Hereford Breeders Continue Commitment To Improve Genetics
KANSAS CITY, Mo. More
than 300 serious Hereford breed
ers from 22 states learned the im
portance of improving genetics
and defining their customer bases
at the Hereford Directions Sum
mit in Stillwater, Okla., June
20-22.
The American Hereford Asso
ciation (AHA) and Oklahoma
State University (OSU) hosted
the event.
Close to half of the audience
was made up of producers with
200-head cow herds. Throughout
the three-day event live cattle
URBANA, 111. A showdown
is simmering. In one corner are
Agricultural Research Service
(ARS) scientists and collaborat
ing researchers. In the other is a
fungal rust disease whose 2001
arrival in South America has cast
a menacing shadow over U.S.
soybeans.
At stake is a nearly
2.9-billion-acre legume crop
whose protein, oil and derivatives
are used in everything from baby
formula and salad dressing to
.
evaluations were conducted to
generate conversation and get
seedstock producers thinking
about the type and kind of cattle
that meet industry standards.
Black, black baldy, red baldy
and Hereford steers from K 74
Ranch in Sulphur, Okla., were
fed for the conference to illustrate
the differences in feeder cattle
and how to add value to Here
fords.
John Tucker, North Platte
Feeders and Glen Dolezal, Excel
Corp., told producers to concen
trate on moderate size, problem-
Scientists Gear Up To Counter Soybean Rust Disease
biodiesel and printing ink.
The rust fungus hasn’t ap
peared on the U.S. mainland yet,
but ARS researchers Reid Fred
erick, Morris Bonde and Glen
Hartman aren’t wasting any
time. Frederick and Bonde, for
example, have already developed
a molecular method to rapidly
detect the rust fungus based on
specific DNA sequences that are
unique to it.
Since 2000, all three ARS re
searchers have worked with sci-
free cattle that meet consumer
demand. A carcass workshop at
OSU’s Food Animal Processing
Center highlighted the event, and
participants were able to see the
harvested steers and learn how
the carcasses measure up in the
cooler.
Academia and industry-lead
ing seedstock and commercial
panels shared marketing advice,
and attendees were eager to learn
what they need to do to be profit
able in this industry, the changes
they needed to make in their
breeding programs and what
their customers demand.
entists abroad to leant as much
as they can about their fungal
foe’s basic biology, genetic varia
bility, life cycle and pathogenici
ty-
The so-called Asian rust strain
the more aggressive of two
known forms has spread to Af
rica and South America, notes
Hartman, at ARS’ Soybean/
Maize Germplasm, Pathology
and Genetics Research Labora
tory at Urbana, 111.
Hartman, Frederick and
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Bob Kropp, OSU, moderated
the event and stressed that
seedstock producers must be
committed to consumer and cus
tomer service. The white face
gives a producer brand integrity,
he said. In his summary, he told
breeders to focus on Hereford
cattle as Hereford cattle and
never to compromise the
strengths, which are fertility, cow
maintenance, adaptability, feed
efficiency and disposition.
Tom Field, Colorado State
University, discussed where the
breed has been and where the
breed should be going. He left the
Bonde also will spearhead a proj
ect supported by the United Soy
bean Board to coordinate field
tests at rust “hot-spot” regions in
China, Thailand, Zimbabwe,
South Africa, Brazil and Para
guay. There, they’ll search for the
best sources of soybean resistance
to the rust fungus.
Inside a biocontainment facili
ty operated by ARS’ Foreign Dis
ease-Weed Science Research
Unit at Fort Detrick, Md., they’d
also expose domestic and exotic
soybean lines to multiple races of
Pennsylvania Egg Production
Down One Percent In May
< «*'*
HARRISBURG (Dauphin
Co.) Egg production in Penn
sylvania during May 2002 totaled
557 million eggs, down one per
cent from the 560 million eggs
produced in May 2001, according
to the Pennsylvania Agricultural
Statistics Service (PASS).
The total number of layers on
hand averaged 23.5 million dur
ing the month, which was down
six percent from May 2001. Pro
duction per 100 layers was 2,375
eggs, up five percent from the
2,252 eggs produced during the
previous May.
Egg-type hatch totaled 4.2 mil
lion chicks during May 2002,
which was down 26 percent from
May 2001. Cumulative egg-type
hatch for January through May,
at 22.1 million, was 20 percent
less than the corresponding peri
od in 2001. Broiler-type hatch to
taled 13.4 million during May
2002, unchanged from May 2001.
Aggregate broiler-type hatch for
22nd Annual Ag Showcase
at the Cecil County Fair
Tuesday, July 23, 2002, 10:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
Rain Date: Thursday, July 25, 2002
At the Fairgrounds on MD 273 near MD 213, Fair Hill, MD.
Follow the signs.
Special Features:
Demonstrations:
Lunch:
Dealers:
Sponsors
Organizers:
Cooperators:
The Ag Showcase welcomes everyone Interested In agriculture. Admission Is free.
For more Information, contact participating dealers or Maryland Cooperative
Extension - Cecil County, 410^96*5280
"It is the policy of Maryland Cooperative Extension that no person shall be sub|ect to discrimination
on the grounds of race, color, sex, disability, age or national origin"
Lancaster Farming, Saturday, July 13, 2002-A29
audience with a few positive
words to think about.
After in-depth discussions with
seedstock and commercial pan
els, it became evident Hereford
breeders need to focus on bal
anced trait selection. Everyone
agreed it is highly important to
collect more data and convert the
data into information for their in
dividual programs and their cus
tomers.
Dan Moser, Kansas State Uni
versity, emphasized the need to
identify genetically superior indi
viduals by increasing the use of
AI to high accuracy sires.
the fungus to determine which
offer the broadest range of dis
ease resistance. And in fungicide
trials, they’ll examine the chemi
cals’ effectiveness and potential
phytotoxicity to soybean plants.
Meanwhile, lowa State Univer
sity collaborator X.B. Yang is
using computer modeling to sim
ulate rust disease outbreaks on
U.S. soybean-growing regions
based on climate, wind patterns
and other criteria. By one simula
tion, the fungus’ establishment
causes soy crop losses of up to 40
percent.
January-May 2002 was 64.6 mil
lion, up one percent from the pre
vious year.
United States’ egg production
totaled 7.26 billion during May
2002, up slightly from last year.
The total number of layers dur
ing May averaged 334 million,
slightly lower than the average
number of layers during May
2001. May egg production per
100 layers was 2,172 eggs, up one
percent from 2,160 eggs in May
2001.
Egg-type chicks hatched in the
United States during May totaled
38.9 million, down nine percent
from May 2001. Broiler-type
hatch totaled 798 million, up two
percent from May of the previous
year. There were 25.6 million tur
key poults placed in the United
States during May 2002, down
four percent from the same
month a year ago.
BioFuels Learn about biofuels (soy-diesel and ethanol) as a
market for area grain crops, their use in farm equipment, vehi
cles and home heating; and plans for an ethanol plant in
Maryland Demonstration equipment will be fueled with soy
diesel and ethanol
Multtflora Rose Contn
View a demonstration of chemical,
mechanical and biological control of multiflora rose
Farmland Preservation Discover how to preserve your farm
at a walk-in clinic with representatives from several MD and
PA farmland preservation organizations
Tractors, skid loaders, forage equipment, and all types of
farming equipment for full- or part-time farmers
Available on site from Cecil County Farm Bureau Women
Ag-lndustnal, Inc.; W N Cooper & Son, Hoober, Inc
Cecil County Weed Control, Cecil Land Trust, Mid-Atlantic
Farm Credit, Sam Orr
Maryland Cooperative Extension - Cecil County
Cecil County Fair Board
Brandywine Conservancy, Cecil County Economic
Development, Cecil Soil Cons Dist, Chesapeake Bay Trust,
Maryland Gram Producers Assoc , Southern States, Tri-Gas
and Oil, USDA-ARS