Retained Ownership of Beef Cattle When Considering Production and Price Risk

Livestock Production/Industries,

Nitrogen Excretion from Beef Cattle for 6 Cover Crop Mixes as Estimated by a Nutritional Model

Excretion of nitrogen (N) from cattle within crop‐livestock systems is an important component of nutrient cycling, but measuring fecal and urinary N excretion in grazing cattle is a difficult and time consuming task. Nutritional models are available to estimate feed utilization and have been used to predict N excretion in grazing cattle. Using the Large Ruminant Nutrition Model, we predicted N losses from mature pregnant beef cows and growing beef heifers from compositional analysis of cover crop mixes grown in central South Dakota. All of the mixes used contained crude protein (CP) concentrations greater than cattle requirements. Estimates of both total fecal and urinary N excretion were greater for cows than heifers due to the greater BW and N intake of cows, however, the proportion of total N intake excreted in the feces was not predicted to differ between cattle maturities. Urinary excretion of N was predicted to be less for heifers, both when expressed as lb/d of N excreted or as a percentage of N intake. When accounting for potential stocking rate differences, it was predicted that slightly less urinary N excretion per acre could be expected by grazing younger cattle that utilize some N for growth compared to a mature animal

Estimating flooded area and mean water level using active and passive microwaves: the example of Paraná River Delta floodplain

This paper describes a procedure to estimate both the fraction of flooded area and the mean water level in vegetated river floodplains by using a synergy of active and passive microwave signatures. In particular, C band Envisat ASAR in Wide Swath mode and AMSR-E at X, Ku and Ka band, are used. The method, which is an extension of previously developed algorithms based on passive data, exploits also model simulations of vegetation emissivity. The procedure is applied to a long flood event which occurred in the Paraná River Delta from December 2009 to April 2010. Obtained results are consistent with in situ measurements of river water level

Evaluation of Beef Cattle Operations Utilizing Different Seasons of Calving, Weaning Strategies, Postweaning Management, and Retained Ownership

Data from a 3-yr study in Montana were utilized to evaluate impacts of season of calving, weaning strategy, and retained ownership of steer calves on enterprise profitability. Calving seasons were late winter (LW), early spring (ES), or late spring (LS). Each season had 2 weaning times: 190 (LW190, ES190) or 240 (LW240, ES240) d for LW and ES, and 140 (LS140) or 190 (LS190) d for LS. Backgrounding options included shipping steers to Oklahoma (OK1), or backgrounding in Montana to a constant age (MT2) or weight (MT3). Steers from OK1 and MT2 were finished in Oklahoma in confinement or via self-feeders on pasture and harvested in Texas. Steers in MT3 were finished in Montana in confinement and harvested in Colorado. Performance of each system was modeled based on actual animal performance, market prices, and variable input costs. When calves were sold at weaning, gross margins per cow were greatest for LS190 (P \u3c 0.05) and lowest for LW240. During backgrounding, costs of gain were similar among cow-calf systems, and gross margins per steer were greatest for LS140 (P \u3c 0.05), but not different among backgrounding systems. During finishing, costs of gain were greatest for steers from MT2 due to transportation costs to Oklahoma (P \u3c 0.05), and gross margin per steer favored MT3 (P \u3c 0.05). Gross margin for a ranch with a fixed land base did not differ among systems if calves were sold at weaning, but was greatest for LS systems after backgrounding or finishing (P \u3c 0.05)

Agriculture in the Face of Changing Markets, Institutions and Policies: Challenges and Strategies

Since the late 1980s, agriculture in Central and Eastern European Countries (CEECs) has been under considerable adjustment pressure due to changing political, economic and institutional environments. These changes have been linked to the transition process, as well as the ongoing integration into the European Union and the world market. Reduced subsidies, increased environmental and food quality demands, as well as structural changes in the supply, processing and food retailing sector call for major structural adjustments and the improvement of farmersâ managerial abilities. Though such changes always carry significant threats to farms, they also offer new opportunities for the farms' entrepreneurial engagement. Upcoming changes in the agricultural environment and their possible consequences for farm structures across Europe are thus still timely subjects. The objective of the IAMO Forum 2006 is to contribute to the success of agriculture in the CEECs, as well as their neighboring countries, in todayâs increasingly competitive environment. Concrete questions the conference focuses on are: What are the most suitable farm organizations, cooperative arrangements and contractual forms? How to improve efficiency and productivity? Where do market niches lie and what are the new product demands? This book contains 33 invited and selected contributions. These papers will be presented at the IAMO Forum 2006 in order to offer a platform for scientists, practitioners and policy-makers to discuss challenges and potential strategies at the farm, value chain, rural society and policy levels in order to cope with the upcoming challenges. IAMO Forum 2006, as well as this book, would not have been possible without the engagement of many people and institutions. We thank the authors of the submitted abstracts and papers, as well as the referees, for their evaluation of the abstracts from which the papers were selected. In particular, we would like to express our thanks to OLIVER JUNGKLAUS, GABRIELE MEWES, KLAUS REINSBERG and ANGELA SCHOLZ, who significantly contributed to the organization of the Forum. Furthermore, our thanks goes to SILKE SCHARF for her work on the layout and editing support of this book, and to JIM CURTISS, JAMIE BULLOCH, and DÃNALL Ã MEARÃIN for their English proof-reading. As experience from previous years documents, the course of the IAMO Forum continues to profit from the support and engagement of the IAMO administration, which we gratefully acknowledge. Last but not least, we are very grateful to the Robert Bosch Foundation, the Federal Ministry of Nutrition, Agriculture and Consumer Protection (BMELV), the German Research Foundation (DFG), the Haniel Foundation and the Leibniz Institute of Agricultural Development in Central and Eastern Europe (IAMO) for their respective financial support.Agribusiness, Community/Rural/Urban Development, Farm Management, Industrial Organization, International Development, Labor and Human Capital, Land Economics/Use, Productivity Analysis,

D-Cycloserine as an augmentation strategy for cognitive behavioral therapy of anxiety disorders

The goal of this review is to examine the clinical studies on d-cycloserine, a partial glutamatergic N-methyl-D-aspartate agonist, as an augmentation strategy for exposure procedures during cognitive behavioral therapy for anxiety disorders. Although cognitive behavioral therapy and anxiolytic medications are more effective than placebo for treating anxiety disorders, there is still considerable room for further improvement. Traditional combination strategies typically yield disappointing results. However, recent studies based on translational research have shown promise to augment the neural circuitry underlying fear extinction with pharmacological means. We discuss the current state of the literature, including inconsistencies of findings and issues concerning the drug mechanism, dosing, and dose timing. D-cycloserine is a promising combination strategy for cognitive behavioral therapy of anxiety disorders by augmenting extinction learning. However, there is also evidence to suggest that d-cycloserine can facilitate reconsolidation of fear memory when exposure procedures are unsuccessful

Welfare outcomes for 3- and 6-month-old beef calves in a tropical environment castrated surgically or by applying rubber rings

Castration of cattle using rubber rings is becoming increasingly popular due to the perceived ease of the procedure and greater operator safety when compared with surgical castration. Few comparative studies have investigated the effects of different castration methods and calf age on welfare outcomes, particularly in a tropical environment. Thirty Belmont Red (a tropically adapted breed), 3-month-old (liveweight 71-119. kg) and 30, 6-month-old (liveweight 141-189. kg) calves were assigned to a two age. ×. three castration (surgical, ring and sham) treatment factorial study (Surg3, Surg6, Ring3, Ring6, Sham3 and Sham6, n= 10 for each treatment group). Welfare outcomes were assessed post-castration using: behaviour for 2 weeks; blood parameters (cortisol and haptoglobin concentrations) to 4 weeks; wound healing to 5 weeks; and liveweights to 6 weeks. More Surg calves struggled during castration compared with Sham and Ring (