Swine Flu: Facts, Avoidance and Considerations for Swine Owners

The recent publicity surrounding cases of swine flu in the U.S. and Mexico has raised the awareness of employees and prompted questions about appropriate workplace cautions. The following information, taken from the Center for Disease Control's website, is provided to address some of these questions and to provide a resource for further investigation by concerned employees. Flu vaccines administered in fall 2008 and winter 2009 do not protect against swine flu so it is important to minimize exposure and practice good health habits to reduce your chances of becoming ill.

Facts - People cannot get swine influenza from eating pork or pork products. Most influenza viruses, including the swine flu virus, are not spread by food. Eating properly handled and cooked pork products is safe. No food safety issues have been identified, related to the flu. Preliminary investigations have determined that none of the people infected with the flu had contact with hogs. The virus is spreading by human-to-human transmission.

Here are some examples of steps you can take to manage your risk of infection:

1. Wash your hands frequently with soap and water, or carry a small-size, alcohol-based hand sanitizer with you and use it often. You can purchase alcohol-based hand sanitizer at any local pharmacy or grocery store.
2. Keep your hands away from your mouth, nose and eyes.
3. Don't eat, drink or smoke after others.
4. Cough or sneeze into your upper sleeve so viruses are trapped in the fabric of your clothing and so you do not contaminate your hands. If you cough into a tissue, throw it in a wastebasket immediately. Don't lay it on a surface that others might touch. Wash or sanitize your hands as soon a possible.
5. Avoid close contact with people who are ill and stay home when you are sick.

Simple actions such as these can reduce the chances of you contracting this and other illnesses. Further information specific to swine flu can be found at the following URL's:

If you own swine, consider the following practices to enhance the biosecurity on your farm to prevent the disease from being transmitted to your herd:
1. Workers should shower and change into farm-specific clothes and shoes before entering swine facilities.
2. Establish, implement and enforce strict sick leave policies for workers presenting influenza-like symptoms.
3. Recommend that workers with symptoms be seen by a medical provider immediately.
4. Restrict the entry of people into your facility to only workers and essential service personnel.
5. Prevent international visitors from entering your facilities.
6. Ensure adequate ventilation in facilities to minimize re-circulation of air inside animal housing facilities.
7. Vaccinate pigs against the influenza virus. Vaccination of pigs can reduce the levels of virus shed by infected animals
8. Contact your swine veterinarian if swine exhibit flu-like or respiratory illness, especially if the onset or presentation of the illness is unusual.
9. Notify your Texas Animal Health Commission area office or the Austin headquarters at 800-550-8242, after you have contacted your veterinarian.
The Texas Animal Health Commission is ready to assist with on-farm investigations, if pigs are present where a known human case has occurred, and to assist with epidemiological investigations with any human cases that may have links to swine in Texas.

Resources
· Center for Disease Control: http://www.cdc.gov/swineflu/
· Texas Department of State Health Services: www.dshs.state.tx.us\swineflu
· Texas Extension Disaster Education Network (EDEN): http://texashelp.tamu.edu/004-natural/disease-and-epidemic.php

Native Prairie Restoration Workshop Presents a Unique Educational Opportunity on May 29, 2009

Friday, May 29 a workshop focusing on Native Prairie Restoration will be held at the Clymer Meadow Preserve. This will be a unique and inter-active educational program that will provide a broad amount of information that can be used by landowners and managers. Topics of discussion will include: History of the Blackland Prairie, Value of Native Rangeland, Native Grass from a Landowners Perspective, Clymer Grassland Management, Cost Share Programs and Assistance, Restoration Techniques, Follow-Up Management, and Restoration Equipment. Presenters will include landowners, practitioners and educators. For the full flier go to http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/landwater/land/private/media/prairie_restoration_workshop_clymer09.pdf

Recent Frosts Damage County Wheat Crop

Producers in Navarro County had hopes for the ‘09 wheat crop but the recent frost received around April 7 is starting to reveal its impact. Wheat in this area had come through a very challenging fall and winter as conditions were extremely dry. Timely rains received in March provided the chance to salvage the wheat crop but a late frost may hamper yields on many fields. The extent of the freeze injury in wheat can be highly dependent upon location of the field and associated topography and elevation. The lower lying areas seem to be exhibiting more extensive and severe injury. The stage of growth of the wheat crop can also determine how hard hit the crop was. When evaluating wheat heads for injury here are a few things to look for: Color - healthy heads would normally exhibit a light green color at this time of year; affected heads will be a dull yellow to white color. As things progress it may become more obvious in the field. Typically, kernel development stops immediately after freeze damage and damaged kernels are grayish white, rough and shriveled. Fluid - healthy heads and kernels in the milk to early dough stage will have a whitish fluid that can be squeezed from the kernel while damaged kernels may contain a gray to brownish liquid or no fluid at all. Physical signs may also be apparent in the awns as they may be twisted and bleached white. For more information on freeze injury in wheat go to http://varietytesting.tamu.edu/wheat/docs/mime-4.pdf. Some freeze injury has been seen in corn but it is very limited and not as widespread as the wheat damage. As we move forward many adjusters will be looking at insured wheat fields to further assess the damage from this late frost.

Wheat and Oat Field Day Set for April 23

April 23, 9am to noon, this is a joint effort between Hill and Navarro Counties with four demonstrations setup from Barry to Brandon. Demonstrations include: oat variety trial, 2 wheat variety trials and a wheat plant population study. 3 CEU’s will be offered: 2 General and 1 L&R. If you grow wheat or oats, this will be a tour that you will not want to miss.

Schedule
9:15 am – #1 Oat Variety Plots – Reed Farms - Barry, TX
10:00 am – #2 Wheat Variety Plots – Martin Farms – Frost, TX
10:45 am – #3 Wheat Variety Plots – Degner Farms – Mertens, TX
11:15 am – #4 Wheat Plant Population Study – Surovik Farms – Brandon, TX
12:00 pm – #5 Lunch at Brandon Community Center
· Texas Wheat Producers Association Presentation – Kody Bessent – Lubbock, TX
· Laws and Regulations Presentation

*Dr. Gaylon Morgan, Texas AgriLife Extension Service Small Grains Specialist will be on hand to provide updates on varieties, diseases, conditions and yields.

Remember 3 CEU’s will be offered (2 General and 1 Laws and Regulations)

Please call and RSVP to 903-654-3075 or 254-582-4022 by 5pm April 21st.

Calculating Break-Even Costs for Row Crop Producers and Market Reports

At Row Crop Commodity Marketing Training, held in mid-February we received assistance from Extension Agricultural Economists on calculating break-even costs for certain row crops. Calculating your break-even cost can be the critical first step to developing your marketing plan. By knowing your costs of production and the yields and commodity prices needed to break-even or "stay out of the red" you can then set price goals. This will help you know when to move on an opportunity to sell when the price is sufficient to cover your costs. One mistake producers make is to watch the price go up, up, up and never pull the trigger. As it goes up you may decide to sell a percentage of your crop here and there when you know it is profitable. It may not be the most profitable but it can help you to avoid a loss if and when prices drop.

To access the Microsoft Excel spreadsheets used go to the following website:
http://agfacts.tamu.edu/~lfalcone/newweb/cropbudgets.htm

To access the spreadsheet we developed specifically for dryland corn in Navarro County go to:
http://navarro-co.tamu.edu/pubcat.cfm?COUNTY=Navarro&CatID=2021 and click on "Corn Break Even Spreadsheet"

Also, for the latest Market Outlook Reports from Texas AgriLife Extension Service Agriculture Economists go to: http://agecoext.tamu.edu/resources/market-outlook.html

New Trichomoniasis Program Adopted in Texas for Beef Cattle

If you are a cattle producer but don’t know what Trichomoniasis (commonly called Trich) is, then you soon will. According to a recent Texas Animal Health Commission (TAHC) report, Texas has adopted a Trichomoniasis regulatory program. Beginning April 1, 2009, breeding bulls entering Texas from any other state must be either 24 months of age or younger and certified as a virgin, or be tested negative for cattle trichomoniasis within 30 days prior to entry. The adoption of this program occurred February 24 by the Texas Animal Health Commission to address Trichomoniasis which is a venereal disease in cattle that causes infertility and abortions. Other effects of the disease include extended breeding seasons, reduced calf crops and ultimately loss of income to producers. A second phase of the program will go into effect January 1, 2010 and will address the in-state movement of Texas breeding bulls. Part of the reason for the new program is when breeding bulls are infected, they may continue to appear and act normally. The new regulations also have deemed Trich as a reportable disease in the state of Texas. According to Dr. Bob Hillman, TAHC executive director, "... this will give us more information on where and how much infection already is in the state". Why aren’t cows included in this program you might ask? The reason is if a cow is infected during breeding and loses a fetus she still has a chance to clear the disease. A majority of infected cows will clear the infection if they are given 120 to 150 days of sexual rest. A vaccine can also be administered to infected cows to help control the disease in the cow herd. For more details on this subject and to read the entire Texas Animal Health Commission report go online to http://www.tahc.state.tx.us/news/pr/2009/2009Feb_TrichomoniasisProgramAdopted.pdf

What should my stocking rate be?

One of the most common questions I get is what kind of stocking rate is appropriate for my property. When we consider stocking rates for beef cattle we have to remember that one lactating, thousand pound cow will consume 2.5% to 3% of her body weight or roughly 25 to 30 pounds of air dry forage daily. 1 cow/calf pair is an animal unit (AU). A good rule of thumb is to “take half and leave half” but we have to account for another quarter of the forage that will get trampled, wasted, decompose, etc. So estimate based on 25% of forage production for a conservative stocking rate in an average rainfall year. So a thousand pound cow with a calf at her side will eat approximately 26 pounds of forage daily or 9,490 pounds per year.

Improved pasture differs greatly than native rangeland in terms of stocking rate due to management of fertility, weeds, etc. General stocking rates for Navarro County are 1 AU per 3-5 acres of fertilized improved pasture and 1 AU per 10-12 acres of rangeland BUT depend on location and management.

The only way to truly know what your appropriate stocking rate, is to quantify your forage production (clip and weigh grass or forage plots) and then base a stocking rate on the traditional range management principles and allow for variations in rainfall. A good stocking rate is the first step to good range management and sustainable agriculture. For more information go to the following web address: http://animalscience.tamu.edu/images/pdf/beef/beef-rdmt-stocking-rate.pdf