By JAMES MacPHERSON, Associated Press
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) -- Transplanted North Dakota cattle are thriving in
Kazakhstan's cold climate, but many of the former Soviet republic's
cowboys are still greenhorns, so it has hired Great Plains ranch hands
to help out and is sending some of its own to the U.S. for training, a
state trade official said. Dean Gorder, executive director of the North
Dakota Trade Office, said about a dozen Kazakh cowboys will visit North
Dakota ranches next month for an intensive, two-week crash-course in
tending cattle. "There is no classroom work," Gorder said. "It's
hands-on working with cows."
About 5,000 Angus and Herford bred to withstand North Dakota's
brutal-cold winters have been airfreighted to Kazakhstan over the past
two years as part of a decade-long effort to rebuild the former Soviet
republic's cattle industry. Most of Kazakhstan's cattle were sold or
slaughtered after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, and its herd
had been reduced from about 35 million animals in the early 1990s to
about 2 million.
Gorder, who is returning from Kazakhstan this week, said the country's
new cattle herd appears to be thriving thanks largely to North Dakota's
cattle genetics and help from North Dakota, Nebraska and Kansas cowboys
hired by the oil-rich country that stretches from Central Asia into
Eastern Europe. "The percentage of successful calving is very high and
they're very happy with the cattle," Gorder said Tuesday by telephone
from Bucharest, Romania. Cattle from North Dakota typically have thicker
coats, more marbling and fatty tissue, agriculture officials say.
The cattle in Kazakhstan, however, aren't fattening at the rate they
would be on North Dakota ranches, he said. "They are not gaining as much
weight there but we are reminding (Kazakhstan officials) that cattle
are what they eat," Gorder said. "The food that they have in Kazakhstan
does not have the nutritional value a typical rancher in North Dakota
will feed his cattle."
A Bismarck-based company plans to fly about 3,000 more North Dakota-bred
cows to Kazakhstan this fall on jumbo jets, said Dan Price, co-owner of
Global Beef Consultants LLC. Price said his brother, Bill Price, has
been in Kazakhstan over the past two weeks negotiating the deal.
"They're building up their herd and they seem to be pleased with our
cows," Price said.
Most of the cattle come from North Dakota ranches, but some come from
surrounding states, Price said. Kazakhstan also has been importing
cattle from Canada and Australia, Price and Gorder said. "A lot of the
Canadian cattle came from North Dakota genetics," Gorder said.
Kazakhstan's cold climate mirrors North Dakota's, he said. "That's where
the U.S. and Canada cattle have an advantage over Australian genetics,"
Price said.
A place to learn about agriculture and how it impacts your life. AgZINE: A blog and then some!
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Wednesday, October 31, 2012
Monday, October 29, 2012
Target to Phase Out Pork From Cramped Sow Pens
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- Target Corp. is the latest major food company to
tell its pork suppliers to phase out the use of cramped stalls for
confining pregnant sows. The Minneapolis-based discounter, the country's
No. 4 food retailer, says on its Responsible Sourcing website that it's
working with its pork vendors to eliminate gestation crates from its
supply chain by 2022.
The announcement was welcomed Friday by the Humane Society of the United States, which says Target is joining more than 30 food companies that have agreed to eliminate the cages, including retailers like Costco and Kroger and producers including Smithfield, Hormel and Cargill. Pork producers use gestation crates because they stop sows from fighting, but the animal welfare group opposes them because they're typically too small to let sows even turn around.
Ok, on the surface, this looks like a good idea. But let's look a little closer. Gestation crates are used by producers for several reasons: they prevent sows from fighting, they keep the piglets safe from the sow rolling over on them and they make it easier and safer to administer medication to the sow in case of complications. Pigs are difficult to handle and the cages keep the hogs and the workers safe. Large corporations often do not realize how devices like this work and so require them to be phased out. Animal rights organizations also have a history of pushing to ban such devices and practices without actually researching why they are used. We need to keep in mind that producers really do have their animals best interests in mind and are not interested in abusing them: it hurts their bottom line and goes against their ethics.
The announcement was welcomed Friday by the Humane Society of the United States, which says Target is joining more than 30 food companies that have agreed to eliminate the cages, including retailers like Costco and Kroger and producers including Smithfield, Hormel and Cargill. Pork producers use gestation crates because they stop sows from fighting, but the animal welfare group opposes them because they're typically too small to let sows even turn around.
Ok, on the surface, this looks like a good idea. But let's look a little closer. Gestation crates are used by producers for several reasons: they prevent sows from fighting, they keep the piglets safe from the sow rolling over on them and they make it easier and safer to administer medication to the sow in case of complications. Pigs are difficult to handle and the cages keep the hogs and the workers safe. Large corporations often do not realize how devices like this work and so require them to be phased out. Animal rights organizations also have a history of pushing to ban such devices and practices without actually researching why they are used. We need to keep in mind that producers really do have their animals best interests in mind and are not interested in abusing them: it hurts their bottom line and goes against their ethics.
Wednesday, October 17, 2012
Baker FFA Teams to Compete at National Contests
The Baker FFA Chapter is proud to have two teams competing
at the National FFA Convention in Indianapolis, IN Oct. 24-27. The Chapter’s
Agricultural Mechanics team, consisting of Cameron Kerns, Joel Rohner, Talon
Colton, Mark Voboril and Mickayla Hall, swept their District and State
competetitions this spring and are ready to take on the nation next week! These
five individuals had to display their knowledge of agricultural equipment,
welding and safety. This contest helps students develop proficiency in a broad
range of mechanical skills which are essential on a farm or ranch.
Baker will also be sending Wyatt Lee, Kellie Freels, Jennie
Foltz and Luke Coomer to the inaugural Veterinary Science contest. These four
will identify veterinary instruments, breeds of dogs, horses, poultry, goats,
beef and dairy cattle, sheep, cats, rodents and other miscellaneous pets,
conduct clinical practices, solve math practicums, demonstrate their knowledge
of various knots and come together to complete a team presentation. The team is
one of two Oregon teams and has been studying hard since this spring and will
also be required to conduct a workshop at the 2013 Oregon FFA State Convention.
Selected from the Baker FFA Veterinary science class, these individuals are
excited to help pilot this new contest!
There is a hum of excitement running through the Baker FFA
Chapter as the date for our departure draws near. We will have a week of
touring the country, making new friends and catching up with old ones, building
our teamwork and leadership and representing Oregon at the largest youth leadership
gathering in the world!
Have a nice day!
Wednesday, October 3, 2012
Japanese Olympic Chefs Use US Beef
The Japanese Olympic Chef Team will use corn-fed United States beef, provided by the Beef Checkoff, in their main dish at the International Exhibition of Culinary Art 2012. According to the team captain Miura, "Corn and soybean-fed U.S. beef is tender, tasty and juicy with just the right amount of marbling. It is a perfect match for our main dish (U.S. beef fillet wrapped in
burdock and veal-base mousse). The slow-roasting of U.S. beef brings out
the beautiful balance in cherry red color as well as marbling and its
taste." The teams have 61/2 hours to prepare their dishes and serve them to 110 people who have purchased tickets in advance. “It is an honor for U.S. beef to be featured by Japan’s national team in
this worldwide competition,” said Takemichi Yamashoji, USMEF-Japan
senior marketing director. “Japan is the home of world-class Kobe beef,
but the chefs felt that U.S. beef is the right choice for this event.”
Monday, October 1, 2012
From AgInfo.net
An
old cowboy was riding his trusty horse followed by his faithful dog
along an unfamiliar road. The man was enjoying the new scenery, when he
suddenly remembered dying, and realized that the dog beside him had been
dead for years, as had his horse. Confused, he wondered what was happening, and where the trail was leading them. After a while, they came to a
high, white stone wall that looked like fine marble. At the top of a
long hill, it was broken by a tall arch topped by a golden letter "H"
that glowed in the sunlight. Standing
before it, he saw a magnificent gate in the arch that looked like
mother-of-pearl, and the street that led to the gate looked like gold. He
rode toward the gate, and as he got closer, he saw a man at a desk to
one side. Parched and tired out by his journey, he called out, 'Excuse
me, where are we?' 'This is Heaven, sir,' the man answered. 'Wow! Would you happen to have some water?' the man asked. 'Of course, sir. Come right in, and I'll have some ice water brought right up.' As the gate began to open, the cowboy asked, 'Can I bring my partners, too?' 'I'm sorry, sir, but we don't accept pets.' The cowboy thought for a moment, then turned back to the road and continued riding, his dog trotting by his side. After
another long ride, at the top of another hill, he came to a dirt road
leading through a ranch gate that looked as if it had never been closed.
As he approached the gate, he saw a man inside, leaning against a tree
and reading a book. 'Excuse me,' he called to the man. 'Do you have any water?' 'Sure, there's a pump right over there. Help yourself.' 'How about my friends here?' the traveler gestured to the dog and his horse. 'Of course! They look thirsty, too,' said the man. The
trio went through the gate, and sure enough, there was an old-fashioned
hand pump with buckets beside it. The traveler filled a cup and the
buckets with wonderfully cool water and took a long drink, as did his
horse and dog. When
they were full, he walked back to the man who was still standing by the
tree. 'What do you call this place?' the traveler asked. This is Heaven,' he answered. 'That's confusing,' the traveler said. 'The man down the road said that was Heaven, too.' 'Oh, you mean the place with the glitzy, gold street and fake pearly gates? That's hell.' 'Doesn't it make you angry when they use your name like that?' 'Not at all. Actually, we're happy they screen out the folks who would leave their best friends behind.'
Friday, September 21, 2012
Space Gardening? Ohio State Creates Food-production System for Future NASA Missions
The Ohio State University College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences
By MAURICIO ESPINOZA
WOOSTER, Ohio -- Say you are on Mars and fancy a salad. Unless the Curiosity rover can make an unexpected find of fresh romaine somewhere on the dusty Red Planet, you are looking at a nine-month trip to the nearest produce aisle on Earth. A better option? Grow the salad yourself.
That's exactly the approach NASA is taking as it plans for future manned expeditions to places like the moon or Mars, where food availability will be a significant challenge. Joining this mission is a team of Ohio State University researchers and students who are helping NASA figure out the best way to grow food aboard space exploration units.
The team, from the university's Department of Food, Agricultural and Biological Engineering (FABE), designed and built a food-production system for NASA's Deep Space Habitat (DSH) -- a space module with living quarters, workspaces and laboratories that is expected to enable human exploration in faraway environments.
"Our system is automated so that the crew doesn't hve to spend too much time taking care of the plants," said Peter Ling, an associate professor in FABE and faculty advisor in the project. "The system controls irrigation and monitors plant temperature and health. At the bottom of the unit there is a weight plate that detects water leakage and water loss by plants, and also estimates growth.
"The idea is that this unit will one day be a regenerative life-support system not just for growing food, but also for purifying the air, producing oxygen and cleaning wastewater."
The system was developed as part of NASA's 2011-2012 eXploration Habitat (X-Hab) Academic Innovation Challenge. The program provides grants to university teams to design and produce functional products of interest to the DSH project. Ohio State's proposal was accepted and funded in June 2011, and the prototype was delivered and demonstrated at Houston's Johnson Space Center in July 2012.
The food-production system is small because of space constraints in the DSH. It consists of an 11- by 18-inch metal plate topped by a plastic plant growth tray -- outfitted with a watering tube, computer-controlled valves and a variety of sensors to monitor growing conditions. A total of eight of these plates can fit in the DSH's circular plant atrium area, which is located between the module's first and second levels. Because soil is too heavy to carry into space, plants -- small vegetables such as lettuce, herbs and radishes -- grow in a nutrient solution, like in a hydroponic system.
"Food production will become a critical component of a life-support system as longer-duration missions take astronauts off Earth and make resupply of consumables more challenging," said Gioia Massa, a postdoctoral fellow in NASA's Surface Systems Division. "Launching food into space is expensive, but seeds are small and have a low mass, so producing food will become more cost-effective over long durations and distances. In addition, growing plants will also help recycle the atmosphere and provide psychological benefits for a crew, both as living organisms and as fresh produce."
Four undergraduate students -- Henry Boucherle, Deborah Bleasdale, Anupria Chetal and Mason Young -- led the development of the food-production system. Ling, Jay Martin and Gönül Kaletunç were their faculty advisors. Also assisting in the project were design engineers Michael Klingman, Christopher Gecik and Chad Draper.
"It was awesome to go to Houston and see the NASA facilities and the projects they are working on," said Boucherle, a biological engineering major from Avon Lake, Ohio, who graduated last June. "We learned a lot of things that expanded our education beyond classroom experience. We had meetings with NASA, learning about their expectations and making decisions that were best for them and the project. It's great to know that I contributed to something NASA will try to make work and use."
NASA is testing the Ohio State system and many other DSH technologies from Sept. 10-21 at Johnson Space Center, Massa said. A crew of four is living and working in the habitat, communicating with a mission control center and simulating a deep-space mission. The crew is comparing low-tech, manual plant-production systems with the automated Ohio State system.
"We have three different types of lettuce, an Asian salad green and two types of radishes growing in the plant atrium," she said. "The OSU system will grow 'Outredgeous' lettuce, a red leaf lettuce that not only tastes great but could provide important antioxidants for the crew." Massa added that the environmental data Ohio State's food-production system collects will allow NASA scientists to better understand the plant growth environment and develop improved growth systems in the future.
I saw this online and had to share it. My family was actually having a discussion about deep-space travel last week and the thing which puzzled us was "how will astronauts get oxygen?" I broached the opinion that they would have to find a way to use plants for it. We just didn't see how they would be able to take enough plants to meet their needs. It is true that there is still work to be done; however, we are another step closer to deep space and agriculture will lead the way!
Tuesday, September 18, 2012
Mission Accomplished
Just wanted to say thank you to everyone who helped take us past our goal of 1000 pageviews this year! Please continue to check in and find out about issues facing the most important industry in the world: agriculture! Tell your friends and family about us and let's see if we can break 1500 by December 31!
Thank you again and have a nice day!
Thank you again and have a nice day!
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