News Update
January 26, 2016
Fueling the Navy’s Great Green Fleet
Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus and Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack kicked off the Great Green Fleet Jan. 20 with the deployment of the USS John C. Stennis Carrier Strike Group (JCS CSG) during a ceremony at Naval Air Station North Island.
The Great Green Fleet is a Department of the Navy initiative highlighting how the Navy and Marine Corps are using energy efficiency and alternative energy to increase combat capability and operational flexibility. At the close of the ceremony, the Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer USS Stockdale (DDG 106) left the pier to begin its deployment, becoming the first U.S. Navy ship running on an alternative fuel blend as part of its regular operations.
“When it comes to power, my focus has been about one thing and one thing only: better warfighting,” said Mabus. “The Great Green Fleet shows how we are transforming our energy use to make us better warfighters — to go farther, stay longer and deliver more firepower. In short, to enable us to provide the global presence that is our mission.”
For more information, please view the full Angus Beef Bulletin EXTRA article online.
Senate Votes 30-1 Against Tax Hikes on Farm Families
The Missouri Senate passed Senate Concurrent Resolutions 51 and 52 (SCR 51 and 52) Jan. 25, 2016, which disapprove the Missouri Tax Commission’s recommendation of a 5% tax increase on Missouri farmers and ranchers. The resolutions, sponsored by Sens. Will Kraus (R-8) and Mike Parson (R-28), passed with a bipartisan 30-1 vote. The resolution is supported by the Missouri Cattlemen’s Association (MCA) and is a priority for members of the association. MCA President Keith Stevens said now is not the time to increase taxes on Missouri farmers and ranchers.
“It would be irresponsible for this association to compromise on yet another tax increase when we have members struggling to even make a loan payment,” said Stevens. “The market is volatile and we are seeing a dramatic downward trend that has some family farmers and ranchers in a very difficult situation.”
The Missouri Tax Commission makes recommendations for tax adjustments on agricultural property every two years. Two years ago, the Commission increased taxes on farm and ranch ground by 5%.
For more information, please view the full MCA release online.
BVD Tests: Important Tools
Bovine viral diarrhea (BVD) virus can cause a host of problems — from diarrhea to abortion and susceptibility to other diseases. Acute infection with the virus triggers an immune response, the body fights back and the animal recovers. This situation is not as concerning as persistent infection (PI) in which the animal can never get rid of the virus and is constantly shedding it for the rest of its life.
Gregg Hanzlicek of the Kansas State University (K-State) Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory says the thing to worry about most with BVD is that it causes immunosuppression.
“Thus, it contributes to higher sickness rates with other important diseases, such as bovine respiratory disease,” he says.
“On the cow-calf side we worry about reproductive issues, and on the feeding side we are concerned with immunosuppression and respiratory disease. The reason the PI cattle are dangerous is because they usually don’t have any symptoms. They are born with the virus and are constantly shedding it in huge numbers, but they appear normal. All the animals around them are exposed to the virus. For more information, please view the full Angus Beef Bulletin EXTRA article online.
National Radon Action Month
January is National Radon Action Month, and Kansas State University’s (K-State’s) Bruce Snead wants homeowners to do just that — take action. If you’ve not had your home tested recently for radon, the odorless, colorless and tasteless gas linked to lung cancer, now is the time.
Radon is produced by the decay of radioactive elements in the soil. It’s a known environmental hazard, can seep through joints or cracks in a home’s foundation (or slab), and is known to be the leading cause of lung cancer in nonsmokers and the second leading cause of lung cancer in smokers.
Radon is present in as many as 25% of Kansas homes, said Snead, who is the director of engineering extension at K-State. You can find the average radon level in your state or in your county at www.radon.com/maps/.
Most K-State Research & Extension offices (www.ksre.k-state.edu/about/stateandareamaps.html) offer a low-cost ($5-$10) home test kit that can identify the presence of radon. Radon detectors are also available at discount department, hardware and home stores, usually for $25 or less.
For more information, please view the full Angus Beef Bulletin EXTRA article online.
Lessons Learned
As I took my first step through those glass doors that led me inside Republic High School, I wondered who I really was. At school, I was a curly-headed, blue-eyed, girly girl who just wanted to fit in with everyone else. I played sports, was involved in extracurricular activities and maintained a good scholastic record. I didn’t want anyone to know what I really liked to do, where I spent all my free time or why I was never home in the summer.
I covered up my FFA jacket when I had to carry it into school. I ducked my head the mornings I stepped out of the feed truck and trudged through the parking lot, praying no one would see. Back home, my hair was tucked under a ball cap and I usually donned shorts and a t-shirt. I spent my free time with the cows. I carried feed buckets, rinsed show heifers, raked and fed hay, and worked until dark. I loved every minute of it.
For more information, please view the full Angus Journal article online.
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