News Update
May 23, 2013
Producers Should Examine Pastures for Post-tornado Debris
Insulation and building debris from severe storm events, such as the tornadoes that recently struck Oklahoma, can litter pastures, causing potentially significant negative effects on livestock health and an agricultural operation’s economic bottom line.
Brian Freking, Oklahoma State University Cooperative Extension area livestock specialist, cautions that cattle will eat just about anything that looks interesting in the pasture.
“Picking up debris from their pastures can be a painstaking, labor-intensive process given the potential amount of small debris,” he said. “Obviously, people come first, but when a producer gets a moment, he or she needs to walk their pastures; it just needs to be done, and as quickly as possible.”
When consumed, insulation can cause bloat, impaction and gastrointestinal problems, including possible hemorrhaging of the rumen and irritation to the lining of the digestive tract. Cattle may also ingest nails, pieces of wire and other small pieces of metal. “Hardware” disease, a disease of cattle ingesting foreign bodies such as described above, can be a result.
A single piece of wire consumed by a bull, cow, heifer or calf can drop down into the reticulum, one of the stomachs, where it can potentially pierce the heart or other internal organs.
For more information, the complete article can be accessed here.
USDA Keeps COOL; Complies with WTO Ruling
The USDA issued a final rule governing country-of-origin labeling (COOL) to meet compliance requirements set forth by a recent World Trade Organization (WTO) ruling. National Farmers Union (NFU) President Roger Johnson issued a statement following the decision:
“We are very pleased that the USDA has decided to stand strong and keep COOL. The decision to bring the law into compliance with the WTO’s ruling is a win-win situation for all interested parties. We further applaud the administration for deciding to take a proactive approach in bringing COOL into compliance by providing more information on the origins of our food, instead of simply watering down the process.”
USDA’s final rule will require labels for certain foods, particularly muscle cuts of meat, to include the countries in which the animal was born, raised and slaughtered.
R-CALF USA (Ranchers-Cattlemen Action Legal Fund, United Stockgrowers of America) CEO Bill Bullard explained that COOL is necessary to facilitate competition for U.S. cattle and provide choices for U.S. consumers.
“Without COOL it is the meatpacker and not the consumer that decides from what country cattle will be sourced to satisfy consumer demand for beef. Only with COOL can consumers trigger a demand signal for cattle sourced from U.S. farmers and ranchers, which they can do simply by consistently choosing to purchase a USA product,” concluded Bullard.
National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) President Scott George, a Cody, Wyo., dairy and cattle producer, issued a statement regarding today’s announcement that the USDA issued a final rule regarding mandatory COOL.
“We are deeply disappointed with this short-sighted action by the USDA. Our largest trading partners have already said that these provisions will not bring the United States into compliance with our WTO obligations and will result in increased discrimination against imported products and in turn retaliatory tariffs or other authorized trade sanctions.”
For more information on COOL, visit the Angus Journal country-of-origin labeling topic site available by clicking here.
Farm Bill Extension May Make ACRE Program a Viable Option for Some Area Farmers
The federally funded Average Crop Revenue Election (ACRE) program might be a viable option for West Texas producers seeking to recoup drought-related losses to this year’s crop, said an economist with the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service. Decisions must be made quickly with June 3 the sign-up deadline.
Bill Thompson, AgriLife Extension economist at San Angelo, said AgriLife Extension will partner with the USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) to conduct three educational meetings May 28-29 to help producers decide whether ACRE is right for them.
The meetings, all with a similar format tailored to the specific site, will be:
- May 28 at noon, “brown bag” seminar at the Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center at Lubbock.
- May 29 at 8 a.m. at the Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center at San Angelo.
- May 29 at 1 p.m. at the Roscoe Co-Op Gin, Roscoe.
“I have received numerous calls and emailed questions about ACRE,” Thompson said. “Because the June 3 sign-up deadline is almost upon us, we as agencies want to do everything we can to help educate producers, so they can make the most informed decisions possible as it pertains to their specific operation and crop.”
There will be no charge for the meetings, and Thompson said the formal trainings will be short. He added that agency personnel will stay as long as possible to run the numbers for anyone interested.
For more information, including directions, please visit the full release here.
NFU to FCC: Keep Translators and Low-power Television in Rural America
National Farmers Union (NFU) joined a group of agriculture and conservation organizations in sending letters to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC); the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation and the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Energy and Commerce urging for further research relating to spectrum incentive auctions and their impact on television translator service and low-power television.
In 2012, Congress authorized the FCC to conduct voluntary spectrum incentive auctions. This allows television broadcasters to sell their channels to wireless companies for a portion of the auction proceeds. Broadcasters that choose not to participate in the auction may eventually be relocated to maximize spectrum availability for wireless services.
“In rural and mountainous areas, local broadcast television is often the only communications infrastructure that connects our communities. Over-the-air broadcast television often serves as our lifeline — connecting farmers, ranchers and growers to more populated areas. Our members rely heavily on broadcast television for local public affairs programming, news, weather and emergency information,” the letter noted.
Only full-power television broadcasters are eligible for auction participation or compensation. Low-power television stations and TV translators, which serve small, rural areas with local television signals, are not guaranteed a channel location and will not be compensated for their moves, which may result in viewers losing current channels and limiting access to local news and information.
“The Commission must carefully consider the significant negative impact of unnecessarily reallocating more spectrum than is necessary in rural America, especially on those viewers that receive broadcast television via a translator or other low-power television stations,” the letter further noted.
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