Working Cattle

Farming is no 9 to 5 job. We don't work "regular hours", and we certainly aren't afforded the luxury of planning every facet of our days. Sometimes its a stretch for me with my "real job" as an agriculture teacher to remember this. I can write my lesson plans, get my materials for class together, and control much of what happens inside the confines of my classroom, but back on the farm this isn't always the case. We can't control when a heifer is going to have her first calf, sure we can breed her to calve within a particular time frame, but we can't prevent her from having it at mid-night on the coldest night of the year. Sure we can maintain our fences and keep them in good condition, but we can only be reactive when the neighbors' son who is learning to drive loses control of his pickup and plows through our fence. With so much of farming being reactive, we make an attempt to control as much of it as we can, or at least plan for things.

One thing that we do on our cattle farm is take proactive measures to keep our cattle healthy. The number one way that we do this is through prevention. Each spring and fall we "work" our cattle. On our operation, working cattle means bringing them in from their pastures and administering vaccinations, applying wormer, ear-tagging and tattooing for animal identification, castrating bull calves, monitoring weights, and updating herd records. These practices help keep our animals healthy and provide consumers with safe and nutritious beef.

We vaccination cattle with both killed and modified live vaccines. A vaccine is a medicine that gives our cattle immunity to certain diseases. In the killed form the vaccine is often made from weakened or killed forms of the microbe, its toxins or one of its surface proteins. The agent stimulates the animal's immune system to recognize the agent as foreign, destroy it, and "remember" it, so that the immune system can more easily recognize and destroy any of these microorganisms that it later encounters. This way if the disease does present itself later, the animal's body will have seen it before and know what to do and how to destroy it. In the modified live form the vaccine is manufactured from a modified version of the virus that is still alive. It works much the same way as the killed vaccine in how the body responds. When administering these vaccinations we must take care not to mix the syringes that contain the vaccines. If killed and modified live vaccines end up in the same syringe they will become denatured and ineffective when administered to the animal. We give both killed and modified live versions because vaccinations to certain diseases are only available in one or the other form. When we administer these vaccines we follow Beef Quality Assurance, or BQA, guidelines for animal health. Beef Quality Assurance is a national program that provides guidelines for all aspects of the beef industry, including animal health. It helps build consumer confidence in beef through communication of common goals and guidelines between beef producers. Under the Animal Health umbrella, BQA states that all products labeled for intra-muscular (IM) use should be given in injection site triangle in the neck region of the animal. 

The Injection Site Triangle

Products with low dosage rates are recommended, and no more than 10 cc should be given in any one injection. Our cattle receive vaccinations against 3 different respiratory diseases, Bovine Viral Diarrhea or BVD and the 5 serotypes of Leptospirosis. All of these vaccinations are contained in vaccination called Triangle 10. We also give cattle a vaccination called Alpha-7 which protects them against several bacterial diseases including blackleg. The third and final vaccination our cattle get protects them from Pinkeye.

This calf just received a vaccination

Cydectin, one of the wormers we use

In addition to the vaccinations our cattle receive, they also get wormer.  This helps to prevent internal parasites that they can pick up while grazing in the pasture. Cattle commonly pick up internal parasites, or worms, when soil temperatures rise above 55 degrees F and grass is wet either from dew or rain. These create conditions where the worms can thrive. On our farm we use a topical wormer that is poured down the back of the cattle, from there it is absorbed into the body. We change worming products every other year to prevent parasites from developing a resistance to the product. Wormers alone cannot control parasites, good pasture management is also key, but that'll have to be a topic for another day.

The 4th calf born in 2010

Each purebred cow on our farm has a specific identification. This identification comes in the from of an ear tag. Animals are ear tagged within the first few days after birth. This practice helps us identify individual animals and facilitates accurate herd records. The ear tags are made from heavy duty, flexible plastic and we write each animal's identification number on them with a special marker. Like most producers we have a method to assigning ear tag numbers. Our system works like this...The first digit in the tag number is the birth year and the rest of the digits are the animal number born in that year, for example: 201 is the first calf born in 2012, 202 is the second calf born in 2012, 203 is the third calf born in 2012, so on and so forth. We recently acquired two Polled Hereford heifers and one of them calved earlier this spring.

Applying a tattoo to a bull calf's ear

The identification system works a little different on the white-faced cattle on our farm. The Polled Hereford system is the last digit is the birth year and the first digit is the calf number, so 12 is the first calf born in 2012, 22 is the second calf born in 2012, 32 is the third calf born int 2012, so on and so forth. I'm sure it seems kinda crazy, but there is a method to our madness. These systems help us keep track of the individual animals and monitor their growth and performance.Animals also receive a permanent identification in the form of a tattoo in their ears. We have a special pair of pliers that hold the character needles in the shape of numbers and letters. The cattle receive their tag number tattooed in their left ear and a breeder code specific to our farm in their right ear. To apply the tattoo first we have to clean their ear, we then roll on the tattoo ink, next we use the pliers loaded with character needles to pierce the ear and imbed the ink, and lastly we wipe away any excess ink from their ear. 

Male calves that will not be sold as bulls are castrated. We remove the testicles, or castrate, these animals for a number of reasons. Including:

• Higher Quality Meat - Intact bulls produce more hormones, including testosterone, that will taint the taste of their meat
• More Weight Gain - Castrated bulls, or Steers, put all the energy they receive from consuming food toward gaining weight
• Easier to Handle - Steers are much calmer and easier to work with than bulls. This makes it much safer for farm personal
• Prevention of Unwanted Pregnancies - It seems like intact bulls always find a way to get in with the heifers, no matter how strong the fence. Castration helps prevent unwanted pregnancies in the cow herd, and ensures that only the genetically superior males reproduce

There are several ways to go about castrating bulls. We can cut them, band them, or emasculate them. We bulls are cut the scrotum is sliced, the testicles are pulled out, the blood vessels and other connective tissues are severed, and the testicles are removed. This sounds like the most gruesome method, but it is actually the most humane for the animal because the process is very fast and they recover quickly. When bulls are banded a special rubber band is placed around the scrotum between the testicles and the animal's body. This band cuts off blood flow to the testicles and the will shrivel and fall off. This method should only be used on young animals, less than two months of age. In emasculation, a special tool called a emasculator is used to crush the spermatic cord connecting the testicles to the rest of the reproductive tract. Cattle producers must evaluate which method works best for them and employ it in their operation. In our operation, we use a combination of banding and cutting depending on the age and size of each individual animal.

We monitor the weights of our animals. We record their birth weight, weaning weight, and yearling weight. This is done to track their growth and can be used as a predictor of the performance of an animal's offspring's performance as well.

It is essential that we keep accurate records. Some producers use elaborate computer programs to track their cattle, I prefer a spiral notebook and pencil, but whatever the method they must be accurate.

Hope you have enjoyed this peak inside our cattle operation and learning about what we do when we work cattle. We work hard to keep our animals health and provide consumers with safe, nutritious, and healthy beef. Please comment with any questions or comments, we'd love to hear from you.

-Jeremy

Department of Labor drops Child Labor Proposal

Yesterday it was announced that the Department of Labor would drop their proposal to change Child Labor Laws in our country. This was a huge step in the right direction for agriculture.

What did these proposals do?

The proposal abandoned by the Department of Labor yesterday would have ended individuals under the age of 16 working on farms. If passed this legislation would have been detrimental to family farms because they rely on a labor force comprised of family members to survive. Under the proposed regulations children younger than 16 would be banned from using most power-driven equipment. The rules also would prevent those younger than 18 from working in feed lots, grain bins and stockyards. Tennessee Congresswoman Diane Black offered these comments last fall on the proposal. 

“This ridiculous regulation just shows how out of touch bureaucrats in the Obama Administration are,” said Black.  “I wonder if any of the people writing these regulations at the Department of Labor have ever worked on a farm, even for a single day, because the proposed rule does not take into account the basic reality of farm life. Many families with farms use chores as a way to instill a strong work ethic in their children, and do so in a safe, learning environment.”

The agriculture industry did a great job of coming together and reaching out to our elected officials to education them on the effects of this bill. Only through the hard work of committed individuals was the industry able to get these proposals dropped and preserve a traditional way of life for our rural families. Kudos to the agriculture teachers, supporters, and students who came together and reach out to elected officials to voice their concerns.

“Forcing the Department of Labor to abandon this proposed family farm regulation is a huge victory, but one the agriculture community should have never had to fight.  That the federal government was working to prevent farmers from passing the tradition on to the next generation defies all logic and shows that the bureaucracy is running amok.  

“I am relieved that the Administration is backing off this ludicrous proposal, and I commend farmers across the country for coming out in such force against it.  However, this is not the first, nor will it be the last regulation we’ll have to fight.  I and my Republican colleagues in the House will continue to oppose the over-regulation of every industry and the nanny-ization of our country.”                                                                   - Tennessee Congresswoman Diane Black

More can be found here: 

Fox News
American Farm Bureau
Tennessee Farm Bureau President, Lacy Upchurch, on the withdrawal 
Sarah Palin on the issue

BSE Case Confirmed in California, Food Supply is Safe

Yesterday the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) released a statement confirming a case of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) in a California dairy cow. The case was caught prior to this animal being rendered.

Check out this great blog post from Ryan Goodman on the BSE case. Agriculture Proud Blog

The important thing to remember is that our food supply is safe. Our country has a safety net in place to protect consumers, and finding this case is proof that our system works. The animal was caught before she entered the food supply; meaning our system works!

Horse Slaughter in Tennessee

Tennessee lawmakers will soon vote on a controversial bill that could make the Volunteer State more appealing to owners and operators of horse slaughter facilities.

Last fall congress voted and lifted a five year federal ban on slaughter of horses. While horses are not used for human consumption in the United States, they are in other countries. The lifting on the horse slaughter ban restored salvage value in horses and restored a base in the horse market.

Tennessee is well known for its equine industry, and ranks second, behind only Texas, in number of horses. With so many horses in the state it is inevitable that some horses will exceed their usefulness, and Tennessee farmers need an option for these animals. "There is an over inventory of these animals and something needs to be done." says Tennessee State Representative Andy Holt


"The bill that Tennessee legislators are scheduled to vote on this evening is not only a horse friendly bill, but also a jobs friendly bill" says Holt. One provision in the bill would require citizens wishing to challenge the licensing of slaughtering plants in court to post a surety bond equal to 20% of the facility's building cost in order to file a lawsuit. This would, in effect, give the horse slaughter plants some security when establishing their operations. Some claim that this provision is like charging and admission fee to court, according to Nashville Democrat Janis Sontany. However opposition to the bill often forget that a judge can waive the requirement if the plaintiff is deemed indigent. A horse slaughter facility would create many jobs for a state which could desperately use them. Tennessee currently has an unemployment rate of 8.2%, however some counties within the state far exceed that. In fact several Tennessee counties have an unemployment rate of over 20%. Any type of industry that would create jobs would be a welcomed site in these areas where 1 in 5 people are unemployed.

Holt states "This truly for me is a compassionate bill that aids itself to a better life for animals and a better life for these horses", and I would have to agree. Each year there are numerous cases of horses in our state that have exceeded their usefulness and their owners have no option for these animals. A horse slaughter facility in Tennessee would alleviate this and provide a better option for these animals.

Mr. Loose's Ludicrous List...A pretty useless article...

Today on the homepage of Yahoo.com you could find a Newsweek Daily article entitled College Majors That Are Useless. My attention was brought to the article by a friend and by the multitude of comments and postings on the social networking site, Facebook. I failed to notice it myself because I was too busy using my "useless" agriculture degree at work this morning...

In his article, author Terence Loose provides readers with a comprehensive list of what he calls, "Dud Degrees" and among his top five are Agriculture (#1), Animal Science (#4), and Horticulture (#5). The paper is based off U.S. Department of Labor statistics that state only 2% of the jobs in America are agriculture jobs; this couldn't be farther from the truth. In fact, more than 21 million American workers, 15% of the total U.S. workforce, produce, process, and sell the nation's food and fiber ( from the American Farm Bureau Federation). The Department of Labor resources Mr. Loose used only take into account those jobs and careers associated with production agriculture, or farming, they do not take into account careers in agribusiness, agriculture sales, agriculture services, agriscience, agriculture education and a wealth of other areas directly linked to our nation's most essential industry, Agriculture.

The article is based upon the number of projected potential careers in the areas listed and the projected ability of graduates holding said degrees to find jobs. This makes me question the integrity of the article due to the fact that currently there are over 2,000 jobs posted on the website AgCareers. I graduated with my "useless" agriculture degree in 2011, and at graduation the College of Agriculture and Applied Sciences had the highest job placement of graduates of any college in the university, nearly 100%.

It is mentioned in the article that 83% of employers surveyed planned to recruit students graduating with degrees in business, I wonder if this includes Agriculture Business Degrees?

It is also mentioned in the article that 60% of employers surveyed planned to recruit students graduating with degrees in science, I wonder if this includes Agriculture Science Degrees?

Mr. Loose's own ignorance toward an industry that provides for him daily is exhibited when he stated, "Still, if your idea of a good day is getting up with the sun, working till it sets as an agriculture manager, a degree in agriculture might be your calling." You see these agriculture managers he mentions, the folks we all call farmers, provide for his food, clothing, and fuel each and everyday. These agriculture managers serve him 3 times a day, each time he sets down to eat a meal. And so I ask Mr. Loose, "Where would you be without these agriculture managers?" It is quite likely that you would find yourself naked and hungry, and dare I say that is something that none of us want!... And futher more, "What is so wrong with getting up with the sun and working till it sets in a career that you passionate about? What is so wrong with dedicating your life to one of the most noble causes imaginable, the betterment of your fellowman and society?" Mr. Loose, you might be much more suited working to help your fellow man than writing useless articles.

Ranking #4 on Mr. Loose's list of useless degrees is Animal Science. According to Dr. Laurence Shatkin, who Loose references multiple times throughout the article, less than 5,000 jobs in animal science will exist by 2018... Personally I find this particularly interesting since the world population is expected to grow to over 9 billion people in the next 40 years and it is no doubt that these 9 billion people are going to want protein in their diets. It just doesn't make sense to me how if the world population is growing, which it is, we need less people to feed it. But I guess I shouldn't understand since I spend four years in college earning one of those "useless" agriculture degrees.


Finally #5 on Mr. Loose's ludicrous list is horticulture. I will spare you any more of my ramblings on the topics in Mr. Loose's list, but I can promise you that if people stopped earning "useless" degrees in agriculture, they might not seem so useless anymore.

Without doubt I am not the only one who has posted online and shared their comments about this insane article and outlandish list. Many more opinions and testimonies, wrote by people who are far more articulate than I, can be found across the web. Here are a few: A letter to Mr. Loose and Great Careers in Agriculture .

Those of us in agriculture have all heard many times that agriculture is more than sows, cows, and plows, and indeed it is. Agriculture is a highly sophisticated, extremely technology rich and dependent, essential industry, but the fact is people outside of our industry are unaware of this. Many people view agriculture has old farmers with a few cows in a picturesque, red barn, some pigs laying in the mud and a couple of acres of sweet corn out back. The vast majority of our population has no idea about agriculture, as illustrated by Mr. Loose's article. It is up to us to educate them, or they won't get educated, or worse yet be educated by the likes of Mr. Loose, who himself appears lost a goose.

Mr. Loose's Article can be found here: College Majors That Are Useless

Labor Laws could hit Home

Many of us work on our farms or in our jobs and think little about what happens in Washington D.C. We concentrate on what needs to be done that day rather it be soil testing our fields to make plans for next year's crop, A meeting with management reviewing year end sales numbers, or visiting a student's supervised agriculture experience (SAE) to help them better put in practice the skills we teach in the classroom. However when we fail to take notice to and be engaged in what is happening in Washington D.C. we can unintentionally limit our ability to do what we love.

Many of us were raised on farms and have memories of summers spent on a tractor or stacking hay in the barn. These are experiences that we wouldn't trade for anything. While we most likely didn't realize it at the time, we weren't just raking hay or feeding calves, we were also learning about values, work ethic, and responsibility. The truth of the matter is our parents and grandparents tricked us. While we thought we were working on the farm and just doing what we loved, we were actually learning, learning key life lessons.

The United States Department of Labor is proposing new labor regulations that would prevent children under the age of 18 to work on a farm. While this law would not effect immediate family members (children would still be able to work on a farm owned by their parents) it would have an adverse effect on family operations that rely on grandchildren as well as nieces and nephews for help on the farm. It would also have a devastating effect on Agriculture Education.

Agriculture Education students and FFA members all have a supervised agriculture experience. These SAEs are vital to agriculture education because they allow students to put in practice what they learn in the classroom. Agriculture Education uses a 3 circle model that encompasses FFA (leadership), Classroom (education), and SAE (hands on experience -or- implementation) to provide students with a unique hands on approach to learning that they can't get anywhere else.

The department of labor proposal would have a detrimental effect on these SAE because many students work on operations that are not owned by their parents. If this law were to be passed and enacted these FFA members would no longer be able to work here and implement the skills and knowledge that they are learning in the classroom. As an ag teacher myself I can assure you that this would be detrimental to agriculture education and its effectiveness.

In an effort to showcase the importance of SAEs and the effect that this hands-on learning has on students the current Tennessee FFA State Officers have created a blog that features FFA members from across Tennessee and their SAEs. It can be found here: www.ouragexperience.blogspot.com

Family Farms rely on this labor.
The vast majority of farms in this country are owned by families (98%) and in many cases these family owned operations rely on grandchildren, nieces, nephews, etc. to help the farm operate. This proposed legislation could eliminate that vital labor, and effect the family farm's ability to stay in business and produce.

So what can we do?? Contact your senator, and tell them how these proposed rulings will effect family farms and agriculture education.

The truth about animal rights groups

I believe that all too often those of us in agriculture assume that our non-ag friends know things that they probably do not know when we are talking to them about our operations, why we do what we do on our farms, or about upcoming challenges that we face in our industry. This very thing happened to me yesterday when I wrote a blog post about the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) targeting of the beef industry. I assumed that everyone who read my post would know HSUS's true agenda and how they wish to eradicate animal agriculture... Therefore I have decided to post information about the true agenda of animal rights groups, which is the end of animal ag and a vegan society.

To speak specifically about HSUS... The Humane Society of the United States has done a very good job of portraying themselves as a creditable source on animal welfare and a group that works to assist animal shelters and promote livestock husbandry. However, this image could not be farther from the truth... HSUS is indeed a liberal, radical animal rights organization promoting a vegan agenda, and if you have any doubts about that check out what the HSUS leadership has to say...

“We believe in the Three Rs - reducing the consumption of meat and other animal-based foods; refining the diet by eating products only from methods of production, transport, and slaughter that minimize pain and distress; and replacing meat and other animal-based foods in the diet with plant-based foods."
– Wayne Pacelle, President/CEO, Farm & Dairy Magazine, 2009

"The Meat Industry Equals Systematic Murder."
– sign carried by Paul Shapiro during Compassion Over Killing protest (prior to joining HSUS as Campaign Senior Director), The Washington Post, 2003

"My goal is the abolition of all animal agriculture."
– John “J.P.” Goodwin, Director of Animal Cruelty Policy and former Animal Liberation Front spokesperson

HSUS has gone state by state across our country and introduced and passed legislation that dictates how farmers and ranchers do business in their operations. They have been successfully because few people know the true agenda and the history of this group. Consumers believe that HSUS only targets farms with problems, said "factory farms", helps needy animals through local animal shelters. When in fact HSUS only gives less than 1/2 of one percent of each dollar donated to them to help local shelters.

Oh and for the "Factory Farms", what exactly is a "factory farm" any way. It is suggested that the factory farms are owned by corperations... well almost all the farms in our country, 98% to be exact are owned by families... so that can't be it. It is also suggested that a "factory farm" is one that has no regard for their animals and their well-being and house them in barns where they do not see the light of day and implements cruel and inhumane practices... All farmers are going to do what is best for their animals, why would they not, it is in their best interests as producers; healthy animals are going to preform better. Producers base all their decisions on 2 things...what is best for the animals under their care, and science. We rely on proven, scientific methods and procedures rather than emotion... so that can't be it either... So I still question, "What exactly is a 'factory farm'?" Surely it isn't a term that these animal rights groups, HSUS included, would have developed to portray agriculture and food production in a negative light and pull at the heartstrings, emotions, and wallets of consumers (prospective donors in their eyes $$) is it? They wouldn't do such a thing would they? ... You had better bet they would and have with their so called, "Factory Farms".

HSUS may have done a good job of portraying themselves as a mainstream group, but they cannot hide their extremist and radical roots. Many of their top leadership has come from other extremist organizations...
While PETA, HSUS, and FARM may be some to the most well-known animal rights groups, there are hundreds if not thousands of animal rights groups around the globe. It would be impossible for me to discuss each one individually so I have included the following link... The Animal Agriculture Alliance has created profiles for the most well-known and active animal rights groups on their website. ANIMAL RIGHTS GROUPS PROFILES . These profiles help consumers and the "non-aggie" understand the true agenda behind these radical groups and that they are at all promoting animal well-being.

Please if you are looking for creditable, reliable information about where your food comes from and the measures farmers and ranchers go through to provide you with a safe and wholesome product, check out this list of producer blogs and information.