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1993

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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences

Evolutionary Perspectives On Animalivory, Patricia W. Freeman Dec 1993

Evolutionary Perspectives On Animalivory, Patricia W. Freeman

University of Nebraska State Museum: Mammalogy Papers

Derived from insectivorous ancestors, microchiropteran bats have diversified into a remarkable array of feeding habits. Cranial and dental characteristics mirror this diversity. Insectivorous predators of hard-shelled prey have thicker jaws, well-developed cranial crests, fewer but larger teeth, longer canines and abbreviated M3s than species that take soft items. Carnivorous bats have more elongate skulls, larger brain volumes and larger pinnae, lengthened metastylar ridges, and larger protoconids compared to insectivores. Animalivorous species have large ectoloph areas compared to frugivorous and nectarivorous species, but animalivores and frugivores have large tooth areas relative to palatal area compared to nectarivores. Frugivores sacrifice ectoloph for …

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Northeast Research Station Watertown, South Dakota Annual Progress Report, 1993, Agricultural Experiment Station, Plant Science Department Dec 1993

Northeast Research Station Watertown, South Dakota Annual Progress Report, 1993, Agricultural Experiment Station, Plant Science Department

Agricultural Experiment Station and Research Farm Annual Reports

This is the 1993 annual progress report for the Northeast Research Station in Watertown, South Dakota. This report is issued by the South Dakota Agricultural Experiment Station and the South Dakota State University Plant Science Department. This report includes information on the 1993 crop season, including growing season precipitation data from 1956-1993, information on the wheat scab epidemic of 1993, crop performance trials, oat and rye research, spring wheat breeding, alfalfa yield test and breeding for wildlife habitat, soybean studies, W.E.E.D. project demonstration, farming system studies, 1993 yields, soil moisture and soil tests results, and soybean breeding.

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The Meat Consumer Today - Price: Is It Time For A New Strategy?, Pat Swan Dec 1993

The Meat Consumer Today - Price: Is It Time For A New Strategy?, Pat Swan

Range Beef Cow Symposium

When determining the purchasing behavior of today's consumer, one should realize that price is but one factor in the buying decision. This tenet applies to meat producers, packers, and retailers alike, many of whom are beginning to look at the definition of price in a different way. There are, in fact, two ways of looking at price: from the "inside out" and the "outside in". When pricing is determined by the "inside out" method, the emphasis is on recovering the initial production costs and the addition to those costs to generate a profit. The "outside in" approach to pricing, however, …

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Composite Breeds - What Does The Research Tell Us?, Keith Gregory, Larry V. Cundiff, R. M. Koch Dec 1993

Composite Breeds - What Does The Research Tell Us?, Keith Gregory, Larry V. Cundiff, R. M. Koch

Range Beef Cow Symposium

Heterosis achieved through continuous crossbreeding can be used to increase weight of calf weaned per cow exposed to breeding by 20%. Comprehensive programs of breed characterization have revealed large differences among breeds for most bioeconomic traits. About 55% of the U.S. beef breeding population involving 93% of the farmers and ranchers who produce beef cattle are in production units of 100 or fewer cows. Optimum crossbreeding systems are not easy to adapt in herds that use fewer than four bulls. Further, fluctuation in breed composition between generations in rotational crossbreeding systems can result in considerable variation among both cows and …

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What Will Happen To Production Traits If We Select For Carcass Traits?, Tom Field Dec 1993

What Will Happen To Production Traits If We Select For Carcass Traits?, Tom Field

Range Beef Cow Symposium

Cow-calf producers find themselves in the unique position of managing an enterprise where profitability is dependent on their ability to hit two targets, the first being the complex of maternal traits as defined by the environmental and management constraints of their individual farm and ranch. The second target is outlined by the demands of the marketplace.

What is the feasibility of accomplishing these two goals within the context of improving profitability by lowering appropriate production costs while avoiding the discounts inherent in commodity pricing schemes? The answer to this question is dependent on a variety of factors, including: the specific …

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A Simple Basic Explanation Of Cow Nutrition, Ivan G. Rush Dec 1993

A Simple Basic Explanation Of Cow Nutrition, Ivan G. Rush

Range Beef Cow Symposium

Cattle producers in many ways have expertise in nutrition. Each day when cattle are fed or when grazing, they are taking in nutrients (protein, energy, minerals, etc.) that are vital for their life and production. Cattlemen are responsible for providing the feeds that supply the nutrients for the beef animal. If provided in the proper balance and portions at an economical level then the desired results should be obtained. If shortages occur with any required nutrient or if the nutrients are fed in excess or the sources are extremely costly then economic losses will be experienced. Because the largest cost …

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Effects Of Supplementation On Intake And Utilization On Harvested Forages, David W. Sanson Dec 1993

Effects Of Supplementation On Intake And Utilization On Harvested Forages, David W. Sanson

Range Beef Cow Symposium

A frequent question asked by beef cattle producers is what supplement should be used. Prior to asking this question, it should be determined if a supplement is necessary. To answer this question, the nutrient requirements of the animal to meet the desired production level must be established. Next, it should be determined if current feed resources will meet these needs. It may be possible to shift grazing practices or to adjust feeding levels and meet the requirements. Once it is established that a supplement must be used, then the supplement that will improve the utilization of the base diet should …

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Precalving Nutrition/Birth Weight Interaction And Rebreeding Efficiency, Robert P. Wettemann Dec 1993

Precalving Nutrition/Birth Weight Interaction And Rebreeding Efficiency, Robert P. Wettemann

Range Beef Cow Symposium

Profitability of calf production can be greatly increased by improvements in reproductive efficiency. Losses in income are associated with nonpregnant cows, calves that are born late in the calving season and death of calves at birth. Too many heifers and cows exposed to bulls during a breeding season do not become pregnant and wean a calf the next year. A major reason for the inefficiency is that cows are not pregnant at the end of breeding because many have not been in estrus and bred by the bulls. In addition, some cows do not start estrous cycles until late in …

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Antibody Levels In Beef Calves (Birth Through Weaning) Following Clostridium Perfringens Type C Toxoid And/Or Antitoxin Administration, Robert P. Ellis, David L. Morris, Roberta J. Todd, Roukaya Osman Dec 1993

Antibody Levels In Beef Calves (Birth Through Weaning) Following Clostridium Perfringens Type C Toxoid And/Or Antitoxin Administration, Robert P. Ellis, David L. Morris, Roberta J. Todd, Roukaya Osman

Range Beef Cow Symposium

According to National Cattlemen's Association data, there are approximately 35 million beef cows and 10 million dairy cows in the United States. Combining pre-calving, pre-weaning, yearling, breeding bulls and replacement heifer vaccination opportunities to utilize Clostridial immunization programs, it is estimated that well in excess of 100 million doses of various Clostridial containing products are used each year. Knowing which products stimulate satisfactory antibody levels and their duration of response is an essential part of making informed recommendations to producers for controlling disease. Presently, non-industry, controlled field studies assessing Clostridial products are not available.

Specifically, Clostridium perfringens Type C is …

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Improving Vaccine Utilization On The Ranch/Farm, David L. Morris Dec 1993

Improving Vaccine Utilization On The Ranch/Farm, David L. Morris

Range Beef Cow Symposium

Improving vaccine utilization on the ranch or farm begins with a better understanding of common terms used in discussing products or methods used to enhance the animal's ability to prevent or control disease. The following terms and definitions are presented for that reason.

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Calf Scours: Prevention And Treatment, Franklyn Garry Dec 1993

Calf Scours: Prevention And Treatment, Franklyn Garry

Range Beef Cow Symposium

There are numerous causes of disease and death in nursing beef calves. Within the first several days of life, the leading causes of beef calf disease are metabolic and behavioral problems, many of which are the direct or indirect result of dystocia. Thereafter, the most common calfhood problems are infectious diseases. Infections of the respiratory and gastrointestinal system account for the overwhelming majority of calf disease and death in the United States. Gastrointestinal diseases tend to be most common within the first month of life, while the respiratory diseases tend to be more important after that time.

There are numerous …

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Cattle Abortions - Causes And Prevention, Michael Yaeger Dec 1993

Cattle Abortions - Causes And Prevention, Michael Yaeger

Range Beef Cow Symposium

Abortions in cattle may result from a broad range of causes. Abortions may be idiopathic (occurring without known cause) or the result of metabolic or hormonal abnormalities, nutritional deficiencies, trauma, toxicities, or infectious processes. For this presentation, information collected from diagnostic laboratories in South Dakota, Nebraska and Wyoming has been summarized in order to distill this broad subject down to its most important aspects. This presentation will examine the various infectious causes of abortion and focus on those diseases which diagnostic results indicate are the most important contagious causes of abortion.

Before beginning the discussion of specific causes of abortion, …

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What Does Biotechnology Have To Offer Beef Cattle Reproduction? Costs And Practical Value, George E. Seidel Jr. Dec 1993

What Does Biotechnology Have To Offer Beef Cattle Reproduction? Costs And Practical Value, George E. Seidel Jr.

Range Beef Cow Symposium

The term "reproductive biotechnology" has different meanings in different circumstances. I will use a broad definition that ranges from estrus synchronization to DNA manipulation. By far the most relevant and important reproductive biotechnology for beef cattle production is artificial insemination. It is shocking that only around 5% of calves of beef cattle breeds in this country are sired via this biotechnology, but I will not discuss artificial insemination further because the methodology, costs, and applications are well known. In my opinion, the second most important reproductive biotechnology is estrous cycle synchronization; I'll not cover this further because there will be …

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Estrous Synchronization In Lactating Cows, Doug L. Hixon Dec 1993

Estrous Synchronization In Lactating Cows, Doug L. Hixon

Range Beef Cow Symposium

The objective of any successful synchronization program is to manipulate the estrous cycle of normally cycling females so that a large percentage will exhibit estrus with normal fertility at a pre-determined time. Synchronization programs have typically been most successful with heifers due to a lack of interference from extraneous factors. Since minimum age and weight are the primary prerequisites for a heifer of a particular breed to reach puberty, a nutritional program can be designed to allow the majority of heifers to reach their appropriate target weight by 13-14 months of age. Provided there are no health problems, or extreme …

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Factors Affecting Calving Difficulty, R. A. Bellows Dec 1993

Factors Affecting Calving Difficulty, R. A. Bellows

Range Beef Cow Symposium

Calf deaths resulting from difficult calving (dystocia) cause a major reduction in the net calf crop and income realized by beef producers. Based on 1993 projected figures, a 5% increase in animals available for sale in the U.S. could potentially increase gross receipts by over $1.5 billion annually. These same projection figures also suggest that losses attributed to calf deaths from dystocia alone exceed $750 million annually. Identifying ways to decrease dystocia and the accompanying calf deaths is the subject of this paper.

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Effects Of Early Weaning On High Growth Calves And Subsequent Carcass Characteristics, R. H. Pritchard Dec 1993

Effects Of Early Weaning On High Growth Calves And Subsequent Carcass Characteristics, R. H. Pritchard

Range Beef Cow Symposium

Historically, early weaning has been considered one of those things you might have to do in drought years. We do it because the cow-calf pairs are not realizing their production potential when running on dried up rangeland. For the rancher that has invested in quality bulls and is producing high growth potential calves, the problem is the same, only the circumstances are different. In years when grass production is adequate, high growth potential calves are not receiving adequate nutrition to express their genetic potential. The typical management adjustment in this situation is to creep feed or pre-condition the calves. Either …

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Cost Control Using Economic Analysis And Spa, Paul H. Gutierrez Dec 1993

Cost Control Using Economic Analysis And Spa, Paul H. Gutierrez

Range Beef Cow Symposium

The primary activities of management include planning, organizing, directing and control. The most important and most challenging is control)the process of analyzing, evaluating and interpreting the production and financial performance of the business, so the business manager can make informed business management decision. After almost two years of working with beef cattle business managers and gaining an understanding of the recommendations of the Farm Financial Standards Task Force (FFSTF) and the National Cattlemen's Association-Integrated Resource Management-Standardized Performance Analysis (NCA-IRM-SPA) subcommittee guidelines, has made a believer out of me now. Why? A complete accounting analysis, such as that provided by following …

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Overlooked And Neglected Principles Of Grazing Management, Patrick E. Reese Dec 1993

Overlooked And Neglected Principles Of Grazing Management, Patrick E. Reese

Range Beef Cow Symposium

The more one understands about resources critical to ranching the more likely one is to survive hard times. There are many distractions in the range livestock industry from day to day activities to technology overloads at educational meetings. As you sift through your experiences and observations do you ever ask the question, "What will I teach the next generation of management to improve their chances of success?". Hopefully, the answer is, "the basic fundamentals". New technologies, new words and new strategies do not change fundamental principles of rangeland management.

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How Do We Affect Tenderness, Quality And Consistency?, J. Daryl Tatum Dec 1993

How Do We Affect Tenderness, Quality And Consistency?, J. Daryl Tatum

Range Beef Cow Symposium

At the National Beef Quality Audit (NBQA) Strategy Workshop (hosted by the National Cattlemen's Association, March 18-20, 1992), workshop participants reviewed all of the information accumulated during the NBQA, and compiled a list of the 15 primary defects and(or) shortcomings of beef produced by slaughter steers and heifers (Smith et al., 1992). Listed first among the Top 15 concerns was "low overall uniformity of beef", and listed sixth and seventh were "low overall palatability" and "inadequate tenderness", respectively.

The following comments, recorded during the National Beef Quality Audit, provide insight into the industry's concern about the tenderness, quality and consistency …

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The Meat Consumer Today - Promotion: What's New With The Consumer?, Pat Swan Dec 1993

The Meat Consumer Today - Promotion: What's New With The Consumer?, Pat Swan

Range Beef Cow Symposium

Promotion has been defined as "telling and selling" the customer. The overriding goal today, however, is understanding that customer. By determining consumers' needs and desires, one can then positively position products in a creative, relevant and positive way. The meat industry is constantly seeking to gauge both consumer attitudes and, importantly, their behaviors. Both are necessary components of a sound marketing plan.

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Setting Direction And Effective Management Style, Burke Teichert Dec 1993

Setting Direction And Effective Management Style, Burke Teichert

Range Beef Cow Symposium

Management style is a major determinant of effectiveness. Setting direction in turn is an integral part of an effective management style. At Rex Ranch our mission or long term direction is to "maximize long term profit while improving the land, animal and human resources." The redundancy in the mission statement is recognized and intended. If we fail to improve the land, animal and human resources, we will not be competitive or profitable in the long run. So, that part of the statement is to keep us based on correct principles.

A ranch is really a production and marketing system made …

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Optimum Mainstream Crossbreeding System's "Omc Hairpin Brand Bell Curve Strategies" Including Crossbreeding And Composites For Success In The Cow Business, Jim Leachman Dec 1993

Optimum Mainstream Crossbreeding System's "Omc Hairpin Brand Bell Curve Strategies" Including Crossbreeding And Composites For Success In The Cow Business, Jim Leachman

Range Beef Cow Symposium

I. PLANNING the future of your cow outfit should involve an assessment of:

A. PRESENT STATUS: a realistic inventory of where you are in terms of competitive production parameters, including:

1. cost per pound weaned per cow exposed,
2. percentage of cattle meeting carcass yield, grade, and weight specs.

B. PROPER GOALS: informed visions of the direction of a consumer-based market driven industry such as:

1. redefining quality as a uniform product with consistent eating qualities,
2. discounts for products not meeting targets and needs.

C. CORRECT STRATEGIES: the game plans which theoretically and practically have a good probability of …

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Across Breed Expected Progeny Differences (Epd's), James A. Gosey Dec 1993

Across Breed Expected Progeny Differences (Epd's), James A. Gosey

Range Beef Cow Symposium

If commercial beef producers were to abandon crossbreeding, there would be no need to consider Across Breed EPD's. With only one dominant breed such as the dairy industry's Holstein, sire selection would be greatly simplified. Given the diversity of production environments, management systems and market scenarios within which beef is produced, it seems unlikely that a least-cost producer will approach the business without crossbreeding as one of the tools.

As a matter of fact, Across Breed EPD's are just the most recent chapter in an ongoing evaluation of breeds and bulls. Astute commercial producers have been "going to school" on …

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Effect Of ¼-Inch Trim On Feeders And Cow-Calf Producers, William L. Mies Dec 1993

Effect Of ¼-Inch Trim On Feeders And Cow-Calf Producers, William L. Mies

Range Beef Cow Symposium

The rapid change to ¼-inch trim by the packing industry has been brought about by producers using their checkoff dollars to show retail meat buyers the way to value the closer trim product. The computer system, CARDS, developed by Texas A&M in cooperation with the National Livestock and Meat Board has allowed retailers to evaluate the closer trim product and use it in their buying programs. This demand by the retail industry has driven packers to offer the product. Today, all three major packers offer a closely trimmed boxed beef product. The growth in acceptance of this product has surprised …

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Bull Power: Productivity And Profitability, Garth W. Boyd Dec 1993

Bull Power: Productivity And Profitability, Garth W. Boyd

Range Beef Cow Symposium

One of the biggest challenges facing cow/calf producers today is cutting their costs of production. One possible strategy for lowering costs is to increase the production efficiency of the cow herd. A key area to focus on is the reproductive function of the beef bull because natural mating accounts for over 95% of the pregnancies achieved each year in the 33.7 million beef cows in the U.S.

It is becoming apparent that perhaps because of increased selection pressure on scrotal circumference, the modern beef bull is more fertile than the bull of yesterday. Yet, according to the 1992 National Beef …

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Using Ultrasound Technology In Reproduction Management, Douglas D. Zalesky Dec 1993

Using Ultrasound Technology In Reproduction Management, Douglas D. Zalesky

Range Beef Cow Symposium

Reproductive performance in cow-calf operations is one of, if not the most important factor affecting profitability in a herd. Several economic studies have suggested that reproductive traits are 5 to 10 times more important than growth traits and 5 to 20 times more important than carcass traits in determining the net profitability in an operation. Therefore, achieving high levels of reproductive efficiency should be the top or one of the top goals of any cow-calf operation.

Ultrasound technology is by no means a new technology. Its use in live animals was first described in 1950 by J.J. Wild. He described …

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Problems Handling Dystocia, Robert G. Mortimer Dec 1993

Problems Handling Dystocia, Robert G. Mortimer

Range Beef Cow Symposium

The recognition of abnormal calving (dystocia) comes FIRST from a basic understanding of normal calving. From this understanding, the establishment of guidelines for observation of cattle and for intervention will reduce calf losses . In Colorado, as part of a pilot program of the National Animal Health Monitoring System (NAHMS), two-thirds of the costs of disease losses were associated with death loss. From a subset of 73 of the 86 NAHMS herds in studied in 1986-87 in 24,396 births, 4.5% of the calves were lost. Of the 4.5% losses, 34% were attributed to dystocia related losses. In addition, losses attributed …

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Connecting The Chain - Industry Alliances, Paul F. Engler Dec 1993

Connecting The Chain - Industry Alliances, Paul F. Engler

Range Beef Cow Symposium

Probably one of the most popular buzz phrases in U.S. Industry today is Strategic Alliances. Perhaps, we should take a minute to define what a Strategic Alliance is because we are seeing some indiscriminate use of the phrase.

Definition. Two or more independent parties combine their respective strengths such as their assets, resources, and management, which are synergistic with one another to form a vertically integrated alliance with the common objective of creating a much stronger and more competitive enterprise, which in its combination minimizes the risk that each entity has in operating separately.

I believe that in order to …

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Strategic Alliances: What The Data Say, Chuck Lambert Dec 1993

Strategic Alliances: What The Data Say, Chuck Lambert

Range Beef Cow Symposium

The National Beef Quality Audit determined that about $280 is lost for every fed steer and heifer slaughtered in the U.S. This $7.2 billion annual loss from non-conformities works to the beef industry's disadvantage. The beef industry's segmented industry structure encourages many of the non-conformities. The Strategic Alliances Field Study (SAFS), was designed to determine how much of the $280 could be returned to producers if all segments worked together and shared information. To demonstrate effectiveness of value-based marketing Strategic Alliances brought the various production segments together in a partnership so the reward for optimizing production would be shared equally …

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The Effects Of Temperature And Daylength On The Rosa Polyphenism In The Buckeye Butterfly, Precis Coenia (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae), Kelly C. Smith Dec 1993

The Effects Of Temperature And Daylength On The Rosa Polyphenism In The Buckeye Butterfly, Precis Coenia (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae), Kelly C. Smith

Publications

In North Carolina, Precis coenia that emerge during the Summer months exhibit a ventral hindwing (VHW) with well-defined reddish-brown and brown pattern elements on a light tan background. During late Summer and early Fall, however, individuals begin to appear with poorly defined or obscured pattern elements on a dark reddish-brown background. The present study shows that the Fall (rosa) color morph can be induced by either low rearing temperatures or short daylengths. The effect of such conditions seems to be cumulative throughout the larval life, although animals are much more sensitive during the last 24 hours of larval …

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