World Cattle News:

[mikey]

Wednesday, June 25, 2008Print This Page
Door Opens for Canadian Beef in Russia
CANADA– After a recent meeting between Federal Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz and Russian Agriculture Minister Alexey Gordeyev an agreement was reached for Canada to export beef to Russia.



The Canadian government says that it is continuing to stand up for its farm families on the world stage, and that commitment was demonstrated during meetings.

"Canadian farmers produce some of the best pork and beef in the world and Russian consumers are looking for more of those products," said Minister Ritz, following a meeting of the Russia-Canada Agriculture Working Group of the Intergovernmental Economic Commission. "Through our discussions with Minister Gordeyev, our farmers will have new opportunities to put Canadian pork and beef in Russian grocery stores."

In addition to productive meetings between Minister Ritz and Minister Gordeyev, Canadian industry leaders held meetings with their Russian counterparts.

Russia imported more than 5,000 head of Canadian cattle last year as part of its efforts to reconstruct its national herd.

"These meetings built on our Government’s work with the Russian Government to deliver benefits for agriculture in both countries," said Minister Ritz. "The Russian economy is growing fast and we are making sure Canada is poised to make the most of opportunities there."

Earlier this month, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency reached an agreement with Russian authorities on new pork meat certificates with enhanced security features. Canada exported $260 million in agriculture and agri-food products to Russia in 2007 – an increase of 160 per cent since 2005.

After completing the mission to Russia, Minister Ritz is traveling to Tokyo for meetings later this week with Japanese agriculture officials.

[mikey]

Thursday, June 26, 2008Print This Page
Cattle Seized in Brazil's Green Barrier
US - Brazilian authorities seized 3,100 head of cattle that were found grazing on illegally deforested land in the Amazon rainforest.



According to the New York Times the cattle owner was fined the equivalent of US$1.86 million back in 2005 and then ignored the court demand to move cattle off the premises.

The New York Times says that the Brazilian environmental minister has decided to sell the cattle at an auction in two weeks time and that the money raised from the sale will go to a government food programme for the impoverished.

This latest case is just one of many that has seen the deforestation of the Amazon rainforest move at unprecedented rates. In response the government hope to build a green barrier, seizing all illegal operations in the south.

[mikey]

Friday, July 04, 2008Print This Page
Young Blood and Simmental Cattle Tops Agenda
UK - Injecting new, young blood into Simmental cattle breeding programmes was top of the agenda at the World Congress meetings held at Huntingdon and Meriden last week.


A consistent theme was the need to encourage young members - defined as those under 40 years of age - to play a more active role in international breeding programmes.

The World Simmental and Fleckvieh Federation voted additional funds for young member activities and will encourage all member countries to follow suit.

Use of Simmental and Fleckvieh to inject new blood into crossbreeding programmes with Holsteins and Jerseys, for milk and beef production from dairy herds, is also attracting new investment from federation members.

Further work on meat tenderness and the use of DNA technology in genetic evaluation programmes is also planned.

After 34 years, the international secretariat moves, for the first time, from the home country, Switzerland, to the Czech Republic with Krystina Skopalova named as the new Secretary General.

Canadian, Bruce Holmquest is the new President with Joseph Kecera, Czech Republic and Bill Almond, Australia elected as Vice Presidents for two year terms leading the 26 member countries.

Dan Evans, President of the British Simmental Cattle Society and host for the World Congress commented: "There was an optimistic tone to all our discussions, backed by a determination to use the latest breeding technology and to engage with younger livestock farmers who are the future of the breed in the UK and throughout the world."

[mikey]

Friday, July 04, 2008Print This Page
Global Cattle Prices Race, But Australia is Lagging
AUSTRALIA - As world cattle prices continue to soar, Australian cattle prices continue on their downward trend. Now, ABA Chairman, Brad Bellinger is calling for a full Royal Commission into Australia's beef industry to turn things around.



He said 'US cattle prices are approaching record levels and their feeder steer is bringing over 40% more than its Australian equivalent. UK prices are at record levels and rising fast and Brazilian prices for forequarter beef have almost doubled since October'.

Australian prices have fallen 15% in the past year and is now at the lowest level in the developed world. Australia is not suffering from oversupply, as it won't go near filling the US beef quota. Brazil is shipping many times Australia's tonnage into Russia, yet Australian cattlemen are being paid 15% less than they were a year ago.


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"This time they have gone too far and are killing the 'Goose that lays the Golden Egg" 
ABA Chairman, Brad Bellinger
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Mr Bellinger continued, 'We are paying almost five times the US producer levy to an unrepresentative and unaccountable MLA, plus we are paying hundreds of millions of dollars for a failed NLIS system that was meant to see us lead the world in market access and despite this, we are coming last'.

He said, 'ABA research and our submission tendered to the ACCC Inquiry into Groceries have shown that the Australian supermarkets have by far the highest mark-up in the world, as they rort Australian consumers and producers.'

He continued, 'I know that we live in the land of Ned Kelly and unregulated corporate price gouging is rampant but this time they have gone too far and are killing the 'Goose that lays the Golden Egg'.

The Australian Beef Association claim that Australia is surviving on the sale of public infrastructure, the sale of businesses and Australian minerals; - "when these run out, we will find we have destroyed our agricultural industry and end up with nothing; - similar to Nauru." Farms are up for sale Australia wide.

'Considering the above facts, we call on Minister Burke to establish a Royal Commission into the Meat Industry,' stated Mr Bellinger.

[mikey]

Friday, July 04, 2008Print This Page
Swath Grazing Keeps Cattle Fed All Year Round
US - A newly designed program of "swath grazing” allows cattle to graze all year-round, even in the middle of winter up in the North Plains, claim US Agricultural Research Service scientists.



ARS researchers in Mandan, N.D., have shown that a newly designed program of "swath grazing” allows cattle to, once again, graze year-round, even in the middle of a North Dakota winter. The concept involves pushing harvested crop leftovers into row piles up to 16 inches high, to keep them within reach of cows in winter.

 
North Plains farmers can save money by allowing cows to graze on swaths of corn residues during the winter
Winter grazing, from mid-November through mid-March in North Dakota, can save farmers as much as 24 cents per cow per day, compared to the costs of baling hay for winter corral feeding. With a herd of 200 cows, that would save a farmer more than $4,000 in feed costs a year.

Soil scientist Don Tanaka and colleagues at the ARS Northern Great Plains Research Laboratory in Mandan calculated those savings based on data from a four-year research project. In each year of the study, the scientists monitored 20 pregnant Hereford beef cows due to give birth in March. The nutritional needs of pregnant cows increases as pregnancy advances. This makes the winter feeding of late-pregnant cows one of the most expensive times in beef cattle production.

The researchers compared weight gains from swath-grazing cows on the residue of annual crops—oats/peas, triticale/sweet clover and corn—to gains with perennial western wheatgrass, and with bales of hay fed in winter corrals.

Another benefit of swath grazing: The cows in this system also distributed their manure evenly over the landscape, eliminating the chore of removing manure from corrals. The manure also provides fertilizer for crops and improves the soil.

Integrating crops and livestock benefits both enterprises.

[mikey]

Wednesday, July 09, 2008Print This Page
Mass Dairy Cull Considered in California
US - A recent outbreak of bovine tuberculosis in Californian dairy herds may lead to a mass cull, and taxpayers will be expected to foot the hefty bill.



Later today, top Agriculture Department officials will tour the affected dairy farms in Fresno and Tulare counties as a prelude to tough decisions on whether to destroy the herds and make multi-million dollar payouts that farmers are still likely to find inadequate, reports McClatchy.

Dairy farmers with herds infected by bovine tuberculosis face several uncomfortable options. They can endure a quarantine until testing proves the herd is clean again, which can take several years. Or, they can destroy the entire herd in exchange for Agriculture Department payments.

The Agriculture Department currently provides farmers that destroy their entire herd with payments of up to $3,000 per animal. The three affected San Joaquin Valley herds have 1,100, 4,800 and 14,000 head of cattle, respectively. That adds up to $59.7 million for the three herds.

[mikey]

Sexed Semen: Is It Finally a Reality?
Most of us have heard the rumor that sexed semen is “just around the corner” for as long as we have been aware of A.I., writes David Thorbahn, Select Sires Inc., University of Florida IFAS, Dairy Extension.

 

Through the years, countless numbers of techniques have been investigated with no potential application in the real world. However, in the 1980’s a breakthrough in semen sexing technology was made by USDA researchers in the Lawerence Livermore Laboratory in California. The patents for this technology were licensed to a company named XY, Inc of Fort Collins, CO, which performed extensive research during the 1990’s to optimize efficiency of these sorting procedures. In 2001, Select Sires partnered with XY, Inc. to set up field tests on the flow-cytometer processed semen.

Flow-Sorting Technology
One of only a few repeatable techniques to sex sort sperm at a high level of purity uses a device called a flow-cytometer to detect a 3 to 4% difference in DNA content between male and female sperm and sort them with upwards of 90% purity. The first step in this procedure is to dilute sperm to a very low concentration and stain them with a fluorescent dye. The sample is then sent through the flow-cytometer at 60 mph under 30 to 60 psi of pressure. As sperm pass through the internal laser beam, the fluorescent dye is excited. Because of the larger X chromosome, female sperm emit slightly more light than male sperm, which possess the smaller Y chromosome. Detectors measure the amount of fluorescence and assign positive or negative charges to each droplet containing a single sperm. Charged deflector plates then split the single stream into 3 streams: positively charged particles containing one sex go one way, negatively charged particles containing the other sex are deflected in the opposite direction, while uncharged droplets containing multiple sperm or unidentified sex pass straight through. Confirmed with tens of thousands of offspring born in world-wide research trials, the procedure separates sperm of the two sexes with ~90% purity. However, that still leaves 10% of the undesired sex available to compete for fertilization. The table below illustrates the probabilities of all possible occurrences of offspring generated by 90% pure sexed semen.




Commercialization of sexed semen in the U.S. was initiated with a 2003 license granted to Genetic Resources International (GRI) in Navasota, TX. In late 2004, Select Sires partnered with GRI and sent four proven sires to Texas to begin collection and processing of sex-sorted semen. In 2005-2006, Select Sires conducted a nationwide field test and collected information on over 27,000 services. These trials were conducted in a random sample of herds with average or better reproductive efficiency in order to accurately assess product performance for the “average producer.” The resulting calvings have a current data set of nearly 7,000 offspring so far with a gender ratio of 89% heifers when using sexed semen.


Technology Limitations
There are several major limitations that have stifled implementation of sex-sorted semen. Without question, reduced conception rates have been a primary hurdle. As you can imagine from the description above, sex sorting of sperm is a highly invasive procedure that negatively impacts sperm viability and longevity compared to normally cryopreserved semen.





In addition, the procedure is extremely slow and inefficient. To properly sort, sperm must be precisely oriented as they pass through the laser and fluorescence detectors in the flow cytometer. Due to the flat shape of bovine sperm heads, only about 30% are correctly oriented and half of these are female. Thus, only 15% of the sperm going into the machine are recovered as a marketable, sexed product. The high rate of sperm loss precludes use of Select Sires’ “most elite” sires for production of sexed semen.

Although the 3,000 to 5,000 sperm of each sex sorted per second sounds like a lot, this translates into ~1.3 hours of sorting to process enough semen for a standard 20 million sperm/straw dosage. Thus, due to the slow sorting speed, commercialization is only possible with very low sperm numbers per dose (~2 million). If these limitations were not enough, the high cost of flow cytometry equipment (~$250,000 per machine) and intensive amounts of highly skilled labor required to sort sperm dictates that sexed semen will not be inexpensive. Because of the low sperm numbers per dose and compromised sperm viability, Select Sires only recommends its use in well-managed, highly-fertile, virgin heifers. While many research herds have realized very acceptable conception rates, averages indicate well-managed herds that achieve 60 to 65% conception rates in virgin heifers with normal semen can expect 45 to 55% conception rates with sexed semen.

Based on the favorable field results, Select Sires began marketing sexed semen in the fall of 2005. In early 2006, four sorting machines were installed at Select Sires headquarters in Ohio to expand the sexed semen lineup. In the fall of 2006, two additional sorting machines were added to bring the annual production capacity to 350,000 straws. Orders for sexed semen have exceeded our expectations.

What is the return on investment for sexed semen?
The return on investment for the dairy producer depends on a complex interaction between the initial conception rate with non-sexed semen, the percent reduction in conception (if any) due to use of sexed semen, the price differential between sexed and conventional semen, expected gender ratio for sexed vs. conventional, and the value differential between bull and heifer calves. Most of these factors will change considerably from herd to herd, which differentially affects the breakeven value of sexed semen to each respective producer.

To calculate a return on investment (ROI), Select Sires has recently developed a sexed semen calculator in Microsoft Excel format which incorporates more than 20 other variables which will vary from herd to herd. It will assist you in determining how this new opportunity can best be utilized in your individual operation.

Based on the product available today, the best return on investment will be achieved by limiting this product to virgin heifers only and following the “Keys to Success” (see below) to insure optimum probability for conception.

Keys to success
Use of sexed semen will require a breeding gun designed to accommodate the smaller diameter ¼ cc straws. Straws are to be thawed and handled identical to their ½ cc counterparts. However, the smaller diameter and compromised semen quality will make them much more sensitive to cold-shock and errors in semen handling. To maximize potential for success:

Thaw straws in 95° F water bath for 45 seconds.
Semen thawing and handling environments should be warm and draft free.
Warm all semen handling equipment including guns, sheaths, and paper towels prior to contacting straws.
Only highly experienced technicians should use this product.
Use only in well-managed, virgin heifers that have achieved greater than 60% of their mature weight by 14 months and in moderate or better body condition.
Inseminate heifers 8 to 12 hours after observed estrus (AM/PM Rule).
Use of estrus synchronization and breeding to observed estrus is encouraged, but use of timed-AI in the absence of observed estrus is discouraged.
Other methods of sorting semen
A number of new sex-sorting technologies and companies have recently appeared. Other methods include gender specific antibodies, centrifugation, and free flow electrophoresis. As you evaluate other technologies, please take the time to be wary, and ask numerous questions in order to make informed decisions. If the sex-sorting technology is not based on flow-cytometry and the patents developed by USDA, you should ask for scientific evidence that the procedure can, in fact, sort sperm. Accept nothing short of hundreds of births to assess whether the procedure can effectively produce offspring of the desired sex. Similarly, conception data should be based on thousands of services and should be based on palpated pregnancy data, as simple nonreturn data may mask results and distort the success that can actually be achieved. To date, only flow cytometry provides the best combination of sorting purity and commercial adaptation.

Summary
There is no question sex-sorted sperm for gender selection is now a reality. The product currently offered by Select Sires is backed by over 5 years of extensive field research and has been rapidly accepted by the U.S. marketplace. Currently, 18 of the 23 proven Holsteins and 2 of the 3 Jersey sires in the Select Sires sexed semen lineup have demand that exceeds the supply.

Because of continuing research, there will likely be improvements to the product and there will be the potential to utilize sex-sorted semen on lactating cows but current fertility results indicate its best fit right now is on virgin heifers.

Sources and Credit for Program and Research: Mel DeJarnette MS, Select Sires Senior Reproductive Physiologist, Clifton Marshall MS, Select Sires Vice President of Research and Quality Control; Dr. Ray Nebel PhD, Select Sires Senior Reproductive Physiologist; Dr. Don Monkey DVM, Select Sires Vice President of Operations.

April 2008

[mikey]

Know Your Feed Cost
Jim Paulson, Extension Educator at the University of Minnesota, Dairy Extension, asks which of the following factors affect reproductive performance of dairy cows: a) milk production, b) bunk space, c) type of bedding used in the far off pen, or d) hoof trimming schedule? Stay tuned — you might be surprised at the answers.

 

Troubleshooting reproductive performance in dairy herds can be very frustrating. It often appears that herds very similar in management styles have very different reproductive performance. Some recent studies conducted by University of Wisconsin researchers may shed some light on why that might be. This is one of the most comprehensive studies ever conducted to determine the factors affecting reproductive performance in dairy herds. The 153-herd study used DHIA records, surveyed dairy managers regarding their management practices, evaluated body condition score on 63 of the farms, and obtained weather information from weather stations close to the farms. The researcher’s objective was to identify the factors that affect the first service conception rate or pregnancy status at 150 days in milk (DIM) on commercial dairy farms. Below are the some of their results.

First Service Conception Rate
Twenty-two factors were included in the model to determine what influenced first service conception rates. The average first service conception rate of the herds was 25.2%. Here are five major factors that had the biggest affect on first service conception rate:

Bunk space: Herds with less than 2 feet of bunk space per cow in the breeding pens tended to have lower conception rates. Providing cows with two feet of bunk space per cow can be a challenge for some herds but it’s important. The study also found that herds with lower dry matter intake in the non-pregnant pens (i.e., fresh cow and breeding pens) had lower conception rates.
Bedding type in far off dry cow pens: Herds that used sawdust bedding in far off dry cow pens had lower conception rates than herds that used any other kind of bedding. Sawdust bedding may result in an increase in metritis and/or mastitis, both of which have been shown to decrease reproductive performance.
Milk production: Higher producing herds as well as higher producing cows within herds tended to have lower conception rates. This is really not anything new, as many other studies have also shown the same result.
Hoof trimming policy: Herds in which cows received a maintenance trim less than once a year had lower conception rates. University of Minnesota research has shown that herds doing maintenance trimming less that once per year had a greater prevalence of lameness.
Voluntary waiting period length: Herds with a voluntary waiting period of less than 41 days had lower conception rates.
Percent of Cows Pregnant at 150 Days in Milk
Overall, nearly 61% of the cows in this study were pregnant at 150 DIM. Researchers examined 25 factors that had an influence on this parameter. Some of the factors that affect conception rate also affect the percent of cows pregnant, but there were some differences.

Bunk space: Bunk space per cow in the breeding pens again had an influence cows pregnant by 150 days. Figure 1 shows the predicted probability of a cow being pregnant by 150 DIM as bunk space increases. Other researchers have shown that cows consuming more dry matter in early lactation are more likely to become pregnant by 150 DIM. This may be more likely to affect cows that are more subordinate and less aggressive at the bunk.
Table 1. Predicted pregnancy rate as affected by bunk space1
 
Caraviello et al., JDS, 2006
Body condition score: Body condition thresholds were 3.0 for animals from 60 days pre-calving to 30 days post partum, 2.5 for animals from 31 to 180 DIM and below 2.75 for cows greater than 180 DIM. This confirms several other previous research studies that show cows with low body condition have a more difficult time becoming pregnant.
Milk production: Cows with low production or high production at the time of first insemination were less likely to be pregnant by 150 DIM (Figure 2). Cows that are lower producing at time of breeding may be cows that had health problems during the transition period or currently have clinical or sub-clinical disease. High producing cows tend to begin cycling later and usually have lower conception rates than lower producing cows.
Table 2. Predicted pregnancy rate as affected by milk production

Caraviello et al., JDS, 2006
Heat observation: Even though most of these herds used synchronization programs to assist in getting cows pregnant, herds that watched for heat more often had a higher percentage of cows pregnant by 150 DIM.
I think this research points out a couple of interesting points. Reproductive performance is very complicated with many factors potentially affecting whether or not cows become pregnant. There are also many factors that we don’t often consider including transition cow management, periparturient diseases, early lactation body weight loss, and compliance with reproductive programs. But this study has shed light on some new factors as described above that may have some influence on reproductive performance of herds.

May 2008

[mikey]

Thursday, July 10, 2008Print This Page
The Tender Genotype
AUSTRALIA - According to research, the tenderness of meat can now be associated with four known genetic markers of the animal.



Scientists from the CRC for Beef Genetic Technologies and the CRC for Sheep Industry Innovation are using hair and blood samples to see if livestock have favourable gene markers for tender meat.

“There are currently four gene markers that are known to be associated with tenderness in beef,” says Beef CRC Senior research officer Dr Brian McIntyre.


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"The trial also looked at the interactions between the gene markers and other factors such as hormones, ageing and hanging method." 
Beef CRC Senior research officer Dr Brian McIntyre.
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The two markers looked at in the experiment were calpastatin and Calpain 3, in both Braham and Angus cattle.

“The trial also looked at the interactions between the gene markers and other factors such as hormones, ageing and hanging method.”

Tenderness is measured by the force required to cut through a piece of cooked meat. This Shear force is around 3.5kg for very tender meat and over 5.5kg for tough meat.

Dr McIntyre says research shows cattle with two copies of the most favourable markers have Shear force values almost 1kg less than those with no favourable copies.

Sheep CRC research officer Robin Jacob says studies are examining how genetics affect meat yield, eating quality and nutritional value, to make Australian lamb a profitable premium meat to produce.

“It is important to provide Australian farmers with the tools to better understand how the genetic basis can impact on the quality of Australian lamb,” Dr Jacob says.

Samples will be collected from 10,000 lambs during a five year study and tested for eating quality and nutritional value traits. “These traits include tenderness, shear force, compression and collagen content, colour, shelf life, pH, iron, zinc, and omega-3 fatty acid content,” he says.

[mikey]

Sulfur in Distillers Grains for Dairy Cattle
By D. Schingoethe, A. Garcia, K. Kalscheur, and A. Hippen, Department of Dairy Science, South Dakota State University K. Rosentrater, Agricultural Research Service. Sulfur is an essential element needed by animals for many functions.


About 0.15% of body weight is sulfur. It is found in the amino acids methionine, cysteine, cystine, homocysteine, and taurine; in chondroitin sulfate of cartilage; and in the B-vitamins thiamin and biotin. Methionine, thiamin, and biotin cannot be synthesized in cattle tissues, so they must be supplied in the diet or synthesized by ruminal microbes. The sulfur content of most feed sources reflects the sulfur amino acid content of the proteins in the feed. See table 1 for example sulfur concentrations for various feed ingredients.

Table 1. Sulfur concentration of common feeds1
1 Nutrient Requirements of Dairy Cattle, 7th Ed., NRC (2001) unless otherwise indicated.
2 Poet Nutrition, Sioux Falls, SD, May 2008.The cow requires dietary sulfur primarily to provide adequate substrate for maximal ruminal microbial growth. Recommended dietary sulfur concentrations are 0.20% of diet dry matter for most dairy cattle (NRC 2001). Higher amounts (0.29%) are recommended for calves consuming milk or milk replacers. For efficient utilization of dietary nonprotein nitrogen, the dietary ratio of nitrogen:sulfur should be between 10 and 12:1. When supplementing with significant amounts of ruminally undegradable protein sources, this nitrogen:sulfur ratio may need to be checked on the ruminally degradable fraction to be sure that the rumen microbesf sulfur requirements are met.

The recommended maximal safe level of sulfur in diets is considered to be 0.4% of diet dry matter (NRC 1980), but that level is actually just an estimation that is not well substantiated in the literature; one may often feed in excess of that with no apparent problems. For instance, the sulfate ions added to diets of dry cows to decrease the ration cation- anion difference to help prevent milk fever often pushes dietary sulfur concentrations above 0.5%.

Excessive sulfur intake can interfere with the absorption of other elements, especially copper and selenium. Toxicity is more likely to occur with the sulfide than with the sulfate form of dietary sulfur. The odor of hydrogen sulfide, a rotten egg smell, may be an indication of excess sulfur in the diet. Some diarrhea may also occur with very high sulfur diets. In beef cattle, a few cases of polioencephalomalacia-like symptoms have been induced by feeding high sulfur diets; but no cases of sulfur toxicity have been reported in dairy cows. Consuming high-sulfur water (e.g., . 1,000 mg sulfur/L, i.e., >1,000 ppm as sulfur), which is approximately equivalent to adding 0.1% sulfur to the diet dry matter, may decrease water intake and milk production (NRC 2001). Feed intake of calves may be decreased by feeding three or more times the amount of methionine required, but decreased feed intake of older cattle with high sulfur diets is not documented.

Sulfur in distillers products has become a recent concern. When starch in corn is fermented to ethanol, other nutrients in the kernels are concentrated approximately three fold in the distillers grains with solubles (DGS). Therefore, the 0.1% sulfur in corn should translate to approximately 0.3% sulfur in DGS, which is close to the 0.44% sulfur listed in the dairy NRC (2001) for DGS. Such a level moves DGS into the low- to medium-end of sulfur levels found in some other common feeds (table 1). However, a recent survey of DGS from 40 ethanol plants in the Midwest (Univ. Minn. 2008) indicated an average of 0.7% sulfur with a range of 0.31% to 1.93% sulfur. Only a few values were above 0.8%; excluding those samples with very high sulfur only lowers the sulfur average from 0.7% to 0.6%. Also, a recent survey of five South Dakota ethanol plants (with two surveys per plant) indicated an average sulfur content of 0.53% of dry matter with a range of 0.31 to 0.82% sulfur. Thus, the industry norm for sulfur in today’s DGS is greater than the 0.44% listed in the dairy NRC

The extra sulfur in DGS is not from the corn. Most of it is likely from chemicals added during the processing to control pH and for cleanup. Such chemical sources of sulfur will usually be higher in the distillers solubles (often referred to as condensed distillers solubles or CDS) than in the distillers grains because the solubles fraction is where such compounds are originally collected. A recent survey indicated a range of 0.22 to 1.80% of dry matter as sulfur in the solubles, with average being typically higher than the average for DGS. Modified DGS also often contains more sulfur (e.g., 0.89 to 1.38%) than DGS because modified DGS often contains more than the proportionate amounts of solubles accounted for by the starting corn.

There are several reasons why DGS contains more sulfur than expected.

Acids (especially sulfuric acid) used to control pH during the processing often contain sulfur.
Acids used in the cleanup operation often contain sulfur. These chemicals usually become a portion of the “solubles” fraction of DGS. Such chemicals are likely cheaper than alternatives, which is the primary reason for their use, and are effective cleaning agents. Thus, the problem may persist unless ethanol plants take steps to decrease the amount of sulfur-containing agents used, or process those “cleanup solutions” in some manner such that they don’t become a part of the DGS. At the least, ethanol plants should be encouraged to minimize the use of sulfur-containing cleanup agents.
Water used in the ethanol plant may contain relatively high amounts of sulfur. For instance, there are several areas of the upper Midwest with high sulfur contents of the water. This is illustrated by a recent survey of well water used by some ethanol plants (Pritchard 2008); the survey indicates 71 ppm of sulfate in Nebraska water, 122 ppm in Kansas water, 168 ppm in Iowa water, and 1007 ppm in South Dakota water.
Inconsistency in the amounts of solubles added back to distillers grains to make DGS. Unfortunately for the users of DGS, varying the amount of solubles added back to the DGS is a major contributor to variation in the composition of the DGS, not just variation in sulfur but variation in other nutrients such as fat, protein, and phosphorus.
What to do if dealing with high sulfur diets. In most cases, one can formulate diets as usual without worrying about sulfur content of the distillers products. In our dairy cattle research at SDSU, we have fed diets containing as much as 40% of the diet dry matter as DGS or 20% as CDS with no problems. The diets were always below 0.4% of dry matter as sulfur and usually within the 0.2 to 0.3% sulfur range. This included times when the DGS fed contained as much as 0.9% sulfur (Anderson et al. 2006) or condensed distillers solubles that contained a very high 1.96% sulfur (Bharathan et al. 2008). One must remember that DGS is only one of many ingredients in the diet, and it is usually fed at 20% or less of the diet dry matter. Forages such as corn silage are usually low in sulfur. In fact, analyses of corn silage fed in our experiments usually contained less than the 0.14% sulfur listed in the dairy NRC (see table 1). Other ingredients often fed, such as alfalfa, corn, barley, oats, and wheat, are also low in sulfur. Water source is not usually a consideration unless one is in an area with high-sulfate water. Then, the water contribution may have to be considered.

A recent SDSU Beef Report (Ward and Patterson 2004) was conducted to test the response of growing steers to diets purposely containing near toxic levels of sulfur. The results indicated that feeding 1 g/head daily of thiamin virtually eliminated the incidence of polioencepahlomalacia.

conclusions
Sulfur is an essential mineral that must be included in the diets of cattle; however, feeding a great excess can be harmful to the animals. Distillers grains and associated coproducts such as CDS contain relatively high concentrations of sulfur, often more than is typically listed in reference tables, but still within the range of concentrations present in many other common feeds. One can usually formulate diets within the recommended range of 0.2 to 0.4% sulfur, even when dealing with high sulfur-containing distillers products. It is recommended that producers obtain sulfur content information when using DGS in diets of livestock.

References
Anderson, J. L., D. J. Schingoethe, K. F. Kalscheur, and A. R. Hippen. 2006. Evaluation of dried and wet distillers grains included at two concentrations in the diets of lactating dairy cows. J. Dairy Sci. 89:3133-42.
Bharathan, M., D. J. Schingoethe, A. R. Hippen, and K. F. Kalscheur. 2008. Conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) in milk increases in cows fed condensed corn distillers solubles and fish oil. J. Dairy Sci. 91:2796-808.
Distillers grains byproducts in livestock and poultry feeds. Accessed May 2008, www.ddgs.umn.edu/.
National Research Council. 1980. Mineral tolerance of domestic animals. Natl. Acad. Sci., Washington, DC. -----. 2001. Nutrient Requirements of Dairy Cattle. 7th rev. ed. Natl. Acad. Sci., Washington, DC.
Pritchard, R. 2008. Sources of dietary sulfur in ruminant diets. Proc. Midwest ASAS/ADSA Symposium. Accessed through http://ars.sdstate.edu/extbeef/.
Ward, E. H., and H.H. Patterson. 2004. Effects of thiamin supplementation on performance and health of growing steers consuming high sulfate water. Beef 2004-07, Animal and Range Sciences Department, South Dakota State University, Brookings.

June 2008

[mikey]

Monday, July 14, 2008Print This Page
Vaccination Vital to Keep Rare Breeds Alive
UK - Keepers of rare and traditional breeds of susceptible animals in the Bluetongue Protection Zone in England and Wales were urged today to contact their vets to arrange urgent vaccination of their animals.



Professor Geoff Simm, Chair of the National Standing Committee on Farm Animal Genetic Resources said:


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"It is a vital step in helping to protect our rich heritage of livestock breeds" 
Professor Geoff Simm, Chair of the National Standing Committee on Farm Animal Genetic Resources
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“We are concerned that some keepers of rare and traditional breeds, especially those with smaller flocks and herds, may not have heard the vaccination message. It is a vital step in helping to protect our rich heritage of livestock breeds, therefore we are also urging vets to contact their clients with these breeds to encourage them to vaccinate.

“Protecting biodiversity in our farm animals and crops is important to help us meet future challenges, including that of feeding the growing human population in a sustainable way. We also have important national and international obligations to do so. Exotic diseases pose a particular threat to our Farm Animal Genetic Resources, both to rare breeds and to elite herds and flocks of mainstream breeds”.

The UK has one of the richest Farm Animal Genetic Resources in the developed world, with over 130 native breeds of poultry, cattle, sheep, goats, pigs, horses and ponies, of which around 100 are at risk of extinction.

 

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Thursday, November 13, 2008Print This Page
Rapid Asian Growth Provides Aussie Opportunity
AUSTRALIA - Meat & Livestock Australia Chairman Don Heatley has praised Australia’s red meat industry for the resilience it has shown during a period of high input costs and economic uncertainty whilst also challenging the industry to make the most of the opportunities that have arisen as a result of growing Asian economies.


In delivering his address to the MLA annual general meeting in Orange this morning Mr Heatley said the rapid economic growth in Asia is providing great opportunities to the Australian red meat industry in the form of new consumers for our products.

“Every dollar in this industry is generated by consumers – either here or around the globe,” Mr Heatley said.

“So when the World Bank says Asian economic growth is creating an extra two million middle class consumers a month in the world’s developing countries, we see a positive – an extra two million ’first time’ consumers for animal protein suppliers to target.


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"Australian red meat exporters have captured a share of these emerging markets" 
Meat & Livestock Australia Chairman Don Heatley
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“These consumers are a key reason why globally more red meat was sent to emerging markets last year than to the more traditional North American and North Asian markets.

“Australian red meat exporters have captured a share of these emerging markets, with our beef exports to Russia, Indonesia, and the Philippines and sheepmeat exports to China all increasing significantly.”

Mr Heatley also acknowledged that the economic growth in countries such as China, India and in South-East Asia has also been responsible for some of the challenges faced in the past year by the Australian red meat industry.

“Asia’s rampant demand for fuels, both oil and liquid natural gas, has seen fuel prices quadruple since 2003 and contribute to massive increases in input costs for all sectors, none more so than at the farm level,” Mr Heatley said.

“Our industry has faced fertiliser and chemical costs, which represent between 11 and 14 percent of total farm cash costs, more than doubling in the past year. This has eroded farm profits, especially for the input-intensive southern production systems.”

In his address at the AGM MLA Managing Director David Palmer said that it was vital the Australian red meat industry continued to push for the removal of global trade barriers, which includes the negotiation of free trade agreements with key trading countries.

“It is estimated that up to one billion Australian dollars could be added to the Australian red meat industry if all current trading barriers were removed,” Mr Palmer said.

“The glacial deliberations in the WTO Doha Round have reinforced the need for the sharper, more focussed vehicle of free trade agreements.

“The pending ratification of the US-Korea free trade agreement, which would see the import tariff on US beef progressively reduced to zero over 15 years, sounds a blunt warning.

“Australia’s red meat industry needs to be front and centre in communicating the benefits of trade liberalisation to governments in key markets, including Japan and Korea.”

Mr Palmer also provided the revenue, income and expenditure of the company, of which the key points included:

Total revenue was $162.9 million – a $1.1 million increase on 2006-07.
Income from producer levies on cattle, sheep and goats totalled $93.9 million. This was a $4.3 million decrease on the previous year, with grassfed levies down $2.6 million and grainfed levies down $2.1 million.
Total expenditure for 2007-08 was down by 1.5 percent on 2006-07 to reach $157.1 million. Within that, total research and development expenditure totalled $69 million, which was down from $71.3 million in 2006-07.
The last quarter of 2007-08 saw levy income for grassfed cattle, mutton and lamb come in above forecasts, which, along with a controlled expenditure program, delivered a surplus of $5.8 million for the year.
The Federal Government, with its matching dollar-for-dollar R&D funding, was again a major contributor with $34.5 million in funding.
Non-levy income increased $5.4 million to reach $69 million and represented 42 percent of total MLA revenue.

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Australia’s beef exports to Indonesia is likely to rise 23% this year and a further 12% in 2009 driven by rising population and incomes. By June 30, shipments of live cattle to the Republic rose to 547,000 head from 452,000 head a year ago, while exports of boxed beef rose 65%. Indonesia’s order book for Australian beef stood at USD 305 million on June 30. The country’s live cattle trade to Indonesia was worth USD 236 million during 2007-08, up from USD 210 million the year before, while boxed beef exports were worth USD 69 million, up from USD 51 million in 2006-07.

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2 December 2008] South Korea's top three retailers sold over 200 tons of US beef in the first four days since they began selling it last Thursday. The three retailers — E-Mart, Homeplus and Lottemart had earlier refrained from selling US beef on fears that there would be a public backlash. They resumed sales because of the economic downturn and because US beef is cheaper than domestically-produced beef.

[mikey]

 
Indonesia considers beef from Brazil
[2 January 2009] Indonesian needs about 350,000 – 400,000 tonnes of beef or 1.7 – 2 million heads of cattle annually. Of this requirement, 30% is imported from FMD free sources namely, Australia, New Zealand and the US. The country has been considering Brazil as a cheaper and alternative source although the country is not yet FMD free. Still, Agriculture Minister Anton Apriyantono said that cattle imported from Brazil are safe for consumption. He added that the plan to import beef from Brazil would push the construction of infrastructure