Ambassador competition, which is funded in part by the Beef Checkoff. Twenty-two senior contestants ages 17-20 were judged in the areas of consumer promotion, classroom presentation, media interview technique and issues response at the event in Sacramento, Calif.
Contestants from throughout the country vied for a place on this elite team of agriculture advocates and $5,000 in cash prizes sponsored exclusively by Farm Credit. Additionally, five educational scholarships totaling $5,000 were given by the American National CattleWomen Foundation Inc. and Monsanto.
This year's contest also hosted a junior competition for youth beef industry advocates ages 12-16. Nine passionate contestants vied for cash prizes, competing in two judged categories: Media Interview and Consumer Demonstration. The first-place winner was Austin Gaspard (La.). This was a repeat first place win for Gaspard, as he was the junior winner in last year's contest. The second-place winner was Annie Belden (Calif.), and the third-place winner was Sage Mijares (N.M.). They all took home checks sponsored exclusively by Farm Credit for their top scores.
For the full release and more information, click here.
AFBF Presents Case on Chesapeake Bay Regulations
Attorneys for the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) delivered legal arguments Thursday explaining why the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) violated the Clean Water Act when it issued its "Total Maximum Daily Load" regulation for the entire Chesapeake Bay watershed.
AFBF believes that states in the Chesapeake Bay watershed, not the federal government, are authorized by law to decide how best to achieve water-quality goals. "The Clean Water Act put states in the driver's seat when it comes to decisions about how to achieve clean water and restrictions on land use and development," according to Don Parrish, senior director of regulatory relations for AFBF.
AFBF delivered the oral arguments and answered questions during a lengthy session before Judge Sylvia H. Rambo in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania in Harrisburg, Pa. More than a dozen Pennsylvania farmers, as well as staff from several state Farm Bureau organizations within the watershed, attended the argument to show their support for the legal challenge.
"Judge Rambo clearly believes this case is important and involves complex legal questions," said AFBF General Counsel Ellen Steen. "She had carefully studied the parties' arguments and was active in her questioning. At the end of a very long day of arguments, she told the parties not to expect a quick decision."
No Farm Bill Leaves Uncertainty for Farmers
Congress adjourned until after the November elections without action on a new farm bill. That presents farmers with a great deal of uncertainty moving forward. University of Missouri (MU) Extension agricultural economist Scott Brown says that after many months of negotiations and listening sessions, Congress failed to advance new farm policy.
"The Senate did end up passing a farm bill from the floor and although the House did pass a bill out of committee, it never reached the House floor, which is the next step in the process," Brown said. "So with Congress not back in session until after the election, we're in a situation where we are not going to know very much until the lame-duck session, and guessing what will happen during that session at this point is pretty tough."
Brown says that the outcome of the election may indicate what option Congress will pursue in regard to the Farm Bill in the lame-duck session.
"If the Republicans were to take control of both the House and Senate, I certainly think that is a situation where it could be more apt to see a short-term extension and the Republicans restarting the Farm Bill process going into 2013," Brown said. "If control of the two chambers remains split, then I think we might see them work hard in lame duck to get a farm bill done."
However, finishing a farm bill will still prove to be extremely difficult. Congress was unable to do so during the past two years, and during the lame duck, it will only have four weeks. Brown says the commodity titles that came from the Senate floor and through the House Agriculture Committee are not all that different and he doesn't expect it to be that large of an issue to compromise on. Cuts in nutrition may be where a struggle will ensue, as the Senate wanted fewer cuts than many of the more conservative members of the House are asking for.
Colostrum Health Benefits for Dairy Calves Not Affected by Cold Storage
Fresh, refrigerated or frozen, colostrum still is the best thing dairy owners can feed newborn calves, according to a joint study by Texas A&M AgriLife Research and the University of Florida.
Colostrum is the milk secreted for a few days from a mother, whether human or animal, after giving birth and is characterized by high protein and antibody content.
"It is well known that an adequate colostrum feeding is the most important management factor determining calf health and survival," said Pablo Pinedo, AgriLife Research ruminant animal health scientist in Amarillo.
"Passive transfer of immunoglobulins is the key element; however, colostrum also is an important source of nutrients, nonspecific immune factors and biologically active compounds."
Colostrum storage is a common practice that provides an immunoglobulin source when administration of dam colostrum is impractical or when the quality of the mother's colostrum is poor, Pinedo said.
Most studies analyzing the effect of storage at 39° F and freezing on colostrum quality have determined adequate preservation of immunoglobulins, but the effect of storage on other immunological factors remains unclear, he said.
Pinedo has joined with Arthur Donovan, professor, and a group of students at the University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine in Gainesville, Fla., to determine if there is a difference in the health benefits of colostrum comparing fresh to stored.
"The objective was to assess the performance, health and survival of calves fed fresh colostrum from their dams compared to calves receiving colostrum that was not from their dams and had been treated with potassium sorbate preservative and stored frozen or refrigerated," Pinedo said.
For more information and the full release, click here.
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