News Update

July 24, 2013

Legislation Introduced to Prevent EPA from Releasing Producer Information

U.S. Sens. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) and Joe Donnelly (D-Ind.) introduced legislation July 23 that protects the personal information of livestock producers from dissemination by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The Farmer Identity Protection Act (S. 1343) comes in response to the EPA’s release of livestock and poultry producers’ names and other personal information to three radical environmental groups through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request in February and again in April. The release divulged names, addresses, geographic coordinates and, in some cases, telephone numbers and email addresses of more than 80,000 producers in 29 states.

“Livestock producers are grateful to Senators Grassley and Donnelly for introducing this legislation,” according to National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) past president and Pilger, Neb., cattle feeder J.D. Alexander. “Unlike other businesses, cattlemen and women live, work and raise their families on their operations. We have a reasonable expectation of privacy on our private property and there is no conceivable reason for the EPA to release this type of information.”

EPA claims it lacks statutory authority to protect livestock producers’ personal information. The Farmer Identity Protection Act would unequivocally provide the agency with the ability to prevent such farm-specific releases from happening in the future, allowing the agency to provide information to outside parties only in aggregate without individually identifying information, or with the producer’s consent.

“In this instance EPA went too far, jeopardizing the health and safety of cattle producers and their families,” said Alexander. “As a producer whose information was blatantly given to the recognized enemies of the U.S. beef industry, it comes as a relief to have this legislation introduced. Congress is going to have to be the one to fix this problem created by the incestuous relationship between environmentalists and EPA. Today is a step in that direction, and we thank Senators Grassley and Donnelly for their efforts.”

— Release by the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association.

QuickBooks Courses Scheduled in Lubbock and Amarillo

Returning for the twelfth year in a row, the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service will offer QuickBooks Pro computer short courses Aug. 19-20 in Amarillo and Sept. 9-10 in Lubbock.

The trainings will run from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day in both cities, said DeDe Jones, AgriLife Extension risk management specialist in Amarillo, who will coordinate the event in that city. Jay Yates, AgriLife Extension risk management specialist in Lubbock, will coordinate the Lubbock course. Both events will take place at the Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center in their respective cities.

“Based on follow-up surveys, attendees have received an average economic benefit of more than $2,000 per year,” Jones said. “We’ve presented the program to almost 360 producers through the years.”

QuickBooks Pro is a double-entry business accounting program often used by agricultural lenders and producers, Jones said. In the two-day course, participants will learn to enter transactions into the program and analyze costs and profits. No prior computer experience is necessary.

Registration for each two-day course is $125 and includes computer use and teaching materials. Couples are encouraged to attend and will be charged only one registration fee if they share a computer. Class size is limited to 15 people to provide a hands-on experience for all participants, Jones said.

Those planning to attend should RSVP by Aug. 12 for the Amarillo session and by Sept. 2 for the Lubbock session. Payment is due upon arrival on the first day of the course. For more information, please visit the Angus Journal’s Virtual Library calendar of upcoming events here.

— Adapted from a release written by Kay Ledbetter for Texas A&M AgriLife Today

Managing Cow Herds During Drought

Anytime drought occurs, times are difficult for livestock producers. However, avoid management practices that would lead to “panic,” like mass selling of livestock.

During drought, calves could be early-weaned, taken to a drylot and fed for normal growth. Dry cows could then be maintained by grazing poor-quality pastures or fed low-quality feeds until crop residues are available. In early gestation, dry cows can be maintained on low-quality feeds without long-range effects on reproductive performance. For each two and a half days that the calf is weaned, there is one extra day of forage available for grazing.

If the drought continues, cows will be culled and cow prices will undoubtedly decline. If adequate sources of feed are available, it is advised to not cull until after a pregnancy test. Pregnancy check no earlier than 35 to 45 days after the end of the breeding season. If producers are to cull cows, cows with physical impairments, non-pregnant cows — after accurately pregnancy testing, old, mature cows and cows with low production records should be at the top of a producer’s cull list. If the breeding season for the cow herd is close to ending, producers may want to wait and cull cows on a pregnancy test basis. Pregnancy check approximately 50-60 days after removing the bulls from the breeding pasture for accurate results using rectal palpation. For experienced ultrasound technicians, pregnancy detection after about day 30 to 35 of pregnancy is about 100% accurate.

For more information, please view the full release here.

— Release written by Rick Rasby for the University of Nebraska–Lincoln.

Beef Cow Herds Shift as New Technology Brings More Changes

The Missouri cattle herd has changed, and bigger changes are ahead, says Scott Brown, University of Missouri (MU) livestock economist.

There’s a cow population shift from north to south in Missouri, Brown says. The reason: Corn and soybean crops return more per acre than cows.

Pastureland that once held cows now grows crops. While cow numbers have dropped more than 50% in some northern counties, counties in the Ozarks have gained cows.

Brown gave an optimistic outlook to those at the 2013 Breimyer Seminar, July 17 on the MU campus. The theme for the day was “The Future of the Missouri Cattle Industry.”

Economists and industry leaders shared their ideas on the agricultural polices in beef production. Policy seminars were started in 1973 by MU professor Harold Breimyer. They continue in his name.

The biggest beef industry change has been cattle prices never seen before. That’s tempered by lack of record-setting profits. Higher commodity prices have raised cattle prices, Brown said.

However, the USDA predicts a record-setting corn crop, which Brown says would lead to a sharp drop in corn prices.

With lower corn prices, producers will increase production, feed more cattle and prices will fall. “The laws of supply and demand do work,” Brown says.

Brown’s optimism for the future of the cattle industry rides on new technology now available to cow herd owners. “The closer I’ve worked with the MU animal scientists, the more potential I see.” For more information, please view the full release here.

— Release written by Duane Dailey for University of Missouri Extension.

Utilizing Conservation Reserve Program
for Grazing in Drought Conditions

It has been announced that 54 Nebraska counties are authorized for emergency haying and grazing of Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) acres for 2013 due to drought conditions. Eligible producers who are interested in grazing CRP under the emergency authorization and current CRP participants, who choose to provide land for grazing to an eligible livestock producer, must first request approval to graze eligible acreage through the FSA and obtain a modified conservation plan from the NRCS that includes grazing requirements.

Utilizing CRP for grazing provides both some challenges and opportunities.

Availability of water on CRP acres is going to be the first concern. The water requirements for a cow-calf pair in July can be close to 25 gallons per day. Hauling water to cattle can be very expensive, but may be a viable option when compared to the cost of feeding harvested feed. Early weaning calves and grazing dry cows on CRP acres may be a better option for producers where water availability is limited or will need to be hauled.

Forage quality is going to be the second possible concern. Depending upon when the CRP acres were last grazed or hayed and the species of grasses and legumes that are present, there may be a lot of old grass growth present that will be low in quality. If most of the feed that is present is old growth, it is likely that some supplemental protein and energy may be needed. This is especially true for replacement heifers and young cows with calves at side that have high nutrient requirements For more information, please view the full release in the July Angus Beef Bulletin EXTRA here.

— Release written by Aaron Berger for the University of Nebraska–Lincoln.

— Compiled by Lynsey Meharg, intern, Angus Journal.