A34-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, March 15, 2003
Nebraska Cattlemen Help
Defend Beef Checkoff
LINCOLN, Neb. In defend
ing the beef checkoff recently be
fore the Bth U.S. Circuit Court of
Appeals in St. Paul, Minn., an at
torney for the Nebraska Cattle
men argued that the First
Amendment does not come into
play on the programs constitu
tionality.
The generic beef promotion by
the Cattlemens Beef Board in
this case represents government
messages, and producers who ob
ject to it therefore have no First
Amendment complaint, just as
pacifists have no First Amend
ment complaint when the gov
ernment urges people to consider
a career in the military.
The Nebraska Cattlemen (NC)
attorney and one from the U.S.
Department of Justice, represent
ing USDA on behalf of the Cat
tlemens Beef Board, made argu
ments appealing a June 2002
decision by U.S. District Court
Judge Charles Kornmann, who
ruled that the checkoff was “un
constitutional and unenforce
able.”
Poultry The Priority
(Continued from Page A 33)
nomic impact,” according to
Dunn. The disease can infect
other avian species in fact, 236
kinds of birds.
The disease can survive for
weeks in moisture. However com
mon disinfectants, heat, dryness,
and sunlight can inactivate END.
On Oct. 1, 2002, a game fowl
flock in Los Angles was first re
ported to be END-positive, which
spread by Dec. 19 to the first
commercial flock.
California has more than 700
positive premises in six counties.
In January, backyard poultry
in Nevada and Arizona were
tested positive for END.
In response, besides depopula
tion, the USDA has plans for na
tional surviellance. “It’s not just
a California problem, it’s our
problem, too,” said Dunn.
Greg Kirkham, Westfield
Group, discussed the “care, cus
tody, and control” clause of in
surance.
Paul Sauder, Sauder’s Eggs,
and Gene Petit, Wenger’s Feed
Mill, Inc., discussed animal care.
“As a company, we look at it
(animal welfare) and say, ‘it’s a
mindset.’” Being good stewards,
said Sauder, “translates into
what 1 call the vision of ethics as
a company and as an industry.
Customers are telling us today
they want us to treat our chick
ens humanely... we have to be
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Since Judge Kornmanns deci
sion, two other district courts in
Montana and the District of Co
lumbia have ruled that promo
tion programs such as the beef
checkoff constitute government
messages.
First, the purpose of the mes
sages to maintain a healthy beef
industry was established by Con
gress in the Beef Act and by the
Secretary of Agriculture through
regulation.
Second, the government mes
sage is communicated through
the Beef Board, which was cre
ated by Congress and whose
checkoff-paying beef producers
are appointed by the Secretary of
Agriculture.
And third, the Secretary of Ag
riculture exercises supervision
over the activities of the Board to
ensure that it communicates the
governments message.
H
IT'S WHAT YOU WANT. bM
willing to say, ‘how are we going
to grow feed that will feel good?’
“It all boils down to what I call
doing the right thing.”
Petit described results from a
cage density study conducted by
Wenger's Feed Mill. The study
focused on the impact that cage
density has in a commercial fa
cility.
Demands of fast food restau
rants triggered the study, he said.
Workers measured production,
mortality, water consumption,
case weight, and “dirties,” or
eggs with debris on the shell.
Birds were divided into three
groups, with the nine-bird group
having 53.3 square inches, the
seven-bird groups having 68.6
inches, and the six-bird groups
having 80 square inches per bird.
One surprising find was that
“There was no real difference”
between mortality in the birds of
the six- and seven-bird groups,
but less mortality in the nine-bird
groups.
However “there was a larger
difference in production than we
expected," as there was not only
higher production but also almost
one pound difference between the
six- and nine-bird groups.
Dr. Eric Gingrich, Poultry Di
agnostic Laboratory, University
of Pennsylvania, New Bolton
Center, provided a hen/pullet
health update.
Swine School Features Small-Scale Systems
ITHACA, N.Y. —ln response
to growing interest from small
farmers, the 2003 Cornell Swine
School, set for March 20-21, will
include one full day of education
al programming specifically for
small-scale producers and those
thinking about getting started in
small-scale pork production. This
is the first time that organizers
are offering a focus on small
scale systems since 1983, when
the Swine School first began.
“There is a real need for this
small farm initiative,’’ said Tro
Bui, extension associate with
Cornell’s Department of Animal
Science. Bui regularly fields in
Transition Cow Workshops Set
HUNTINGDON (Huntingdon
Co.) and BERLIN (Somerset
Co.) —Penn State Extension is
hosting a Transition Cow Work
shop to help teach participants
proper transition cow feeding,
health management, and hous
ing. The workshop will also look
at the nutritional role of phos
phorus in dairy rations.
The workshop will be a morn
ing lecture section followed by a
visit to a local farm.
Dr. Gabriella Varga and Dr.
Bob Van Saun will speak on
“Feeding the Transition Cow’’
and “Health Management Sys
tems.” Dr. Zhiguo Wu will ad
dress “Controlling Phosphorus in
Dairy Rations,” and John Tyson
will speak on “Special Needs
Housing”.
The Transition Cow Work
shop will be offered March 18 at
the Huntingdon County Exten-
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quiries from people wanting to
convert old dairy barns for pro
duction of swine, goats or sheep.
“I get all kinds of basic questions,
like ‘where can we buy breeding
stock? Where is the market?
What should I feed?”'
The first day of the Cornell
Swine School on Thursday,
March 20 is for producers of any
size, while the next day is tar
geted for smaller producers. Stu
dents in the small farm session
will learn about basic swine
health management, artificial in
semination, managing baby pigs,
feeds and feeding, group housing
systems, marketing opportuni
ties, and more.
sion Office in Huntingdon from
9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., and March
20 at the Berlin Fire Hall in Ber
lin from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
The cost of the workshop will
be $l5 per person to cover the
Grazier To Demonstrate
WERNERSVILLE (Berks Co.) Forrest Strieker, dairy grazier
from the Wernersville area, will host a field day at his farm Tuesday,
March 25 from 10 a.m.-2 p.m.
The focus of the field day will be an aeration tiller first designed in
New Zealand in 1983 and recently redesigned by Jim Martindale, soil
scientist.
According to Strieker, the tine tiller can be used for a wide range of
tillage jobs, from aerating pastures to heavier work preparing soil for
seeding.
Strieker operates a semi-seasonal, certified organic dairy farm,
milking about 100 cows during the peak season.
The field day is free of charge. Guests should bring their own lunch.
Drinks will be provided.
For more information, call (610) 678-7629.
Paul B.
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The Cornell Swine School is
conducted at the Livestock Pavil
ion and in Morrison Hall on the
Cornell campus, with some ses
sions at the Cornell Swine Farm.
The program includes both class
room and hands-on training, in
cluding practice, with injections,
tail clipping, castration, artificial
insemination, and diagnosis of
health problems by necropsy.
To register for the 2003 Cor
nell Swine School, call Tro Bui at
(607) 592-1438. For information
on a variety of small farm topics,
visit Cornell’s Small Farms Web
Site at www.smallfarms.cornell.e
du.
cost of lunch and educational
materials.
For more information about
the Transition Cow Workshop,
contact John Tyson at (717)
248-9618 or at jtyson@psu.edu”
jtyson@psu.edu.
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