| CALENDAR OF EVENTS | |
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January | |
| 15 | Florida Cattlemen's Institute & Allied Trade Show, Osceola Heritage Park, 1921 Kissimmee Valley Lane, Highway 192 East of Kississimmee, Call 993-4846 for Lunch Reservations |
| 22 | Homeowner Horticulture Seminar: 7:00 PM, Desoto County Extension Office |
| 23 | DeSoto County Fair Opens |
| 24 | DeSoto County Fair: 8:00-9:00 AM Beef Breeding Check-In; 9:00-10:00 AM Steer Weigh-In |
| 25 | DeSoto County Fair: 9:00-11:00 AM Swine Weigh-In |
| 26 | DeSoto County Fair: 5:00 PM Poultry and Rabbit Judging; 7:00 PM Goat Show |
| 27 | DeSoto County Fair: 7:00 PM Steer Show |
| 28 | DeSoto County Fair: 7:00 PM Swine Show |
| 29 | DeSoto County Fair: 7:00 PM Beef Breeding Show |
| 30 | DeSoto County Fair: 7:00 PM Steer and Swine Sale |
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February | |
| 6 | Florida State Fair -- Youth Beef Show (Brahman, Angus, Brangus, & Non-Registered) |
| 10 | Florida State Fair -- Youth Beef Show (Limousin, Pinzgauer, Santa Gertrudis, Red Angus, Simmental, and All Other Breeds) |
| 11 | Florida State Fair - Youth Steer Show |
| 18 | Livestock Seminar, Handling of Livestock, 7:00 PM, Desoto County Extension Office |
January 15, 2004 will be the 21st Annual Florida Cattlemen's Institute and Allied Trade Show in Kissimmee. The old Fair Grounds have been dismantled and a complete new facility has been built in Kissimmee at the same location. The theme of this years Institute is "Healthy Calves - Bigger Profits". The Trade Show will open at 8:00 AM and the program will begin at 8:45 AM. One of the highlights of the program will be an injection site demonstration conducted by Dr. Todd Thrift, Animal Sciences Department, UF/IFAS. In this demonstration you will be shown what happens to cattle when shots have been given in an inappropriate manner. Prior to the demonstration, a calf that has been given the shots wrong (on purpose for the demonstration) will be humanely euthanized for the demonstration.
The 20th Annual Beef Cattle Reproduction School is set for April 27-29, 2004. This course is sponsored by the Florida Cooperative Extension Service and is conducted with the assistance of area large animal Veterinary practitioners. It is part of a continuing multi-county effort to help South Florida beef producers market more pounds of beef per cow profitably.
The purpose of the course is to strengthen managerial capabilities of owners and operators of beef cattle ranches. This is an intense course in reproductive management of the cow herd. Although the topic of pregnancy diagnosis is given extensive treatment in the program, participants should not expect this training to make them proficient in that skill. Rather it is hoped that an improved understanding of the broad subject of breeding herd management will be achieved and that individuals enrolled in the course will be better equipped to work with their veterinarians in accomplishing breeding program objectives.
Enrollment is limited and I would encourage you to sign up in the next month or so if you would like to attend. Cost to enroll in the 2004 School is $300.
The cypress boards are up and there is still room for more brands. If you haven't brought your brand in, please do so. The wall is beautiful. A special thanks to John Lipe for obtaining the cypress boards for us and for Mark Negley for using his planer to plane the boards. Call 863-993-4846
The recent find of one downer Holstein cow with BSE or Mad Cow Disease is alarming to many people. The negative reaction and the forces that it plays on the market should be the only real concern. This is one cow in the whole U.S. that has been proven to have BSE and she came from Canada where she contacted the disease 4 to 6 years ago. The disease is transmitted via the feeding of improperly processed tissues from ruminant animals back to ruminant animals. The reason the U.S. has not had a case up to now is we required procedures in processing ruminant tissues that destroyed the organism. Canada and England used a different processing method that did not destroy prions. Even though feeds made from ruminant animal tissues processed in the U.S. did not carry the organism, we stopped feeding processed animal tissue feeds several years back when it became obvious as to the cause of the problem in England. This is a safety net of major proportions. Last of all, the U.S. has not let tissues that carry the disease (brain and spinal tissues) go into the food human chain. Muscle tissue does not carry the organism. At this time, no live animal tests are approved by USDA to detect BSE. These tests are strictly to screen for the BSE agent and are not related to food safety.
Websites of Interest to BSE:
http://www.aphis.usda.gov/lpa/issues/bse/bse.html
http://www.fda.gov/oc/opacom/hottopics/bse.html
If you have any comments or need additional information, please contact the DeSoto County Extension Office at (941) 993-4846.
Sincerely,
James F. Selph
DeSoto County Extension Director, IV, Livestock
James F. Selph
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