February 20, 2019 | Vol. 12 : No. 2
A cow-calf operation’s ultimate goal is a live calf, but it’s also crucial to save the cow or heifer if there is an issue. Kansas State University Extension Beef Veterinarian and Assistant Professor AJ Tarpoff explains several malpresentations and offers tips on how to correct them.
It is that time of year when calves hit the ground. Producers should familiarize themselves with the normal calving process and signs associated with each stage of calving.
The first point of birth is the presentation of the water bag and the breaking of the bag. This period can take time, depending on the age of the cow. Heifers usually take longer than older cows.
“Things are shaping up for what may be the prizefight of the century,” quipped Colin Woodall, during a policy forum at the recent Cattle Industry Convention in New Orleans, La. Woodall, who is National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) senior vice president of government relations, was referring to the verbal punches and parries traded by political opponents Nancy Pelosi and Donald Trump. It’s comical, but it can be troublesome, too. According to Woodall, the prevalence of political animosity in Washington, D.C., doesn’t help NCBA’s efforts to represent the interests of the beef cattle industry.
A significant buzz has coursed through cattle country and along the banks of the Potomac River regarding meat-substitute products. It’s not about protein sources that consumers might choose as alternatives. It’s about products whose purveyors have tried to make look, smell and taste like meat. It’s about whether products made from laboratory-cultured animal cells can be called “meat” and promoted as such, even though they are not harvested directly from an animal.
Feeding the buzz was the tension between the USDA and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regarding who should have oversight of the production and labeling of so-called “fake meat.” In November 2018, it was announced the agencies would share jurisdiction. Accordingly, the FDA would regulate cell collection and growth processes and, after cell harvest, USDA would regulate production and labeling.
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue understands how important export markets are to U.S. agriculture, and he’s made sure that President Donald Trump understands it, too. Perdue offered that assurance in a media conference and during a speech delivered to cattle folk attending the recent 2019 Cattle Industry Convention in New Orleans, La. The secretary also commented on issues such as so-called “fake meat,” the new federal farm bill, and the electronic logging device (ELD) mandate, but devoted a majority of his time to what he called three priorities for agricultural producers, “trade, trade and trade.”
According to a new study published in the journal JAMA Network Open, nearly half of the people who think they have food allergies really don’t. Instead, many people may suffer from food intolerance or celiac disease, which they may believe to be an allergic reaction to certain foods.
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