Photo courtesy USDA/ Scott Bauer Ensure your cows consume the proper amounts of protein, vitamins and minerals so they bare healthy calves.

As you take care of winter chores around your small farm, make sure to add conditioning cows for calving to your list.
Calves born with any sort of difficulty at birth are four times more likely to die than those without, which is why conditioning cows is extremely important, says Ron Lemenager, a beef nutrition specialist at Purdue University.

As the spring calving season approaches, small farmers should look at three key factors to prepare cows to calve.

1. Implement Proper Cow Nutrition
Cows need to be in the right body condition so they have enough energy for calving. Lemenager recommends a body condition score of 5 for cows and a body condition score of 5½ to 6 for heifers.

“Making sure cows have proper nutrition also will ensure a higher quality colostrum, or first milk after calving, which gives the calf disease protection and a dense nutrient supply,” he says.

Proper cow nutrition includes a diet high enough in energy for the cow to have a normal calving experience, which means feeding it the right protein content, vitamins and minerals. However, with the rainy hay season in 2009, poor hay quality may mean farmers need to supplement cow diets.

“Producers should get an analysis of their hay and then develop a supplementation strategy,” Lemenager says. “It’s also important that the cow has access to a high-quality, free choice mix of vitamins and minerals, which is commercially available.”

Nutritionally speaking, one thing farmers need to keep an eye on is the amount of dried distillers grains they feed their cows. Because DDGs are high in protein, farmers should feed them to cows to meet protein needs, not energy needs.
If the cow consumes too much protein, the calf’s birth weight and blood nitrogen levels will increase, Lemenager says. This can negatively affect the conception rate and embryo survival.

“Using distillers grains beyond protein requirements can cause a sulfur toxicity,” Lemenager says. “At high levels, sulfur also can complex with other minerals, like copper, which is an extremely important mineral for reproduction.”

2. Assess Calving Facilities
In addition to conditioning cows, farmers should prepare their facilities to house newborn calves in inclement weather—something Lemenager says is extremely important for calf survival.

3. Vaccinate for Calf Scours
If there is a history of calf scours among the cows on your farm, Lemenager recommends working with a veterinarian to create a vaccination strategy for the cows so they will provide passive immunity to the calf through high quality colostrum. Read more about preventing calf scours.  

Photo by Stephanie Staton The homemade apple pie is a hallmark of American baking. Learn to bake one with Hobby Farms Kitchen.

The image of a homemade pie being shared with a friend, soldier or loved one is an integral chapter in the American story. Offered as a way to express gratitude for a soldier’s service or given to a friend simply as a way of saying thanks, a fresh-baked pie presented as a gift carries with it a reassuring sense of courtesy and sincerity.

To help America recall the simple pleasure of giving the gift of pie, the American Pie Council and its associate members are highlighting National Pie Day on Jan. 23, 2010. You can download pie coupons and pie recipes from APC’s commercial members on its website, and take a homemade or bakery-fresh pie to someone you love or respect.

The editors of Hobby Farm Home magazine have also caught the spirit of pie. Learn to bake an old-fashioned apple pie with the first edition of Hobby Farms Kitchen and add their recipe to your cookbook.

“There’s something touching about giving someone a gift as special as a pie,” says Linda Hoskins, APC executive director. “When you picture troops receiving pies as they rolled through a train depot in the Midwest or recall a time when neighbors shared pies to reflect a treasured friendship or recognize the strength of a close-knit community, it all brings to mind a comforting sense of nostalgia and kindness.”

The pie council decided those connections needed to be rekindled.

“Besides, if you were getting a gift, would you rather receive an ordinary tie or an extraordinary pie?” Hoskins adds.

The act of sharing pie, America’s quintessential dessert, is an extraordinary heritage. In many homes, family pie recipes go back for decades. Often, special pie utensils were passed down over generations. What takes place in the kitchen also brings families together. Children, parents, husbands and wives can experience the pleasure of working together and creating a special treat.

“Whether you’re the one who gives or receives a pie, it’s an experience that’ll put a smile on your face,” Hoskins says.

The APC aims to maintain America’s pie heritage and pass on the tradition of pie-making. For more information about the organization and membership opportunities, visit the pie council’s website.

Photo courtesy USDA/ Michael Macneil Texas bulls must be certified-virgin or undergo a cattle trichomoniasis test when changing ownership.

Starting in 2010, Texas bulls that undergo a change of ownership (except to slaughter) must be either certified as a virgin bull or be tested first for cattle trichomoniasis, a protozoal disease that can cause cows to abort very early in pregnancy. Infected bulls carry the microscopic organism that causes cattle trichomoniasis without any signs and can transmit it to cows during breeding. 

“There is no effective treatment for bulls, and once infected, they can continue to spread trichomoniasis when they breed,” said Dee Ellis, DVM, Texas’ state veterinarian and head of the Texas Animal Health Commission, the state’s livestock- and poultry-health regulatory agency. “Infected cows may clear the infection, but only if they are given rest from breeding for 120 to 150 days—an expensive option, as a calf crop will be missed. A vaccine also is available to help in the management of infected cows, but it will not prevent infection.”

Texas’ ranching, marketing and veterinary industries worked with the TAHC to develop effective regulations to control cattle trichonomiasis. According to Ellis, more than 600 of Texas’ veterinarians have been certified to test for the infection.

Ellis said the new regulations will apply to bulls being sold, traded, leased or undergoing any change of ownership (except for slaughter) in Texas.  The regulations include three basic steps:

1. Identify the bull. Identification is essential for matching animals with virgin bull certificates or test documents. One form of identification is needed, and it may be an official USDA ear tag, breed registry brand or tattoo, an 840 flap, bangle or an 840 radio frequency identification device. If the bull originated from outside Texas, it may have that state’s official cattle trichomoniasis ear tag.

2. Certify virgin bulls. A breeder can certify the bull as a virgin if the bull was raised away from cows after weaning and is 24 months of age or younger. A Texas-origin bull’s virgin status may be extended to 30 months if the virgin certificate is signed by the breeder’s accredited veterinarian. Virgin bulls are not required to have a cattle trichomoniasis test prior to change of ownership. 

3. Test older or non-virgin bulls. Bulls older than 30 months or bulls that were maintained with cows after weaning must have a negative cattle trichomoniasis test within 30 days prior to change of ownership. A certified, accredited veterinarian must collect the sample for testing at the Texas Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory. While awaiting test results, which usually take about a week, the bulls must be kept away from cows. Upon receipt of the negative test results, the bull is ready for change of ownership. 

“Breeding bulls that haven’t been certified as virgins or tested are considered to be slaughter-only bulls,” said Dr. Ellis. “In some cases, however, buyers may want an untested bull, although they may be buying trouble. We have provisions under the regulations for untested bulls to be identified and moved under a TAHC-issued hold order and movement permit. The animal must be isolated from female cattle, and cannot be moved until it is tested within 30 days of purchase at the owner’s expense.”  

Texas accepts two cattle trichomoniasis tests: the real time polymerase chain reaction test or a series of three culture tests. These tests are the national standard. Bulls that test positive may undergo confirmation testing if the owner or accredited veterinarian makes a request within five days of the results.

Because there is no effective treatment for cattle trichomoniasis, infected bulls in Texas must go to slaughter within 30 days of confirmation. The remaining bulls in a herd will be isolated from female cattle until they undergo two consecutive negative RT-PCR tests, each conducted at least seven days apart, or three consecutive negative culture tests, with each of the tests conducted at least seven days apart. When they are confirmed negative for cattle trichomoniasis, the bulls are free to be moved or to be commingled with cows.

“If you are obtaining a breeding bull, make sure the animal has been certified as a virgin or was tested—for your herd’s sake,” Ellis said. “We will be reviewing the regulations on a yearly basis with an industry working group, to ensure that the rules remain timely and effective.”

Texas’ cattle trichomoniasis entry requirements for breeding bulls is similar to intrastate regulations, but allows out-of-state bulls to be certified as virgins only until 24 months of age. Exhibition or competition bulls may enter Texas without a trichomoniasis test, but must be kept away from female cattle. The TAHC must be contacted in advance of entry for a waiver of the test requirement to be issued on exhibition bulls.