News Update
July 18, 2013
Look Out For Ergot In Pastures
Missouri farmers are reporting cattle deaths due to widespread ergot infestation of common pasture grasses. Producers should immediately move cattle or other livestock from infested fields.
Ergot, a fungus, normally appears in small pockets throughout the state, but this year seems to be prevalent statewide, said Craig Roberts, University of Missouri (MU) Extension forage specialist.
Wet, cool weather followed by high heat and humidity created ideal conditions for ergot growth across Missouri, said Roberts, who is also a professor of plant sciences in the MU College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources. “With that amount of moisture in the ground and in the plants, once it gets hot the state turns into an incubator.”
A farmer in northeastern Missouri reported the death of four cattle in early July after he moved some of his herd to a tall fescue pasture, which was in the seed-head stage, said Tim Evans, a toxicologist in the MU College of Veterinary Medicine. The farmer said the cattle appeared to suffer from extreme heat stress.
“The cattle were apparently acting very ‘hot’ the day before,” Evans said. Cattle may seek relief in shade or stand in water. Other symptoms might include overall malaise, rapid breathing, sloughing of the switches of tails and tips of ears, abortion, and possible decreased milk production.
Ergot produces alkaloid compounds that are toxic to livestock and humans. The toxins constrict blood vessels, increasing respiration rates, raising core body temperatures and limiting blood supply to the extremities. Ergotism can be confused with fescue foot or fescue toxicosis because the symptoms are similar.
New App Keeps Cows Cool and Profitable
A new product that can help animal farmers reduce a billion-dollar problem in heat-related losses was recently released by the University of Missouri (MU).
ThermalAid is a smartphone app that monitors heat-related stresses on beef and dairy cattle and alerts farmers when there is a health problem. The app also recommends which intervention strategy will be most effective.
“Cows are like the rest of us,” said Don Spiers, professor of animal science at MU’s College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources, who led the team that developed the app. “They slow down in hot and humid weather. When stressed by too much heat, they stop eating, and thus fail to gain weight or produce milk.”
Hot weather means big losses for farmers. “Each summer, the dairy industry loses $900 million nationally in productivity and the beef industry $400 million. And that’s data from 2003 when the industry was smaller and summers less intense,” Spiers said.
The 99¢ app receives temperature and humidity data from the weather service according to the GPS location of the user. The farmer tells the app if the animal is a beef or dairy cow, if it is in the barn or outside, if it is on the pasture or feedlot, its health status, and other information.
With that, the app calculates the animal’s Temperature Humidity Index, or the THI. If the THI is not stressful, the app shows green for that cow. If heat stress is an issue, the color goes to yellow and then orange. Red indicates a life-threatening condition.
For more information, please view the ThermalAid webpage here.
Register Now to Attend Cattle Trails
Cow-Calf Conference in Lawton, Okla.
Cattle producers looking to pick up the latest information about maximizing livestock and wheat resources under variable and sometimes volatile weather and market conditions should register now to attend the Aug. 13 Cattle Trails Cow-Calf Conference in Lawton.
The annual conference is a joint effort between the Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service and Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service, with the intent of helping producers drive their operations toward profit.
Marty New, Comanche County Extension director and agricultural educator, said profit margins can be tight in the best of times, and the last few years have been anything but the “best of times” for most cattle producers in the Southern Plains states.
“Think of the conference as one-stop shopping,” he said. “The most up-to-date information will be presented and participants will have the opportunity to ask questions of and interact with some of the region’s premier cattle-management experts, as well as other producers who are in positions similar to them.”
The Aug. 13 conference — which alternates between Oklahoma and Texas each year — will take place from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Comanche County Fairgrounds’ Great Plains Coliseum, located at 920 S. Sheridan in Lawton.
Registration is $25 per participant and covers the cost of a noon meal, break refreshments and conference materials. Registration materials are available at all Oklahoma State University Cooperative Extension and Texas A&M AgriLife Extension county offices, listed under “county government” in most local directories.
For more information, please view the Angus Journal Virtual Library calendar of upcoming events here.
Second Annual Texas AgXchange Farm and
Ranch Show slated Oct. 2-3
The 2013 Texas AgXchange Farm and Ranch Show will be Oct. 2-3 at the Richard M. Borchard Regional Fairgrounds.
The show is being produced by VerticalXChange in cooperation with the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service and Texas A&M AgriLife Research, according to Monty Dozier, AgriLife Extension regional program director for agriculture and natural resources in College Station.
There is no admission fee for the show, annual AgriLife conference or field demonstrations, he said.
“We enjoy our relationship with the Texas AgXchange,” he said. “Farmers like that we host our conference with a large farm and ranch show as it provides them with more to do, all at one location. They can see the new technology not only on display, but working in the field demos as well.”
The show will be open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. both days and will be considerably larger than last year’s show, according to Greg Geisler, show director.
“We’ll have nearly 200 exhibitors this year,” he said. “That’s nearly double in size from our very successful show last year.”
Topics at the AgriLife Extension educational conference Oct. 3 will include integrated management techniques for handling and treating cattle parasites and rangeland brush, improving reproductive efficiency in the beef herd, pesticide laws and regulations, and potential impacts to ground and surface water quality associated with pesticide movement.
For more information, please view the Angus Journal Virtual Library calendar of upcoming events here.
Funding to Create Jobs and Economic Opportunity
in Rural Communities Announced
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced July 18 the selection of organizations in 11 states for loans and grants to support job creation efforts and business development, and to strengthen economic growth in rural communities. The USDA remains focused on carrying out its mission, despite a time of significant budget uncertainty. The announcement is one part of the Department’s efforts to strengthen the rural economy. The announcement was made on the Secretary’s behalf by USDA Rural Utilities Service Administrator John Padalino while he was attending the annual National Rural Economic Developers Association meeting in Austin, Texas.
“These investments will give rural businesses and local organizations more access to capital and new markets, allowing them to expand and increase hiring,” Vilsack said. “Between 2009 and 2011, USDA used $1.4 billion in government funds to provide nearly $7 billion in loans and grants to help rural businesses grow and innovate. This kind of investment creates and saves jobs in rural communities and builds thriving economies for the long term, all major goals of the Obama Administration and USDA.”
The $11.8 million announced July 18 is being provided through USDA’s Rural Economic Development Loan and Grant program (REDLG). It provides zero-interest loans and grants to local utilities, which then, in turn, lend the funds through to local businesses (ultimate recipients) for projects that will create and retain employment in rural areas. The program funds business start-up or expansion, business incubators, education and training facilities and equipment, community development assistance, health care and other community projects that support rural jobs.
For more information, please view the full release here.
Farmers Need Fair, Functional Markets
National Farmers Union (NFU) President Roger Johnson issued the following statement regarding the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry’s hearing today on the Commodity Exchange Act and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC):
“Family farmers and ranchers, like any other players in the economy, need access to commodity markets that are stable, fair, and free from manipulation. The CFTC needs the tools, data and authority to ensure that functional markets are available.
“The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 assigned enormous additional responsibilities to the CFTC. In order to carry out those duties, CFTC needs the resources to keep up with the $600 trillion derivatives market and ever-changing trading technology. Furthermore, CFTC should continue its work to improve and implement the regulations resulting from Dodd-Frank.
“The MF Global and Peregrine debacles underscore the need for regulatory oversight of our financial and commodity markets. Now is not the time to turn back — CFTC must be allowed to continue in its important work.”
Editor’s Note: The articles used within this site represent a mixture of copyrights. If you would like to reprint or repost an article, you must first request permission of Angus Productions Inc. (API) by contacting the editor at 816-383-5200; 3201 Frederick Ave., Saint Joseph, MO 64506. API claims copyright to this web site as presented. We welcome educational venues and cattlemen to link to this site as a service to their audience.