Animal Science Department

2009 Cornell Bred Hiefer Sale - Oct. 24, 2009

Cornell Teaching and Research Center, 681 Cornell Ln., Dryden, NY starting at 1pm.  See website for more details

http://www.wix.com/BeefCattle/BeefSale

Reasons for antibiotic resistance vary: report
 
By Tom Johnston on 10/21/2009, MeatingPlace.com
Suggesting that antibiotic resistance primarily stems from antibiotic abuse or misuse doesn't accurately tell the whole story, according to a report by the American Academy of Microbiology. The group says even appropriate antibiotic use has, among other causes, contributed to the spread of resistance, underscoring the complexity of explaining its causes.  "There are no scapegoats," states the report, "Antibiotic Resistance: An Ecological Perspective on an Old Problem," which is based on a colloquium convened by AAM in October 2008. "Responsibility is partly due to medical practice, including patient demand; veterinary practice; industrial practices; politics; and antibiotics themselves. Ultimately, resistance development is founded in the inevitability of microbial evolution."  The report states further that antibiotic resistance is essentially uncontrollable. Nonetheless, the colloquium stressed the importance of "deliberate efforts" to contain and minimize transmission of resistant organisms as well as antibiotic use.  "Antibiotic resistance is an international pandemic that compromises the treatment of all infectious diseases," the report states.
To view the entire report, click here ( http://academy.asm.org/)

5 Top Storage Tips For High-Moisture Corn

Oct 16, 2009 10:27 AM, By John Pocock
October rains and snow have been causing significant corn harvest delays for much of the Midwest [and the Northeast]. In addition to frost damage to some fields, higher-than-normal moisture levels are threatening to add to both costs and potential headaches at harvest.

To help farmers cope with 2009’s high-moisture, late-harvested corn crop, Dirk Maier, Kansas State University Extension engineer provides the following five corn storage tips, go to http://cornandsoybeandigest.com/e-digest/1016-high-moisture-corn-tips/ .

From: Corn and Soybean Digest

USDA further testing for possible H1N1 in Minn. swine
By Lisa M. Keefe on 10/16/2009, MeatingPlace.com
USDA announced late Friday that the agency is conducting "confirmatory" testing for the H1N1 virus on swine samples collected at the 2009 Minnesota State Fair between Aug. 26 and Sept. 1.
If the presence of H1N1 is confirmed in the pigs, it would be the first such case in swine in the United States. There have been a few H1N1 infections reported in swine outside the United States.
USDA said that at the time the samples were collected at the fair, the pigs were apparently healthy.
Although an outbreak of H1N1 influenza occurred in a group of children housed in a dormitory at the fair at the same time samples were collected from the pigs, USDA said that information available so far would suggest the children were not sickened by contact with the pigs.
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said again in the USDA news release that the virus cannot be spread by eating pork. In a statement released shortly after the USDA's announcement, the National Pork Producers' Council repeated the point, and said that "since the H1N1 flu was first reported in late April, NPPC and the National Pork Board have urged pork producers to tighten their existing biosecurity protocols to protect their pigs from the virus, including restricting public access to barns."
For information on H1N1, see http://www.flu.gov/professional/community/cfboguidance.html, From Ellen Abend, NY EDEN Coordinator

N.Y. state grant earmarks funds for new processing facility
By Lisa M. Keefe on 10/19/2009, Meatingplace.com
 A new red meat processing facility is on the books for Sullivan County, N.Y., now that the project has been awarded $320,000 in grant money from a state program.
The so-called Southern Catskills Red Meat Processing Facility project will use the funds to create a meat processing plant for existing livestock producers. The goal is to reduce producers' transportation costs, as most N.Y. cattle now must be transported to Pennsylvania for processing.
The $1.6 million project is slated for the village of Liberty. It is expected to create 50 production jobs and benefit 200 farms in the state.
The Upstate Regional Blueprint Fund last week granted a total of $17.5 million to 15 projects in New York state. The first round of funding finances business investment, infrastructure upgrades and downtown redevelopment.