News Update
May 2, 2017
25 Years of NBQA
“Without data, you’re just another person with an opinion.”
A pioneer in the world of business process reengineering, W. Edwards Deming conceptualized the notion. The National Beef Quality Audits (NBQA) and the National Market Cow and Bull Beef Quality Audits (NMCBBQA) applied it.
Attendees of the 2017 Cattle Industry Convention & NCBA Trade Show in Nashville, Tenn., Feb. 1-3, had the chance to take in an overview. That data and implications for what’s to come from new research were presented during the Cattlemen’s College session, “25 Years of National Beef Quality Audit Impact.”
“If we could implement Dr. Deming’s philosophies and recapture all or part of the opportunity lost, we could make the beef production system more profitable,” said Keith Belk, professor of meat safety and quality at Colorado State University, of the motivation that kick-started the program in 1991.
Continue reading this Angus Media news article online.
Fever Ticks Confirmed on a
New Webb-Zapata County Premises
The Texas Animal Health Commission (TAHC) confirmed the presence of cattle fever ticks on cattle originating from a premises located in portions of Webb and Zapata counties on April 26, 2017.
The fever ticks were found on two calves undergoing voluntary inspection and treatment at a dipping vat. The infested premises is quarantined and the TAHC is conducting an epidemiological investigation to determine the potential source of the fever ticks and destination of cattle moved from the premises.
A Control Purpose Quarantine Area (CPQA) has been established for systematic inspection of livestock and wildlife hosts in the portions of Webb and Zapata County surrounding the infested premises. TAHC and USDA personnel are contacting owners with premises located in the identified CPQA.
The infested premises is located approximately eight miles outside of the Permanent Fever Tick Quarantine Zone and approximately two miles from existing Webb and Zapata county CPQAs.
Learn more in the TAHC news release online.
Ag Secretary Perdue Moves to Make School Meals Great Again
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue May 1 announced that the USDA will provide greater flexibility in nutrition requirements for school meal programs in order to make food choices both healthful and appealing to students.
Perdue made the announcement during a visit to Catoctin Elementary School in Leesburg, Va., to mark School Nutrition Employee Week. Perdue signed a proclamation which begins the process of restoring local control of guidelines on whole grains, sodium and milk. Perdue was joined by Sen. Pat Roberts (KS), chairman of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, and Patricia Montague, CEO of the School Nutrition Association.
“This announcement is the result of years of feedback from students, schools and food service experts about the challenges they are facing in meeting the final regulations for school meals,” Perdue said. “If kids aren’t eating the food, and it’s ending up in the trash, they aren’t getting any nutrition — thus undermining the intent of the program.”
Read the full USDA news release online.
Lush Green Grass Presents Nutritional Challenges for Cattle
It is a little counterintuitive: Cattle standing knee-deep in spring grass may not be getting the nutrition they need from the lush, young forage.
“During the winter, most cattle are fed a balanced ration of dry forages, grains and coproducts,” says Travis Meteer, University of Illinois (U of I) Extension beef cattle educator. “Then spring comes along and cattle are put out to grass. While green grass solves certain problems associated with winter feeding — manure, pen maintenance, calf health and labor demands — it can cause nutritional issues.”
Meteer says spring grass presents three major challenges.
Dry matter. Young grass can be below 25% dry matter, making it hard for the cow to consume a sufficient amount to meet energy demands. At 20% dry matter, a lactating 1,400-pound (lb.) cow with average milk would need to consume 138 lb. of fresh grass per day to meet her energy requirement. Higher milking cows will need even more. “In most cases, the cow fills up her rumen between 100 and 125 pounds,” Meteer says.
View the complete U of I news release online.
Beginning Farmers, Ranchers, Veterans
Registration is open for a free May 10 workshop to help beginning farmers, ranchers and veterans learn about resources offered by state and federal agencies.
University of Missouri (MU) Extension sponsors the workshop with funding from the USDA Office of Advocacy and Outreach through a grant to help veterans, Latinos and socially disadvantaged beginning farmers and ranchers.
“Understanding the Alphabet Soup of USDA” workshop for beginning farmers and ranchers starts at 9 a.m. on May 10 at the Phelps County Courthouse multipurpose room, 200 N. Main St., Rolla, Mo., said Patricia Barrett, MU Extension specialist.
Representatives of the USDA Farm Service Agency, Natural Resources Conservation Service and USDA Rural Development will provide information on how to access their agencies’ services.
For more information, read the MU news release online.
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