Extension Notes: Cumberland Beef Day set for April 8
The Cumberland Beef Day will be held Thursday, April 8 at the White County Fairgrounds in Sparta. The program will last from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. and will include an extensive beef cattle trade show along with a sponsored lunch.
The objective of the Beef Day is to communicate to beef producers information and technology that will aid in improving the profitability of their beef cattle operation.
This year’s educational program includes presentations on BSE, animal identification, and nutrition and health. Dr. John Arrington, Department of Animal Science, University of Florida will discuss the effect of trace mineral nutrition on the immune response in feeder cattle.
This is an interesting topic given the recent changes in mineral nutrition and the attention being given to copper and sulfur and there effects on animal health and performance. Dr. Stephanie Kordick, a veterinarian with USDA Veterinary Services, will be on the program to discuss the current situation on BSE and other animal health and regulatory issues facing beef producers.
All during the day producers will have the opportunity to visit with agribusiness firms exhibiting at the beef trade show. Bill Adcock, White County Extension Agent, also said there would be some good breeding stock exhibited for sale at the Beef Day.
This is a good event to hear the latest information on the beef cattle business. It’s close, it’s free and it’s well worth your time. Make plans to attend now. For more information, contact us here at the Agriculture Extension Service (473-8484).
SPRING BRINGS MOSQUITOES, WEST NILE VIRUS
Now that spring is here, mosquitoes are not far behind. Horse owners should make plans to vaccinate or booster their horses against West Nile Virus (WNV) now. Waiting to vaccinate your horses until WNV is diagnosed in our area can place your horse at greater risk. It takes six to eight weeks for a horse to develop maximum immunity from vaccination.
There is a window from the first injection until immunity of six to eight weeks. Waiting to vaccinate your horse(s) until mosquitoes appear or WNV has been discovered in Tennessee in 2004 is risky. It is advised that horses are vaccinated as soon as possible to provide adequate time for them to develop proper immunity before exposure. Horses should be vaccinated before mosquitoes are active in an area and that time frame will vary in different parts of the state.
If the spring is warm, mosquitoes can be present as early as late March or early April in some areas.
Do not vaccinate pregnant mares in their first trimester of gestation. You need to discuss the vaccination of pregnant mares after their first trimester with your veterinarian.
The general protocol for tetanus, Eastern and Western Encephalomyelitis and influenza is to immunize pregnant mares 30 days before they foal. This provides passive protection to the foal through the colostrum, the first milk.
A general consensus is foals from non-WNV vaccinated mares or mares not given a booster four to six weeks before foaling can be vaccinated at three months of age with three doses. Foals from WNV vaccinated mares given a booster within two months of foaling should not be vaccinated until they are 4-6 months old, and they should also be given three doses. When giving three vaccination doses to foals, allow three to four weeks between doses one and two and six to eight weeks between doses two and three.
You can keep up to date on the WNV situation here in Warren County and in Tennessee by giving us a call here at the extension office (473-8484) or going to the UT Animal Science Department Web page at: www.animalscience.utk.edu This Web page is kept current based on data from the Tennessee Department of Health and Agriculture.
A Reliable Source of Income
The information that follows was provided by Larry Tankersley, Extension Specialist, Forest Management. Folks, there’s a lot of opinion floating around about how forested lands, owned by private landowners should be managed. This is another side of it.
“A reliable source of income” This is often the term I hear from many landowners. Foresters and loggers are essentially impotent if landowners are unwilling to sell their timber. Circumstances beyond our control often dictate when one “needs” to cut some timber rather than a “want” to cut timber. In either instance, timber sales generally involve the person who owns the land and has the “right” to cut their timber. The only “legal” obligation one has is to prevent silting a stream. TDEC is the authority to contact if a water quality problem is occurring.
Well-planned timber harvests, while visually distressing (ugly), do very little damage to the soil. While wildlife habitat is influenced by the amount of canopy cover removed, for the most part habitat damaged for one species results in creating habitat for others.
Those misplaced tops left in the woods become brush piles for small creatures and as they deteriorate/rot, they become habitat for many beneficial fungi and insects that return organic matter and essential elements to the soil.
A well-executed timber harvest can leave an area poised to rapidly develop into a new forest. The vigor of a younger forest can be a pest management strategy for many forest owners with stands having a high hazard rating for the multitude of pests and pathogens. Owners who wish to maintain older canopies should consider some type of thinning to allow space for the “best” trees.
At the risk of advocating a timber cut on your place, our point is the cut you see driving along Tennessee’s beautiful country side is not necessarily a bad thing. Someone may be paying bills.