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News
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Agriculture is on the front lines of COVID-19
Although it is not seen in the nightly news, agriculture is quietly going about the business of feeding all of us in the middle of this pandemic even as we social distance and shelter in place. Farmers are still tending their crops, dairies are still milking cows, ranchers are still feeding cattle and calving their cows, broiler and egg houses still producing chicken and eggs, and swine operations still farrowing and raising pigs. Food processors, both plant and animal, are still operating and we are all producing the… Read More →
Rx Required
By Susan Himes Food and Drug administration Is continuing the phasing in of a law that requires a prescription for any antibiotic use in animals raised for human consumption. No longer will producers who need injectable antibiotics for their cattle be able to just grab them at their local feed store or order them online. Producers should be aware that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is continuing the phasing in of a law that requires a prescription for any antibiotic us in animals raised for human consumption,… Read More →
Texas FFA honors Griffin and Riley with Honorary Lone Star Degree
Dr. Davey Griffin & Ray Riley were awarded honorary lone star degrees by the Texas FFA Association at their annual convention, held in Fort Worth on July 15-19, 2019. Each year, the association honors those who have rendered meritorious service to agricultural education and the FFA. Each year, local chapters honor school officials, local business owners, farmers, parents and alumni to receive the honorary chapter degree. However, a select few are chosen to receive the highest degree of honorary membership which can be bestowed at the state level… Read More →
Important By-Products Derived From Cattle
Many of us enjoy a good steak or a juicy hamburger and realize the nutritional benefits derived from eating beef but there are countless products that we use in in our daily lives that are derived from cattle that we never think about. Dan Hale is a professor and Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Meat Specialist. “I take students on tours of retail grocery stores and I say go find beef in this grocery store and every single aisle that they could walk into at any local grocery store… Read More →
What is Clean Meat?
COLLEGE STATION, Tex. (KBTX) – You may have heard the term “clean meat” being batted around by the media. Dan Hale is a Texas A&M AgriLife Meat Scientist and told us that the technologies being used to make this product are evolving and gave us an idea of how it’s currently being made. “People ask me where did the term clean meat come from? Well, it came from a focus group, basically that’s all marketing. In reality, the term clean meat could be applied to anything, because any cattle… Read More →
64th Beef Cattle Short Course kicks off at Texas A&M
By: Courtney Carpenter COLLEGE STATION, Tex. (KBTX) – 2,200 ranchers from seven different countries are in College Station for the Texas A&M Beef Cattle Short Course. Ranchers will get the market outlook and learn about the long term forecast; all with the idea that it will make the beef you buy better. Donnell Brown is a fifth generation rancher from Throckmorton, Texas. He’s made the trip to The Texas A&M Beef Cattle Short Course every year for more than a decade. “It’s good to get together and discuss and… Read More →
What are big carcasses doing to the future of the beef industry?
Large carcasses are forcing retailers to cut more of the middle-meat steaks thinner to meet package and cost restrictions. Does that move the beef business away from consumer preferences? Commentary by Dr. H. Russell Cross, hrcross@tamu.edu, 979-862-1705 It’s a conundrum that has long plagued the beef business—what’s economically necessary for producers presents big challenges for wholesalers, retailers and most importantly, consumers. Over the past several decades, the genetic direction of the nation’s cowherd has been driving us to bigger and bigger cattle. That, in turn, drives bigger and… Read More →
What Makes Wagyu Beef Smell So Good? Science Explains
Writer: Greta Jochem, NPR For about $150 per pound, dedicated carnivores and food connoisseurs alike can get their forks on a luxury: Wagyu beef. Its trademark marbled flesh and soft texture have launched the meat into caviar-like status. And because its fat has a melting point lower than the average human body temperature, it melts in your mouth. The vast majority of the beef comes from Japanese Black cattle. Part of its allure is the smell — a unique sweet, coconut-like aroma. New research from the Journal of Agricultural and Food… Read More →
Hurricane Harvey contaminates livestock water supplies
Writer: Roland Rodriguez, rrodriguez@kristv.com According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Texas farmers and ranchers have lost more than 1 million cattle that were in the disaster area affected by Hurricane Harvey. As the recovery efforts continue, livestock owners should be aware of salt poisoning and water salinity concerns. “After the storm we began testing water where we felt the water could have high salinity. After we determined there could be problems associated with the water on ranches between Aransas Pass and Rockport after Harvey, we began calling cattle producers… Read More →
Forage quality key grazing consideration after March wildfires
Writer: Kay Ledbetter, 806-677-5608, skledbetter@ag.tamu.edu Contact: Dr. Ted McCollum, 806-677-5600, Ted.McCollum@ag.tamu.edu AMARILLO – Area ranchers headed into the winter months after March’s wildfires need to keep three things in mind – precipitation, grazing history and forage quality, according to a Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service specialist. Dr. Ted McCollum, AgriLife Extension beef cattle specialist in Amarillo, said these three management factors will help producers determine their herd’s grazing and nutritional program. Fire is not something that is necessarily unfriendly, McCollum said, but can be when it is at the wrong… Read More →