| CALENDAR OF EVENTS | |
|
March | |
| 14-16 | Florida Cattlemen's Association Quarterly Meeting - Tallahassee |
| 19-25 | DeSoto County Fair |
| 23 | Beef Cattle Herd Health Management - Hillsborough County Cattlemen's Building, 4:00 - 7:00 p.m. |
|
April | |
| 15 | Oklahoma State Packer Feeder Game - Highlands County Agri-Civic Center, Sebring , 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. |
| 20 | DeSoto County Cattlemen's Association Spring Meeting - Family Service Center Annex, 7:00 p.m. |
| 27 | Farm Credit of Southwest Florida Annual Meeting - Hardee County Agri-Civic Center, Wauchula, 6:00 p.m. |
| 25-27 | 17th Annual Reproductive Management School - Hardee County Agri-Civic Center, Wauchula |
| 28 | Ag-In-The-Classroom Program for DeSoto County 6th Grades - Family Service Center |
|
May | |
| 3-5 | 49th Annual Beef Cattle Short Course - Sheraton Hotel, Gainesville |
| 12 | 9th Annual 4-H/Sprint Golf Classic - Lake Wales Country Club |
|
June | |
| 1 | Range Cattle Field Day - Research and Education Center, Ona |
Recently I received from Dr. Findlay Pate at the ONA Range Cattle REC an e-mail message concerning the Canadian Cattle Identification Agency (CCIA). This program is an industry-led system for individually identifying cattle in Canada. If I understand this program correctly, after the target date of December 31, 2000, all cattle in Canada are to be ear tagged with an official CCIA ear tag prior to leaving their herd of origin. A bar code or electronic information on the tag will provide data on the origin of the calf all the way through the feedlot and slaughter. Thus, problems can be traced back to the cow/calf producer.
The information supposedly will be secure and the CCIA will only provide information from those records to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency in the event of a request for traceback for health or safety reasons. Around the world over 25 different countries are either developing or already have individual identification programs in place. This includes the United States, where the National Cattlemen's Beef Association (NCBA) recently passed a resolution supporting a proposed national cattle identification program.
If you are interested in more information on this subject and have internet access, the CCIA website address is: http://www.cattle.ca/ccia. This has implications for the beef industry in the U.S. and ultimately for local cow/calf operations.
Speaking of website addresses, the National Cattlemen's Beef Association and The Florida Cattlemen's Association both have website's that you may be interested in taking a look at. The address for the NCBA is: http://www.beef.org and the FCA is: http://www.floridacattlemen.org/. The availability of information on the internet is nearly endless. If you have not gone to our South Florida Beef/Forage Program website, the address is: http://www.ifas.ufl.edu/~sfbfp/beef.html. At this website, you should be able to find any information that you might be looking for whether it is beef or forage information. I am including with this newsletter a copy of the Service and Product Directory. This listing is not an endorsement, rather it is an attempt to provide a one-stop-shop service concept for you the Beef Cattle Producers. If you have a service or a product that is not listed, follow the instructions on the attached page or contact me direct at the DeSoto County Extension Office (993-4846).
In January, I conducted a two night series of classes on Agriculture and the Internet. We included information on how to use Netscape Navigator to surf the World Wide Web. Emphasis was also given on how to use and manage bookmarks. We also spent time learning how to use e-mail (electronic mail) both for business and home. I am interested in doing this two night program again for agriculture producers who are just beginning to use a computer and the internet. I would like to have at least 15-20 participants for this next class. If you would like to participate, please call our office to sign up. Once we have 15 enrolled, we will set the dates of the next two classes and contact those of you who are signed up for the class. I imagine that the earliest will be later in April or in May.
It is that time of year again. The fair activities will begin on Saturday March 18, with the check-in of the market swine projects. Sunday, March 19 sees the Fair getting in full swing with the check-in of all the other animal projects. Starting Monday afternoon with the Beef Cattle Grooming Contest and continuing through Friday Night with the Steer and Swine Sale, you will find plenty of opportunity to attend and support the 4-H and FFA Agricultural Youth of DeSoto County. These youngsters do a great job with their projects. Please make every attempt to attend the youth agricultural activities at the Fair and support our youth.
Enclosed you will find a brochure on the upcoming Beef Cattle Herd Health Management Program that the South Florida Beef/Forage Program is doing on March 23rd at the Hillsborough County Cattlemen's Building. The enclosed brochure has directions to the location where this event will be held. After the program is over, at 7:00 PM, Schering-Plough Animal Health (Greg Woodard, Representative) will be sponsoring the meal. To make dinner reservations, R.S.V.P. James Stice - Pasco County Extension at (352) 521-4288 by March 17, 2000. The date of this program coincides with the DeSoto County Fair. If you are not going to be at the Steer Show, then try to make this producer program on Beef Herd Health
DeSoto County Cattlemen's Association Spring Meeting
The 2000 DeSoto County Cattlemen's Association Spring Meeting will be held at 7:00 PM, Thursday, April 20, 2000 at the Family Service Center Annex. All members along with their family are invited to attend. Members are asked to bring a covered dish. You may bring one guest to the steak dinner. Members bringing more than one guest will be asked to pay $10.00 per each additional guest.
Progress is being made on the construction of the Ag-Civic Center. Gene and Phil Turner have donated 40 acres to the County just North of the DeSoto County High School. Henceforth the name of the facility will be the Turner Ag-Civic Center. I am told that there will be a ground breaking ceremony in the near future. There is $600,000 in the Commissioner of Agriculture's Budget for 2000. Please take the time to call your local Legislator and/or Senator to encourage the support of this budget item for the Turner Ag-Civic Center construction. A call or letter to the Governor's office will be important also. A show of support from the Agriculture Community at this time is very important. When the ground breaking is held, make every effort to be in attendance.
Three species of these odd looking crickets, the Tawny, the Short-winged and the Southern mole cricket, are present in Florida. Only the Tawny and Southern species are destructive to pastures. These brownish crickets are covered with very fine hair and have flattened, shovel-like front legs. They usually grow to 1 ½ inches in length.
Mole crickets make burrows resembling tiny mole tunnels in the soil. The burrowing loosens the soil and the crickets disturb and cut off the grass roots. The tawny mole cricket is a major pest of vegetable seedlings, turf and pasture grasses. Tawny mole crickets feed largely on plant material, and only to a slight extent on insects and other animals.
In the spring the adult female places 30 or more eggs in each of 3 or 4 underground cells. Eggs hatch in 1 or 2 weeks during warm weather. The crickets become adults by fall. There is one generation per year. A Bait application from mid-July through August, is currently the only recommended control of mole crickets. Only Sevin is labeled for pasture use in controlling Mole Crickets.
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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