Date: August 29, 2003
RETIRING? YES, AND NO
Some of you may have read or heard that I am retiring. On August 31, I will retire from my position as Extension Beef Cattle Specialist. However, on September 1, I will assume a part-time position, and will still be located at the Texas A&M Research and Extension Center at Stephenville. So, for a while at least, you can expect to continue receiving this assortment of research summaries, industry happenings, and personal observations.
TEXAS ADAPTED GENETIC STRATEGIES PUBLICATIONS
The 10 publications in this series have been revised and are now available on the Texas Cooperative Extension Bookstore website at http://tcebookstore.org/ under "Agriculture, Livestock, Beef Cattle" and the Extension Animal Science site at http://animalscience.tamu.edu . These new publications are available in electronic format only. Any of the old versions should be removed from inventories.
THE ENVIRONMENT, IT IS CRUCIAL
Recently I was looking over some old books I retrieved from my father's collection. One of these is "The Jersey", a history of Jersey cattle, published in 1938 by R.M Gow, who at that time had been with the American Jersey Cattle Club for 56 years. In the beginning of the chapter entitled "Jersey Isle Farming and Cattle" Gow states, "The influence of environment is recognized as a factor of the greatest importance in forming the characteristics of the animal creation". That factor is the basis of Texas Adapted Genetic Strategies, that is, consider the environment first and then adapt a genetic strategy to it. Trying to operate with cattle that could yield superior product but are unsuited to their environment is futile.
NATIONAL ANIMAL IDENTIFICATION
Interest has increased in the possibility of a national system of identification due to several factors, including disease outbreaks, bioterrorism, food safety, and marketing. A draft plan, the U. S. Animal Identification Program, has been developed by the Animal Identification Development Team. One of the first goals of the program is identification of all contact premises within 48 hours of the discovery of a foreign animal disease. All of this is in the planning stage. But it looks like something will probably happen eventually. The main questions seem to be what form will it take, when will it be implemented, and who will be in charge? Keep posted.
NEW PRODUCTS
Novartis is marketing ArsenalTM 4.1 (modified-live, subQ only) for protection against the BRD viral complex. According to the company, this product protects against the noncytopathic form of BVD, said by them to be the major cause of BVD and not present in most other vaccines. Contrary to the report here last month, it looks like marketing of OptaflexxTM will be delayed.
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