News Update

May 22, 2018

Review Animal Health Challenge
Areas to Assess Feed Hygiene

As new and different farm management schemes are adopted and new ensiling technology continues to emerge to improve feed fermentation across all sectors of the agriculture industry, the opportunities for improved feed hygiene also grow. The term “feed hygiene” refers to the anti-nutritional factors that affect the purity and sanitation of feeds — from the field, to fermentation and through feeding. Even while knowledge in the sector of anti-nutritional factors continues to grow and management factors that contribute to poor feed hygiene are identified, an easy solution to combat all of these aspects remains unfound.

“We are recognizing bacterial loads in feedstuffs to a far greater extent than ever before, and they are appearing in more places than ever before,” says John Goeser, Rock River Laboratory animal nutrition, research and innovation director. “For instance, clostridia outbreaks are usually resigned to just haylage, but we can also find these bacteria in corn silage and even TMR (total mixed rations).” Goeser explains that when anti-nutritional factors, like fungi or pathogenic bacteria, are present in feed, it is a sign of contamination.

Continue reading this Angus Beef Bulletin EXTRA article online.

— Adapted from a release by Buffy Uglow, Rock River Laboratory Inc.

Missouri Cattlemen’s Fake Meat Bill Passes

An omnibus bill, sponsored by Sen. Brian Munzlinger (R-18), passed Thursday, May 17, 2018, with a bipartisan 125-22 vote. The legislation, SB 627, carried in the House by Rep. Jay Houghton (R-43), contains several provisions including SB 977, sponsored by Sen. Sandy Crawford (R-28), which is identical to HB 2607 led in the House by Rep. Jeff Knight (R-129).

The language prohibits misrepresenting a product as meat that was not derived from harvested livestock. The legislation comes at a time when laboratory grown meat is being debated throughout the country and in Washington, D.C.

Missouri became the first state to address the issue with legislation, sending a signal to other states to follow suit. Missouri Cattlemen’s Association (MCA) Executive Vice President Mike Deering expects other state cattle organizations to lead legislation in their respective state.

“This isn’t a Missouri issue. This is about protecting the integrity of the products that farm and ranch families throughout the country work hard to raise each and every day,” said Deering. “I never imagined we would be fighting over what is and isn’t meat.”

Read the MCA Prime Cuts news release online.

— Adapted from a release by the Missouri Cattlemen’s Association.

UK Entomologist Details ways to Prevent Tick Bites

Tick season is under way and a University of Kentucky (UK) entomologist is reminding Kentuckians to take precautions to protect themselves and their loved ones from tick bites.

“In tick-prone areas, check yourself, children and other family members every two hours and very thoroughly after returning home from hikes and other outdoor activities,” said Lee Townsend, UK extension entomologist in the College of Agriculture, Food and Environment. “Common places to find ticks are behind the knees, around the waist, under arms, neck and head.”

Several effective precautions will reduce exposure. Wear a repellent; products containing DEET are particularly effective. A spray-on clothing treatment containing permethrin is good to use when in places where ticks are likely to be abundant. Avoid walking through tall grass and brushy areas along fencelines or adjacent to woods. Wear light-colored clothing, so ticks are easy to spot. Check pets when they come in from outdoors.

The lone star tick and the American dog tick are the most common species found in the state. Their tick bites usually are just an itchy nuisance, but these ticks can carry diseases.

Learn more in the UK news release online.

— Adapted from a release by Katie Pratt, UK College of Agriculture, Food and Environment.

Lallemand Animal Nutrition Offers Scholarships for Fourth Year

For the fourth consecutive year, Lallemand Animal Nutrition will offer Lallemand Forward Scholarships for students pursuing degrees in agriculture. The scholarship program is available to students in the United States, Mexico and Canada. The 2018 program offers: three $2,500 undergraduate scholarships, one $3,000 master’s program scholarship and one $3,000 doctoral scholarship.

“In the last three years of our scholarship program, we received an outstanding number of applicants with a strong passion for the industry,” says Jeff Ast, commercial director, Lallemand Animal Nutrition, Americas. “Our continued investment into the program is driven by our company goals of enhancing knowledge and production practices, while continuing to help drive the animal agriculture industry forward.”

The requirements for undergraduate students to apply are:

must be a full-time student, pursuing a four-year degree in an agricultural program;
hold junior status or higher (minimum of 60 credit hours);
have a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale, or equivalent; and
submit a résumé, transcripts and a 500-word essay on the topic.

For more information, read the Lallemand news release online.

— Adapted from a release by Lallemand Animal Nutrition.

Agricultural Business Council Honors Two Agribusiness Leaders

The Agricultural Business Council of Kansas City honored two of the region’s leading agricultural figures on May 15 at a luncheon in the Chamber Board Room in Kansas City’s historic Union Station. Agricultural Business Council Chairman Robert Thompson noted the honorees are champions for agriculture in separate but very key areas in the region.

The honorees were:

Lowell Mohler is the former director of Missouri Department of Agriculture. A native of Holt County, Mo., Mohler served for 26 years as the chief administrator of the Missouri Farm Bureau.
Ken Odde has spent his career serving the animal industry including the last 10 years leading the Kansas State University Animal Sciences and Industry Department.

Read this news release online.

— Adapted from a release by Bob Petersen, Agricultural Business Council of Kansas City.

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