Where:
Wilson Livestock Training – Wilson Community (map)

Description:
Dr. Ann Wells
Wilson Livestock Training – Wilson Community

Dr. Ann Wells, DVM will teach a 10-week course on Sustainable Livestock Production from 9 a.m. – 3 p.m, Sat. Lunch is pot luck. Cost- is $20.00 for non members, free to members

For More Info:
Robyn Withrow at (918) 650-9221 or Rita Williams at (918) 759-1891.

Management Intensive Grazing of Beef Workshop

Presenters
Ann Wells, Spring pond Holistic Animal Health & Ozark Pasture Beef, LLC (AR) Emily King, Heifer International & River Grass Farm (LA)

When
Wednesday, May 26 2010 – 8:30AM – 4:30PM

Where
Langston University, Small Farmers and Ranchers at the Crossroads Conference – Langston, Oklahoma

Cost: Free

Workshop Overview
Want to go from your pasture to the bank? This workshop is for those who want to learn how to produce healthy pastures, high-value beef, and put more money in their pockets. Now that mainstream America is learning the health benefits of beef raised and finished on pasture, demand for grass-finished beef
is rapidly growing.

Topics
- MIG Overview
- Advantages & Disadvantages
- Farm Considerations & Layout
- Forages
- Pasture Management
- Fencing
- Water Systems
- Efficient Weight Gain
- Animal Health
- Economic Considerations

To register or for more information contact:
Mike Everett
806-966-4112


Made possible through a partnership between the Southern Sustainable Agriculture Working Group, Risk Management Agency & Heifer International.

The dairy industry has entered a new age. These are times when quality matters again, when consumers are looking for a better glass of milk and more choices in quality cheeses, when dairy producers are looking for every possible efficiency to counter shrinking profit margins, and when everyone is more sensitive to the state of the environment around us.Jerseys are uniquely right for these times. Jerseys naturally produce the highest quality milk for human food. Compared to average milk, a glass of all-Jersey milk has greater nutritional value: 15% to 20% more protein, 15% to 18% more calcium, and 10% to 12% more phosphorous, along with considerably higher levels of an essential vitamin, B12. And because of that, it tastes better. “People tell us that our milk, even the skim milk, has so much more flavor than other milk,” says Harvey Peeler, a South Carolina-based processor of All-Jersey® milk products from Bush River Jerseys. “The reason is because of the Jersey cow and the fact that there are more solids-non-fat, protein, calcium and lactose in her milk compared to other breeds.”

Jersey milk will yield more cheese (from 20% to 25%), butter (over 30% more) and nonfat dry milk (almost 10%) than average milk, and at a lower cost per pound of product. Jerseys produce less waste for producers to deal with (about 32% less manure and 28% less total nitrogen per cow per day than the larger breeds), and also leave the cheese maker with less “white water” to dispose of. A naturally concentrated milk that meets today’s requirements for quality, production and manufacturing efficiency, and environmental friendliness—these are just a few reasons Jerseys are making dairy business owners sit up and take notice.

“The sole office of the Jersey cow, broadly speaking, is to produce the largest possible amount of rich and highly-colored cream from a given amount of food.”Jersey Herd Register, Volume 1, 1871 The Jersey breed was developed so that dairy producers would have “less cow to feed, more cow to milk.” U.S. Jerseys produce, on average, more than 16 times their body weight in milk each lactation. “Jerseys are able to capture the energy that they eat over and above their body weight, and put it into milk,” explains James Tully, Ph.D., PAS, of Pine Creek Nutrition Service, Inc. in California.

The secret of Jersey productivity is that while Jerseys tip the scales at roughly 75% of Holsteins’ body weight, they eat 80% of the intake of Holsteins. “It means we’re able to get more pounds of energy-corrected milk (ECM) per pound of dry matter than the Holsteins would give. From what we’ve seen, the numbers approach 1.6 lbs. ECM (0.73 kg.) per pound of intake for a Jersey versus numbers like 1.45 to 1.5 (0.65–0.68 kg.) for Holstein cows.”

“When I was in school, my father told me that we’d milk the cow that makes the most money,” recalls Jim Huffard, a consulting nutritionist who also operates Huffard Dairy Farms in southwestern Virginia. “It didn’t matter if she was purple, green or whatever—that’s what he wanted to milk. My father said, ‘Let’s take this pile of feed and run it through both cows and see who can make us the most money.’”

Taking a fixed quantity of feed—2,000 pounds—and national DHI production data and product prices, Huffard pencils out the gross income from a Holstein milking 73 lbs. (33 kg.) at 3.6% fat and 3.1% protein and a Jersey at 52 lbs. (23.6 kg.), with component levels of 4.6% fat and 3.6% protein.“With 2,000 pounds of feed (907.5 kg.), you can produce 294 lbs. (133.4 kg.) of cheese from Holsteins, or 337 lbs. (152.9 kg.) from Jerseys. At current farm prices, the income from that amount of feed is $456 for Holsteins, or $522 for Jerseys. Send that feed through a Jersey, you have an advantage of $66, or almost 15% more income. “That 2,000 pounds of feed costs the same regardless of whether it’s in a Holstein or Jersey, so we’re comparing dollars to dollars,” Huffard explains. “I’ve decided now which is the breed I want to run that feed through.” “The advantages of Jerseys are financial,” agrees Dan Bansen, owner-operator of the 1,600-cow Forest Glen dairies located in Oregon’s Willamette Valley. “We haven’t always been all Jersey. When we bought (Forest Glen Oaks), we bought it with 200 Holsteins and we were milking about 200 Jerseys on the home farm. We sat down and we pencilled everything out. We figured out how this farm was going to work with 200 Holsteins and it wasn’t near what we had figured, because we didn’t figure how much less we were going to get for the milk and how much more feed they were going to eat. The feed was the thing that surprised us the most. “The amount you get out financially is much different and is much more beneficial with Jersey cows,” he continues. “You can say we have our downfalls. We don’t get as much for bull calves, but we don’t have calving problems. We don’t have reproductive problems. There are way more advantages than disadvantages with Jerseys. “Although we like Jerseys,” Bansen says, “if they weren’t the most productive breed, I’m sorry, but we probably wouldn’t be with them.” Advantages That Go To The Bottom Line “Our Jersey cow can withstand the rigors of commercial dairy production. She calves early and on her own. She produces at a high level and breeds back to do it all over again.”

David Chamberlain, President, American Jersey Cattle Association
Everything you need for a successful dairy business can be found in a Jersey cow. Jerseys adapt to every management system that has been designed for dairying. They thrive in confinement barns and dry lot operations, in large herds and small ones. Jerseys also adapt to different feeding systems, from complete feed–TMR programs to management-intensive grazing. And, there are no climatic or geographic barriers for Jerseys. They are favored in the subtropic region of the Deep South, and also the arid climes of the United States. Jersey owners consistently remark that even when the temperature rises above 100º Fahrenheit, the Jerseys will be at the feed bunks or grazing. Jerseys mature more quickly. When a dairy heifer matures earlier, she can be bred at a younger age (and smaller size). She’ll then enter the milking herd sooner. The bottom line: Jerseys are quicker to generate income for a dairy producer.

In studies at Virginia Tech, purebred Jersey heifers were observed to reach puberty at an average of 39.9 weeks (10 months) of age, eight Body weight at puberty averaged 425 lbs. (193 kg.) for the Jersey heifers, compared to 665 lbs. (301 kg.) for the Holsteins.

Jerseys have the lowest average age at first calving among all breeds. Jerseys are renown for their ease of calving. Fewer calving problems reduces worry, labor and veterinary costs. Fewer than 1% of Jersey heifers experience problems with their first calf, while nearly 8% of Holstein had difficult calvings requiring assistance according to studies by AIPL scientists. Studies in Florida dairy operations determined that Jersey heifers have fewer stillbirths than Holstein heifers (9.11% versus 15.65%) and subsequently less metritis (4.22% versus 14.17%). Says David Endres, who started his Wisconsin dairy with Holsteins, but switched to Jerseys: “Calving ease is still one of our biggest things. We just love it.” After calving, Jerseys return to their heat cycle sooner and, just as they did as heifers, show estrus more vigorously and remain in heat longer. At Virginia Tech, Jersey cows exhibited estrus for an average of 8.9 hours, compared to 7.4 hours for Holstein cows. The Jersey cows were mounted 9.5 times during any estrus, compared to an average of 6.9 times among Holstein cows.
Jerseys breed back earlier, with fewer services per conception. These facts are even more important during the times dairy cows are subjected to heat stress. A longitudinal study by University of Florida researchers determined that Jersey cows had fewer days to first service, from first service to conception, and a shorter calving interval than Holsteins. Similarly, short-term breeding studies at North Carolina State University revealed that Jersey cows had higher conception than Holsteins when managed in the same herd.

AIPL studies reveal that across the lifespan, Jerseys have the shortest average calving interval (390 days, versus an average of 404 for Holsteins). And across their lifetimes, Jerseys average 3.2 calvings, compared to 2.8 calvings for Holsteins. It’s hard to overstate what the Jersey’s reproductive advantages can mean to the bottom line “Reproduction impacts the bottom line in significant areas, like having more calves to sell or grow with. Jim Tully. But above all, he says, “Milk is a by-product of reproduction. Having more fresh
cows, more often, means more milk.”

More Nutritious. A major benefit of raising animals on pasture is that their products are healthier for you. For example, compared with feedlot meat, meat from grass-fed beef, bison, lamb and goats has less total fat, saturated fat, cholesterol, and calories. It also has more vitamin E, beta-carotene, vitamin C, and a number of health-promoting fats, including omega-3 fatty acids and “conjugated linoleic acid,” or CLA.

The Art and Science of Grassfarming. Raising animals on pasture requires more knowledge and skill than sending them to a feedlot. For example, in order for grass-fed beef to be succulent and tender, the cattle need to forage on high-quality grasses and legumes, especially in the months prior to slaughter. Providing this nutritious and natural diet requires healthy soil and careful pasture management so that the plants are maintained at an optimal stage of growth. Because high-quality pasture is the key to high-quality animal products, many pasture-based ranchers refer to themselves as “grassfarmers” rather than “ranchers.” They raise great grass; the animals do all the rest.

Factory Farming. Raising animals on pasture is dramatically different from the status quo. Virtually all the meat, eggs, and dairy products that you find in the supermarket come from animals raised in confinement in large facilities called CAFOs or “Confined Animal Feeding Operations.” These highly mechanized operations provide a year-round supply of food at a reasonable price. Although the food is cheap and convenient, there is growing recognition that factory farming creates a host of problems, including:
• Animal stress and abuse
• Air, land, and water pollution
• The unnecessary use of hormones, antibiotics, and other drugs
• Low-paid, stressful farm work
• The loss of small family farms
• Food with less nutritional value.

Unnatural Diets. Animals raised in factory farms are given diets designed to boost their productivity and lower costs. The main ingredients are genetically modified grain and soy that are kept at artificially low prices by government subsidies. To further cut costs, the feed may also contain “by-product feedstuff” such as municipal garbage, stale pastry, chicken feathers, and candy. Until 1997, U.S. cattle were also being fed meat that had been trimmed from other cattle, in effect turning herbivores into carnivores. This unnatural practice is believed to be the underlying cause of BSE or “mad cow disease.”

Animal Stress. A high-grain diet can cause physical problems for ruminants—cud-chewing animals such as cattle, dairy cows, goats, bison, and sheep. Ruminants are designed to eat fibrous grasses, plants, and shrubs—not starchy, low-fiber grain. When they are switched from pasture to grain, they can become afflicted with a number of disorders, including a common but painful condition called “subacute acidosis.” Cattle with subacute acidosis kick at their bellies, go off their feed, and eat dirt. To prevent more serious and sometimes fatal reactions, the animals are given chemical additives along with a constant, low-level dose of antibiotics. Some of these antibiotics are the same ones used in human medicine. When medications are overused in the feedlots, bacteria become resistant to them. When people become infected with these new, disease-resistant bacteria, there are fewer medications available to treat them.

Caged Pigs, Chickens, Ducks and Geese. Most of the nation’s chickens, turkeys, and pigs are also being raised in confinement. Typically, they suffer an even worse fate than the grazing animals. Tightly packed into cages, sheds, or pens, they cannot practice their normal behaviors, such as rooting, grazing, and roosting. Laying hens are crowded into cages that are so small that there is not enough room for all of the birds to sit down at one time. An added insult is that they cannot escape the stench of their own manure. Meat and eggs from these animals are lower in a number of key vitamins and omega-3 fatty acids.

Environmental Degradation. When animals are raised in feedlots or cages, they deposit large amounts of manure in a small amount of space. The manure must be collected and transported away from the area, an expensive proposition. To cut costs, it is dumped as close to the feedlot as possible. As a result, the surrounding soil is overloaded with nutrients, which can cause ground and water pollution. When animals are raised outdoors on pasture, their manure is spread over a wide area of land, making it a welcome source of organic fertilizer, not a “waste management problem.” Read more about the environmental differences between factory farming and grass-based production.

The Healthiest Choice. When you choose to eat meat, eggs, and dairy products from animals raised on pasture, you are improving the welfare of the animals, helping to put an end to environmental degradation, helping small-scale ranchers and farmers make a living from the land, helping to sustain rural communities, and giving your family the healthiest possible food. It’s a win-win-win-win situation.

© 2007 by Jo Robinson

Eighty percent of supermarket broiler chickens are infected with the bacteria campylobacter and twenty percent with salmonella. Overcrowding and unsanitary conditions create a more stressful environment and greater disease rates among poultry, necessitating the use of antibiotics. A free range chicken is a chicken that has been fed a healthier diet and has regular access to sunlight and space does not need antibiotics. The Union of Concerned Scientists estimates that seventy percent of all antibiotics produced in the U.S. are fed to animals, and the majority of these drugs are used to promote growth and prevent disease. A survey of 1,000 Americans found that 48% are unaware that conventional chickens are fed a diet that contains antibiotics to help prevent flock-destroying diseases. Approximately half of the antibiotics used to keep chickens “healthy” are identical to those used to treat humans. The over-use of these antibiotics creates bacteria that are more drug resistant.

Fortunately there are natural chicken producers who are interested in raising healthy chickens.

You can find more detailed information about free range chicken and other important dietary topics the new book, The Best Natural Foods on the Market Today.

Buying local supports the economy and our family farms.

Buying locally-grown and produced foods allows you to choose food from farmers you can know and trust.

Once you know where to find it, buying local food is easy.

When you buy direct from the farmer, you are re-establishing a time-honored connection between the eater and the grower.

By supporting local farmers today, you can help ensure that there will be farms in your community tomorrow, and that future generations will have access to nourishing, flavorful,
and abundant food.

Posted under About-Red-Devon-Cattle · Feature-on-front-page
Because it is a truly win-win-win proposition: good for the cow, good for the cattleman and good for the consumer. Let’s take them in reverse order:

The Consumer
The smart ones figured out a long time ago that grass-fed beef is far better for them. First, it doesn’t contain all those growth hormones, anti-biotics and animal by-products. It’s also lower in fat. Switching to grass-fed beef lowers your risk of a number of diseases, including high blood pressure, diabetes and cancer.

Grass-fed meat has two to four times more omega-3s— the so-called “good fat”. They’re an important building-block in every cell of your body. People with enough omega-3 are less likely to have heart problems. In fact, they’re 50% less likely to suffer heart attacks. They’re also less likely to suffer from depression, attention deficit disorder and Alzheimer’s disease.

In short, just from a health standpoint, grass-fed beef stacks up favorably against chicken, pork and fish.
The Cattleman Feeding cattle is the industry’s biggest expense by far. Grass-fed cows feed themselves! Most Devons spend their lives never tasting grain. So check your budget and see what eliminating feeds bills does to improve your bottom line.

Grass-fed cows are great for the revenue side of your ledger, too. Today’s health-conscious consumers pay a premium for natural beef. It’s a growing market and grass farmers are having trouble keeping up with the demand. Prices keep going up!And don’t even get us started on direct retail opportunities. It’s not uncommon for some of our members to double their income (or more) by taking their animals right through the final sale.

The Cow
They’re herbivores, of course. Sure they like grain— just as your kids like sugar. But it’s not good for them. Their stomachs aren’t built to process anything but grass. A lot of the drugs pumped into cows are just to overcome the affects of the grain they’re fed.

So cows do better doing what comes naturally. And Devon do better than most. They routinely breed back in six weeks— wean calves more than half their weight— and even “finish” on grass. Ever hear of British roast beef? Well, it’s Devon. Docility translates directly into tenderness.

Finally, and not to get too sentimental about it, have you ever asked a cow if it wants to spend the last months of its life in a feedlot? Enough said.