News Update

October 29, 2015

California Passes Antibiotics Law

California has passed a bill to limit the use of antibiotics in farm animals. It marks the first state, to date, to ban medically important antibiotics for growth promotion in livestock. According to Beef Today, meat producers will be allowed to administer the drugs only with the approval of a veterinarian when the animals are sick or to prevent infection in cases of elevated risk.

The policy is more restrictive than the Federal Drug Administration’s (FDA’s) national guidelines, which don’t restrict use for disease prevention. However, sources from state livestock groups suggest many producers are already restricting use and anticipate no significant hurdles for most California farmers and ranchers.

Watch the full segment on this week’s The Angus Report. You can also tune in at 1:30 p.m. CDT Saturday, 7:30 a.m. CST Monday and 5 p.m. CST each Wednesday on RFD-TV.

— Adapted from The Angus Report.

Prebreeding Strategies for Females

To ensure successful breeding, attention to detail must be paid to genetic selection, fetal programming, heifer development and heifer selection, said Catalina Cabrera, staff veterinarian with the University of California–Davis College of Veterinary Medicine. She spoke to attendees of the 2015 Applied Reproductive Strategies in Beef Cattle (ARSBC) symposium this August.

She explained that cow herd culling, calf crop weaned and pregnancy rates all contribute to the necessary percentage of replacement heifers cow-calf producers will need each year. With a 15% herd culling rate, 90% calf crop weaned and 90% pregnancy rate, 37% of the herd’s heifers would be needed as replacements.

However, with a 25% herd culling rate, 80% calf crop weaned and 90% pregnancy rate, 69% of the herd’s heifers would be needed as replacements. Needing fewer replacement females allows producers to be more selective and raise the bar on selection criteria.

— Adapted from an article by Kasey Brown, Angus Media.

Protein Makes a Comeback

Eat a different kind of fat and fewer carbohydrates. Or is it the other way around? During the last 40 years, consumers have been led one way or the other, which begs the question: Where’s the protein?

“Starting almost a half century ago, protein was basically ignored,” according to Shalene McNeill, executive director of nutrition research for the beef checkoff. “Although its benefits to the human diet are indisputable, in the past, it often has been left out of the discussion when it comes to the three macronutrients.”

When the 1977 Dietary Goals for the United States were published by the U.S. Senate’s Committee on Nutrition and Human Needs, protein was indeed the forgotten macronutrient. Eat less fat, sugar and salt, the report urged, and more carbohydrates. The American public took admonitions about the need to eat less fat to heart, replacing those fat calories with carbohydrates — and now, concerns about human health, particularly overweight and obesity, are at peak levels.

This leads to the question: What would happen if the optimal amount of protein in the diet were re-examined?

— Adapted from an article Melissa Sandfort, Cattlemen’s Beef Board.

Assitance for Beginning Farmers and Ranchers

Agriculture Deputy Secretary Krysta Harden announced a commitment by the USDA to prioritize $5.6 billion over the next two years within USDA programs and services that serve new and beginning farmers and ranchers. Harden also announced a new, tailored web tool designed to connect burgeoning farm entrepreneurs with programs and resources available to help them get started.

The new web tool is available at www.usda.gov/newfarmers. The site was designed based on feedback from new and beginning farmers and ranchers around the country, who cited unfamiliarity with programs and resources as a challenge to starting and expanding their operations. The site features advice and guidance on everything a new farm business owner needs to know, from writing a business plan, to obtaining a loan to grow their business, to filing taxes as a new small business owner.

For more information, please view the full USDA news release online.

— Adapted from a release by the USDA Office of Communications.

Trichomoniasis Rule Information

Recently the Texas Animal Health Commission (TAHC) changed a rule related to the required Trichomoniasis (Trich) testing for breeding bulls. The rule change lowered the acceptable maximum age for virgin bulls changing ownership within the state (intrastate movement) from 24 months to 18 months.

Implementation of the rule will begin Jan. 1, 2016. TAHC field managers will personally meet with each Texas livestock market owner/manager to discuss the change in detail.

Bulls 18 months to 30 months may still sell as virgins, if a veterinarian co-signs the virgin certificate.

— Adapted from a release by the Bonnie Ramirez, Texas Animal Health Commission.

— Compiled by Paige Nelson, field editor, Angus Journal.

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