Calving Season

Hello everybody! My name is Jacob Hagenmaier, and I am a veterinary medicine student at Kansas State University. I am very passionate about providing a safe, wholesome food supply as well as the great stories people involved in agriculture have to tell. One such story is calving season. Right now is the end of our spring break, and while many students across the nation spent the last week enjoying sandy beaches or snow covered mountains as the perfect getaway, my break was spent in the beautiful Flint Hills of Northeast Kansas on our family ranch. March is a busy time for many ranchers, because that is when their cows are due to calve. Calving season varies within different operations, but early fall and spring tend to be the most common. Calving season is a very intense and strenuous time for cattle ranchers. Some nights, not a wink is spent sleeping due to continually checking on the pregnant females and assisting with births if needed. Still, calving season is one of the most rewarding and fulfilling parts of being involved in beef production. All the hard work spent feeding, delivering calves, putting down straw for bedding, and monitoring herd health is well worth it to see newborn calves bursting with energy and ready to go to grass around May!

Since our herd consist of predominately cattle that are 100% black, I get especially excited to see a calf born with a little bit of color.  The bull calf pictured above tends to be my favorite this year because of the "Joker-like" face pattern -- google "Joker from Batman" and you'll see what I mean! Within 12 hours of birth, all calves on our operation are given a shot that contains minerals to boost their immune system, a pill with antibodies against causes of scours (Bovine term for diarrhea), and a tag which identifies their mother. Around mid April to the first of May, the newborn calves and their mothers will be taken to pasture to feast on the fresh grass that comes with spring.

That's all for now... I better get back to studying :/

Best,

Jacob

PETA Posts Shameful Euthanasia Rate

24
The number of pets that were lucky enough to be adopted out last year by PETA.

Another number for you to ponder: 95+ -- The percentage of pets in PETA's care which were euthanized in 2011 (1911 pets).

One more big number: 37 MILLION -- PETA's annual budget. Doesn't seem like they're short on cash for dog or cat food.

I'm not the only one who finds this abhorrent. An interested resident of Virginia (PETA's HQ is located in Alexandria, VA) called HQ and inquired as to whether or not there is an animal shelter at HQ. There isn't, shockingly (or not?).

Upon learning of this, Dr. Daniel Kovich, Director of Animal Welfare and Health Policy for the Virginia Department of Agriculture, conducted an investigation of the facilities and determined that the building doesn't have anywhere near the necessary amount of space for the animals it takes into custody. Additionally, Dr. Kovich found out that PETA euthanizes approximately 84% of the animals it takes in within 24 hours of receiving them into their facilities. That's shameful.

For the record, I acknowledge the fact that some animals are so horribly treated and abused that the most humane thing to do is euthanize them. This is of course, very sad but necessary, and I can appreciate PETA euthanizing those specific animals. However, in no way do I believe that 1911 pets were in such horrendous condition that they needed to be euthanized within 24 hours. I'm not buying it.

I didn't write this post to blaspheme PETA and make people aware of their outrageous actions - they're marketing department does a fine job of that on their own. I merely want to point out that your donated dollar to PETA doesn't necessarily go towards saving pets. Unless they're one of the lucky twenty-four.

If you really want to help, donate money or dog/cat food to your local animal shelter. Or, even better, adopt a pet from your local animal shelter rather than purchasing a purebred.

In closing, I want to leave you with one last fact. The Oregon Humane Society saved over 10,000 pets in 2009 through adoptions, owner reunions and transfers. Over 10,000 - in one state.

Until next time,

~ Buzzard ~

Caring for Animals

After a recent conversation with a consumer, I thought this post might be a good reminder for all. Animal rights, animal welfare, animal well-being, animal care, animal suffering, whatever the terms that are being thrown around int he media are - I wanted to give you my take on a few of the most important ones!

These definitions are taken from the dictionary of a person involved in animal care on a daily basis:

Animal Welfare - the physical well-being of an animal

Animal Rights - the idea that animals deserve similar unalienable rights that humans are afforded

Animal Abuse - infliction of pain on animals for reasons other than self defense

With those three definitions, I'd like to think these might be better working definitions for consumers to relate to:

Animal Welfare - doing the chores, putting your boots on every morning to insure that animals are well taken care. Animal welfare is taken into consideration every day at a farm, ranch, dairy, hog barn, zoo, research farm, feedyard and multitude of other entities that raise and care for animals. People who depend on animals as his or her livelihood, hold animal welfare standards in high regard.

Animal Rights - you won't find this definition in my working dictionary, it doesn't exist.

Animal Abuse - inexcusable, undefended and unlawful behavior that warrants prosecution by designated law enforcement agencies.

What are your thoughts as a consumer?

Feeding the Increasing Population

Today I listened to Dr. Luis Rodriguez, from the USDA Agriculture Research Service at Plum Island Animal Disease Center speak about the importance of a one health approach to foreign animal disease eradication.

One health is the focus of healthy animals, healthy people and a healthy environment. This is an important approach to creating a safer, more healthy world.

This graph was in Rodriguez's presentation and really drives home the point of what we are up against. The x-axis represents three-year time intervals over the past several decades. The y-axis represents per capita consumption of different food groups.

Excerpt from: http://www.fao.org/docrep/012/i0680e/k6960e00.pdf

You will see that the per capita consumption of eggs, meat and milk are significantly higher than other food groups. Eggs are the cheapest protein source on the market and can be easily incorporated into countries with traditional agriculture practices being a family's main source of food.

We will have a larger population to feed in the future, and it clearly will not be a population of vegetarians. Food animal production will become even more important in the years to come. Foreign animal disease research is vital to production and Manhattan, KS will be a huge player in this research with the building of NBAF.

My Best,

Tera Rooney

HSUS: a new perspective

The Humane Society of the United States is an organization that uses it's name and emotional commercials to tug at the heartstrings of millions to raise more money to fund lobbying efforts. Their goal? To abolish animal agriculture as a whole. They do not support the local animal shelters that actually do work in our communities to help stray cats and dogs find homes. I have several classmates who are very passionate about doing work in these shelters and see a growing number of veterinary students interested in shelter medicine. They need to be the ones benefiting from the opening of America's pocket books when the commercial with the sad puppy in it comes across the tube.

I could go on, but this article says it perfectly. I encourage you to read the Q&A with Jake Geis. He is a veterinary student and a very bright, passionate person who will make strides in the animal health and welfare field.

PLEASE READ THIS ARTICLE AND SEE HOW JAKE VIEWS THE HSUS!

I encourage you to leave your opinions in the comment section below. I'd love to hear your take on things and learn a bit more myself.

My best,

Tera Rooney

Foodie Feature: Farm Vets

I had to post a link to one of my favorite blogs to follow. This blog has a very interesting angle and really gives consumers a picture of daily life on a farm.

The Farm Vet

A husband and wife duo post snippets of what goes on during a normal day in the life of a large animal veterinarian. Located in California, the couple shows videos and pictures about procedures, adventures and down right interesting things that they may encounter.

Large animal veterinarians are doctors that choose to practice on larger animals like horses, cattle, hogs, sheep, alpaca, llamas, etc. Many times these practices include working with animals that will eventually be rendered for food. It is important that people who produce and work with food animals have a strong relationship with a veterinarian to increase animal health and continue producing safe food product for us to eat.

The life of a large animal veterinarian isn't an easy one, as you will find from reading the Farm Vet blog. Currently there is a large shortage of people willing to enter the large animal field. It is an issue that has been in the news lately and deserves national attention because these are the veterinarians that help ensure food safety and national security.

Follow the Farm Vet's blog and if you enjoy that you can even "like" them on facebook!

All my best,

Tera Rooney