IS YOUR PESTICIDE LICENSE UP TO DATE?

At a meeting last fall, a couple of producers showed me that their renewed pesticide licenses had an invalid expiration date on them of December 2001.  Through some computer snafu at the Montana Department of Agriculture, some licenses were printed with incorrect dates. If you have a renewed license, please check it for the correct expiration date which should be December 2006. If your license is incorrect, please let us know at the Fallon /Carter Extension Office and we can get a new one issued.  Our phone number is (406)778-7110. Thank you.

APHIS Scrapie Program

 Recently, the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service implemented new regulations designed eradicate the sheep disease, scrapie.  Scrapie is a fatal degenerative disease affecting the central nervous system.  One estimate puts the cost of scrapie to the sheep industry at over $20 million annually due to lost export sales, disposal costs for offal, and lost productivity.

 In order to hopefully eradicate scrapie, the new program will require all sheep producers to identify all sheep entering interstate commerce channels. Identification will be done via a standardized tag available from local veterinarians or through the Montana State Veterinarian in Helena.  These tags will be available at no charge, however several commercial companies are producing tags that will qualify and also allow producers to use their own identification system.

 All sheep and goats that meet the following criteria are required to be tagged when crossing state lines:

• All sheep over 18 months of age.
• All breeding sheep.
• All sexually intact sheep or goats for exhibition.
• All breeding goats in contact with sheep.
• I realize that there are a number of questions out there about this program.  For more information contact your local Extension Office or veterinarian.  Producers may also call the state veterinarian’s office at 1-866-873-2824.

Agricultural Research Updates

Each year, the Extension Office receives a stack of Agricultural Research Updates which are printed by the Experiment stations in Sidney and Williston.  These are usually full of information on the latest agronomic research being performed in the northern plains.  Of particular interest to many is the information on the small grain variety trials. I hope to receive the new guides soon, so please let me know if you would like a copy.

Computer Viruses

 If you have ever attended one of my computer classes, you will know that I preach to computer users about having good virus protection software. Nothing can ruin your day quite like having all your computer files erased by a virus.
   Lately we have run into a different problem. Virus hoaxes have been making their way around.  Usually these hoaxes will identify a file on your computer that you need to delete because it is a virus. What makes this so maddening is that the file is not a virus and you may have just deleted a file important to the proper operation of your computer.
   So, how do you tell the difference between a virus and a hoax?  If you have current virus software, it will identify any known viruses that enter your computer and recommend a cure. It will also scan your entire system for known viruses periodically. If you have a known virus, this software will pick it up.
   Conversely, a virus hoax trips no alarms.  If your virus software did not notify you, then it’s probably a hoax.  In addition the websites of virus software manufacturers posts information about virus hoaxes and makes recommendations. Go to www.mcafee.com or www.symantec.com for more information on any virus issues.

Tips for First Calf Heifers

 In the most recent issue of “Beef Questions and Answers,”  MSU Extension Beef Specialist, Rick Funston outlined a few tips for the successful calving of first calf heifers.

 First, heifers should be approximately 85 to 90 percent of their mature weight at calving time.  In other words a heifer that will weigh 1200 as a mature cow should weigh about 1050 at calving time.  A second important factor is to make sure that heifers have adequate body condition when calving.  A body condition score of 5 to 6 is about the optimum to make sure heifers will rebreed. Animals that are excessively fat with body condition scores of 7 or higher tend to have lower reproductive performance and higher calving difficulties.

 Since heifers take longer to breed back, they should be managed to have a 20 to 30 day longer postpartum interval than mature cows. Also keep in mind that first calf heifers have higher nutritional needs than their older counterparts.  Nutrition during the last 60 days of gestation has a profound effect on breedback. Feeding a balanced ration sufficient in protein and energy will decrease calving difficulty.  In addition, a balanced diet is shown to decrease calf sickness, calf mortality, and increase weaning weights.  Nutritional demands will also increase after calving.

 Funston also points out that calves born from a difficult birth require special attention. They have lower heat production, take longer to stand and nurse, and may have a weakened immune system. Take extra time to make sure these calves receive adequate colostrum in a timely manner.

 Calving difficulty can also lead to longer postpartum intervals.  Early assistance can tends to augment later reproductive performance.

 For more information on this issue or a copy of Funston’s article, please contact your local Extension Office.

Cow Efficiency

 On countless occasions, I have been in on or overheard conversations about cow efficiency.  Everyone’s opinion of cow efficiency is a little bit different. An article I found in the “Cattle Producers Library” seems to do a pretty fair job of breaking efficiency down into some measurable factors.  According to the article, cow efficiency is broken down into five categories, fertility, calving ease, freedom from functional problems, adaptability to the environment, and market acceptability. Well what about these factors.

Fertility: Without a doubt fertility is the most important component of cow efficiency. A reduction in herd fertility usually indicates that other performance traits in the cow herd may be out of balance.  It’s true that high fertility can be achieved with nearly any genetic type of reproductively sound cow given enough supplemental feed. The question is how much is the additional fertility worth if you have to feed excessively to achieve it.

Calving Ease: Nearly 70 percent of all calf mortality occurs within three days of calving, and 60 percent of that loss can be attributed to calving difficulty.  In addition to calf mortality, calving difficulty also tends to delay rebreeding. Remember to give assistance and closely monitor calves from difficult births.

Freedom from Functional Problems: Functional soundness or problems can be the result of many things. Bad temperament, bad udders, prolapse, cancer eye, and bad feet are just a few. Suffice it to say that any cow that requires extra time, management, or expense is non-functional and inefficient.

Environmental Adaptability: Any time cows have to make a living for themselves on rangeland, they need to have the best possible makeup in order to thrive.  Cows with a moderate body size and possess some winter tolerance are probably ideal for this area. However, each ranch is different and cows that are efficient for you may not be efficient for your neighbor.

Market Acceptability: In general, we need to raise calves that fit into the market in which we hope to sell.  Will the carcass weights be acceptable? Will the calves gain well in the feedyard?  Are the calves evenly sized and uniformly colored?  These are all factors that will make a difference when selling your calves.

If you would like a copy of this article from the cattle producer’s library, please contact your Extension Office.