News Update
September 17, 2014
Farm Safety Should be
a Front Burner Issue
In honor of the United Nations’ 2014 International Year of Family Farming, this month National Farmers Union (NFU) is highlighting the importance of being proactive in the area of farm safety. Agriculture is consistently among the most hazardous occupations in the United States.
“The path to a safer farm and ranch is through proactively addressing ongoing and emerging occupational safety and health issues affecting U.S. agriculture,” said NFU President Roger Johnson. “Family farmers and ranchers must work together to make farm safety a front burner issue and encourage farmers, producers and agribusiness owners to integrate safety into everyday practice, so that it becomes part of their DNA, not just a program or a slogan. Safety is an approach to life and the workplace.”
In an average year, 516 workers die while doing farm work, and each day about 243 agricultural workers suffer lost-time injuries.
“To that end, National Farmers Union is implementing an education and outreach plan to help bring the safety mind-set to farmers and ranchers where they live,” said Johnson. “The initiative will be unveiled later this year, and will help NFU make its mark on this important issue.”
More information can be found at www.nfu.org.
— Adapted from a release by Andrew Jerome, National Farmers Union.
Synovex Choice® Approved for Heifers
On Sept. 16 Zoetis announced that Synovex Choice® is approved for use in feedlot heifers. The implant helps increase average daily gain and improve feed efficiency in heifers, and it helps increase gain in feedlot steers.
For more than 12 years, the product has helped optimize weight gain in feedlot steers through the 10:1 ratio of trenbolone acetate (TBA) to estradiol-17B (E2). The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for use in heifers means feedlot managers can use the same implant for all cattle.
“Synovex Choice helps simplify feedlot implant programs because it is approved for steers and heifers and can be used in calf-fed or yearling cattle,” said Blaine Corners, beef cattle nutritionist with Zoetis. “Now, processing crews no longer have to worry about keeping separate inventory for males and females. They also do not need to manage two guns chuteside — the SX10 applicator is all they will need, so it is more convenient to work cattle.”
“Feedlot managers are seeing unprecedented cattle prices, so they are looking at every opportunity to maximize performance while those animals are in the feedlot,” Corners explained. “Synovex Choice can help feedlots add even more value — $60 to $68 per head in steers and $52 per head in heifers.”
This is the first beef-cattle implant to face additional scrutiny by the FDA about its impact on the environment. Through research and in-depth environmental modeling, Zoetis examined exposure to and the direct impact of TBA, estradiol benzoate and their metabolites. After reviewing results of those studies, the FDA concluded that Synovex Choice is not expected to have a significant impact on the environment, including waterways, air, plants or aquatic species, when used according to label directions.
For more information, please view the full release here.
Texas 4-H Members get Ready
for National 4-H Week Oct. 5-11
During National 4-H Week Oct. 5-11, local and county 4-H clubs and groups have the opportunity to showcase what they have gained from their membership at the local and county level, said Toby Lepley, assistant state 4-H leader — operations for the Texas 4-H Youth Development Program.
“Community service is always the focus of National 4-H Week, which concludes with ‘One Day 4-H,’ a statewide effort led by 4-H members and adult volunteers to give back to the communities in which they live through their service.”
Lepley said on Oct. 11 more than 10,000 4-H members throughout Texas will “step out into their communities” to make a difference in one day.
“This day of community service is whatever each 4-H member, club or county 4-H program wants it to be,” Lepley said. “It could be as simple as picking up trash or mowing the lawn for a senior citizen to as elaborate as hosting a 5K walk/run to raise money for a worthy cause.”
Lepley said while 4-H member feedback, program surveys and anecdotal information have always indicated the program provided individual and community benefits, a recently released long-term research study has confirmed and more comprehensively quantified those benefits.
For more than a decade, a team at the Institute for Applied Research in Youth Development at Tufts University in Medford, Mass., led by Richard Lerner and Jacqueline Lerner, have been conducting research in cooperation with the nation’s land-grant colleges and universities.
The recently released study, “The Positive Development of Youth: Comprehensive Findings from the 4-H Study of Positive Youth Development,” began in 2002 and was repeated annually for eight years. More than 7,000 youth from diverse backgrounds across 42 states provided information used in the study.
Lepley said the study concluded that the 4-H program’s hands-on experiential learning, as well as the encouragement and support provided through peer and adult mentoring, plays an important part in helping young people achieve success in life.
The report shows that 4-H members, as compared to their peers are:
- Four times more likely to make contributions to their communities, based on data from students in grades 7-12.
- Two times more likely to be civically active, based on data from students in grades 8-12.
- Two times more likely to make healthier lifestyle choices, based on data from seventh-graders.
- Two times more likely to participate in science, engineering and computer technology programs during out-of-school time, based on information from students in grades 10-12.
For more information, please view the full release here.
Career Conference Showcases Ag, Food Sector Jobs
As Michigan’s overall recovery moves forward, some economic sectors are promising brighter career opportunities than others. Among the few industries that powered through the recent recession relatively unfazed are food and agriculture, including the closely related natural resources sector.
An Oct. 16 career conference will spotlight some of the estimated 54,400 agriculture-related job openings expected to become available through 2015 for those with training and/or experience in the field. Scheduled for 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the Crowne Plaza Hotel at 925 S. Creyts Road in Delta Township, the 2014 Career Focus Conference promises to help interested attendees find out where they might fit into this vast, but sometimes overlooked, career landscape.
“The vast majority of Americans are several generations removed from any kind of direct involvement with food production, so it’s not surprising that young people sometimes overlook this sector of our economy,” said Jason Jaekel, manager of Michigan Farm Bureau’s (MFB’s) Young Farmer department and one of the conference’s key organizers. “But everyone still needs to eat, and until that changes, there will be an abundance of great career opportunities in agriculture and the dozens of closely affiliated industries that make up the path connecting farm fields to kitchen cupboards.”
While the target audience is FFA students, membership and/or participation in that organization isn’t necessary for attendance.
Attendees will hear from colleges, universities and other post-high school training institutions about admissions, classes and learning opportunities. They’ll have opportunity to visit with industry professionals in panel discussions and network with conference presenters over lunch.
“At the very least we want young people to realize we aren’t just talking about working on a farm,” Jaekel said. “There are plenty of farm jobs available, yes, but we’re also talking about transportation, processing, packaging, marketing, wholesale and retail distribution, and lots more.”
The Career Focus Conference is jointly sponsored by the Michigan Foundation for Agriculture and MFB’s Young Farmer and Promotion and Education departments.
Attendees must be accompanied by a chaperone, age 21 years or older, who will be responsible for forwarding information regarding the conference to students. Attendance is $40 per attendee; registration applications (available online) are due with payment to MFB by Friday, Sept. 26.
Registration is unnecessary for FFA members already planning to attend the conference and/or Fall PDI (Professional Development Institute) with their agriscience advisor.
For more information, please view the Angus Journal Virtual Library calendar of upcoming events here.
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