Copyright © 2015
Angus Journal

News Update

November 22, 2016

Angus Staff Highlight
Online Herd Information Tools

American Angus Association staff provided a series of brief presentations at the Association’s booth in the trade show during the 2016 Angus Convention. Three of the presentations focused on the available online tools to assist with herd and pedigree data. This includes AAA Login, Angus Information Management Software (AIMS) and Angus Mobile.

AAA Login is accessible by active regular, life and junior members once they create a password-protected profile. These individuals can then log in to their account to view registered herd inventory, artificial insemination (AI) certificate inventory, expected progeny differences (EPDs), cow production records and additional information. Through this site, users can also submit registrations and performance data, as well as set up and sort data sets on specific groups of animals, create printable data sheets on animal sets, use the potential carrier management tool to determine which animals in your herd may need tests for genetic conditions, and order genomic tests or DNA cards and review test results.

AAA Login is free and available 24 hours a day. Data is updated daily.

Continue reading in the Angus Media news article online.

— Adapted from an article by Kindra Gordon for Angus Media.

FDA Changes Coming for Livestock Owners

Livestock owners across Missouri are encouraged to prepare for Food and Drug Administration (FDA) rule changes on antibiotics that will go into effect Jan. 1.

Craig Payne, director of veterinary medical extension at the University of Missouri, said there are two main changes. The first deals with medically important feed-grade or water-soluble antibiotics that have a claim on the label, such as improved rate of weight gain or improved feed efficiency. These claims will be removed from the label and the antibiotic will no longer be permissible to use for those production purposes.

The second change deals with the same antibiotics, many of which have been available over the counter in the past. On Jan. 1, these antibiotics will no longer be available in that regard, instead requiring veterinarian oversight.

The FDA created a list of antimicrobials in 2003 that are important in human medicine, Payne said. “Any of the antimicrobials that are on that list will be impacted by the upcoming changes.”

Antimicrobials are agents that destroy microorganisms or hinder their growth. Antibiotics are used against bacteria, for example.

For more information, view the FDA news release online.

— Adapted from a release by the Food and Drug Administration.

USDA’s Five Tips for a Food Safe Thanksgiving

This week millions of Americans will gather family and friends around the dinner table to give thanks. But for those preparing the meal, it can be a stressful time. Not to mention, for many it is the largest meal they have cooked all year, leaving plenty of room for mistakes that could cause foodborne illness.

“Unsafe handling and undercooking of food can lead to serious foodborne illness,” said Al Almanza, deputy under secretary for food safety at the USDA. “Turkeys may contain Salmonella and Campylobacter, harmful pathogens that are only destroyed by properly preparing and cooking the turkey. Similarly, leaving leftovers out for too long, or not taking care to properly clean cooking and serving surfaces, can lead to other types of illness. We want to be sure that all consumers know the steps they can take and resources that are available to them to help prepare a safe and enjoyable holiday meal.”

To avoid making everyone at the table sick, the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) offers five tips for a food safe Thanksgiving.

Tip 1: Don’t wash that turkey.

For more information, view the USDA news release online.

— Adapted from a release by the USDA.

Farmers Receive Less Than 20% of
Thanksgiving Retail Food Dollar

Consumers’ holiday food costs have declined, but farmers still receive less than 20% of the food dollar, according to the annual Thanksgiving edition of the National Farmers Union (NFU) Farmer’s Share publication. The popular Thanksgiving Farmer’s Share compares the retail food price of traditional holiday dinner items to the amount the farmer receives for each item.

On average, farmers receive 17.4¢ of every food dollar consumers spend, while more than 80% of food costs cover marketing, processing, wholesaling, distribution and retailing. For the 15 items NFU tracks for the Thanksgiving version, farmers received 19.4¢ of the retail food dollar.

For more information, please view the NFU news release online.

— Adapted from a release by Andrew Jerome, National Farmers Union.

North American Meat Institute and
Dairy Management Inc. join Alliance Board of Directors

The Animal Agriculture Alliance is excited to welcome Dairy Management Inc. and the North American Meat Institute to its board of directors. These two organizations join a diverse group of board members representing all major segments of animal agriculture. The Alliance’s Board of Directors is listed on its website.

DMI will be represented by Rex Martin, senior vice president of owner relations. Janet Riley, senior vice president of public affairs, will represent the Meat Institute. Both organizations will be present at the Alliance’s fall board meeting, set for Dec. 1 in Washington, D.C.

The Alliance also announced several new officers and appointments to its executive committee.

For more information, view the Alliance news release online.

— Adapted from a release by the Animal Agriculture Alliance.

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

 
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