Copyright © 2015
Angus Journal

News Update

February 03, 2015

Cattlemen Industry Convention Activities Already Under Way

Though the 2015 Cattle Industry Convention and NCBA Trade Show doesn’t officially begin until tomorrow, meetings connected to the event are already under way in San Antonio, Texas. The American National CattleWomen Inc. (ANCW) is hosting sessions today, beginning at 8 a.m., while several working groups are hosting meetings today, as well.

NCBA’s Cattlemen’s College®, now celebrating its 22nd year, has established a reputation as one of the most thorough cattle producer education programs in the nation. Sponsored by Zoetis, the 2015 edition of Cattlemen’s College offers a wide range of informative, hands-on educational workshops designed for cattle operations of every size and sector. It begins this afternoon and continues through lunch Wednesday.

Find the Angus Journal’s online coverage of the event in the newsroom at www.4cattlemen.com.

Rebuilding Gaining Momentum

U.S. beef cow inventory increased 2% from a year ago, signaling expansion among herds across the nation, according to the latest USDA-National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) cattle report.

“I thought the report showed more beef cows added than I expected,” said David Anderson, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service livestock specialist, College Station. “But record prices in the last half of 2014 will do that.”

Anderson said prior to the report, industry experts had the mindset the current rebuilding phase will be longer and slower.

“It might have to be re-thought,” he said.

Seven percent more beef cows were reported in Texas on Jan. 1 compared to the same time last year. When the final numbers come in, Anderson said it could potentially be the largest year-over-year percentage increase in Texas beef cows since 1972-1973, when the cow herd grew 14%.

The number of Texas beef cows remains the fewest since 1959 and 1962 for the entire United States, not counting 2014, Anderson said.

Texas has almost 4.2 million beef cows compared to 3.91 million in 2014 and 4.2 million in January 2013. Heifers retained for breeding cows have gradually begun increasing as Texas ranchers look to restock herds following devastating drought in 2011. That year, drought caused a record $7.62 billion in agricultural drought losses, the costliest drought of all time for Texas. Livestock losses were $3.23 billion resulting from feed expense and market losses.

“In absolute numbers, the 270,000-head cow herd increase this year is the largest since 1993-1994. Heifers held for beef cow replacements were also up — 4% nationwide and 7.6% in Texas.”

According to the report, there were 89.8 million head of cattle and calves on U.S. farms.

For stocker-cattle producers, Anderson said the number of calves on small-grain pastures in Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas was reported up 300,000 head from 1.6 million in 2014 to 1.9 million in 2015. More stockers on pasture may indicate a larger number coming to market in the March-May period than last year, Anderson noted.

The 2014 U.S. calf crop was estimated at 33.9 million head, up 1% from 2013, according to the report. Calves born during the first half of 2014 were estimated at 24.6 million, up slightly from 2013.

For more information, please view the full release here.

— Adapted from a release by Blair Fannin, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service.

NMSU Researchers use Crowdfunding for Mexican Wolf Tracking Experiments

Researchers at New Mexico State University (NMSU) are seeking donations to fund a project that could help the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) estimate the population of Mexican wolves in the country in a way that is faster, cheaper and more accurate than the current method of tracking.

Presently, researchers use a method of molecular replicating, scat-DNA polymerase chain reaction, to mark a wolf in the wild using the DNA in scats. This is very similar to the way a crime lab identifies individual humans based on their DNA. They can then estimate the population size of the wolves.

The Mexican wolf is an endangered species. Each year, the USFWS estimates the population as a way to track their recovery efforts.

“Our goal is to use analytical chemistry instrumentation to non-invasively determine gender, age and individual identity of Mexican wolves,” said Eric Burnham, senior chemistry research associate in the College of Arts and Sciences. “We propose to test a new technology, based on the chemical odorant profile of scat to quickly, inexpensively and accurately identify individual Mexican wolves. If successful, the data could be used to estimate population size, as well as age and gender structure of the population.”

Burnham and NMSU chemistry professor Gary Eiceman are using the website www.Experiment.com to crowdfund their research. The two are hoping to raise $6,000 to use a gas chromatography differential mobility spectrometry (GC-DMS). The instrument analyzes volatile chemicals in way that is similar to how dogs can pick up information from a scent.

“We have proven in exploratory studies that metabolic profiling of volatile organic compounds in scat can identify species, serving immediately as a fast and inexpensive substitute for DNA barcoding,” Burnham said. “Economics strongly favor our approach, where the cost per sample can be $14, compared to as much as $150 for genotypic identification using molecular markers like microsatellites.

“When somebody escapes from prison and they send out scent dogs to track them, the dogs pick up the scent, which is volatile chemicals that come from dead skin cells. Animals and humans are always exfoliating dead skin cells.”

Skin cells originate from DNA, making each individual — human or animal — unique.

“There’s a lot more information in a scent than we knew. A scent dog could probably give us a lot more information than an individual animal. The problem is we can’t ask a dog. With this technology we can tell age, gender, diet, possibly even their origin,” said Burnham.

For more information, please view the full release here.

— Adapted from a release by Isabel Rodriguez, New Mexico State University.

Beef Feedlot Roundtable Sessions
Offered at Four Iowa Locations

Iowa State University (ISU) Extension and Outreach and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL) are teaming up to offer a Feedlot Roundtable session at four Iowa locations on Thursday, Feb. 12. ISU Extension beef program specialist Denise Schwab said these sessions are offered annually in Nebraska and a cooperative arrangement between the two state universities offers access for Iowans to the afternoon session.

“The cooperative agreement between Iowa State Extension and UNL Extension provides sharing of livestock educational resources and programs,” she said. “Through available technology, the roundtables also will be offered via Internet connection for Iowans in selected locations. The speakers and subject matter are sure to draw interest from our state’s beef community.”

The focus of this year’s program is on feeding dairy beef, which makes up 14% of the U.S. beef market, with speakers from ISU, UNL and Michigan State University (MSU). Dan Grooms of the MSU College of Veterinary Medicine will present information on health considerations in managing Holstein beef. Dan Loy from ISU will talk about feedlot nutrition and technology for Holstein beef production, and UNL’s Galen Erickson will discuss the use of beta-agonists in feedlot diets. Stephanie Hansen will wrap up the afternoon with an update on feedlot research at ISU.

More information, including a registration form, is available on the Iowa Beef Center website.