Life Sciences Commons^™

Innovative Marketing And Angus America, Douglas Hoff

Range Beef Cow Symposium

Marketing sounds easy, right? All that you have to do is sell when the market is high and buy when it's low. The problem is that only God could accomplish this! Even if we had the time to do the research required to make these predictions they're still, at best, only educated guesses. How does a cow/calf producer market in an innovative manner when he only has the option to go to a sale barn, an order buyer, or a feedlot with his years' work, just to get the same average price?

Grazing Animal Diets: When To Supplement, Doug Zalesky

Range Beef Cow Symposium

Despite the fact that we live and operate in the age of technology, the age old question of precisely when to start or when to end supplementation of grazing animals remains. Often the determination of when to begin and when to end supplementation is not based on sound nutritional and/or economic reasons. Currently no one technology or gadget is available that precisely determines when that window of needed supplementation exists. Tradition and the educated guess method has served to make that decision.

The use of such programs as SPA (Standardized Performance Analysis) has allowed producers to more accurately determine the …

New National Research Council (Nrc) Beef Cattle Requirements - Range Application, Ivan G. Rush

Range Beef Cow Symposium

Beef producers have used experience and guidelines for many years to determine proper level of nutrition for their cow herd. In the early 1900s, research started to compare various feeding programs to determine which feeds or supplements worked best, and then comparisons were made on various levels of supplements to determine how much supplement was needed. In the 1920s, considerable research was conducted at the Valentine, Nebraska Experiment Station (no longer in existence) to see if calves wintered on sandhills range would benefit from cottonseed cake (cottonseed meal was large chunks or "cake" in the 1920s), and a series of …

Applications Of Monitoring For Producers, Roy Roath

Range Beef Cow Symposium

The context in which rangeland livestock enterprises operate is changing in the United States. Economic pressures, markets, agency policies, and greater environmental awareness are challenging range livestock operators to mange their operations mare effectively and to respond to meet the challenges of the question "Are you a good steward of the land?" being posed by friend and foe, alike. This debate on land management practices is increasing. Much of this discussion is focusing on conflicts between the multiple uses of the resource. This affects the western livestock industry in a major way because the industry will be judged on its …

Market Outlook, Mike Miller

Range Beef Cow Symposium

Content:

Total Cattle Inventory

Heifers as % of Total Feedlot Placements

Cow Slaughter

Total Cow Numbers

Feeder Cattle and Calf Supply

Steer and Heifer Slaughter

Beef Production

What Will the 1997 Corn Market Look Like?

1997 Corn Production and Price Situation

Seasonal Fed Cattle Price

Seasonal 750-lb Feeder Steer Price

Average Cow/Calf Profit (Loss)

Cow/Calf Producer Profitability

US Average Choice Fed Steer Price, 1970-1997

Cattle Prices

The Cattle Cycle

Profit Trends by Industry Segment During the Four Phases of the Cattle Cycle

1997 Outlook

1998 Outlook

1999 Outlook

2000 Outlook

Future Of The Beef Industry, Wayne D. Purcell

Range Beef Cow Symposium

Where we have been and where we are today will largely dictate what the future will look like. The loss of market share has been widely chronicled, but it needs to be reviewed again in the context of establishing the current situation. This fact-based downsizing of the industry demands that we ask why it has occurred. There is discussion on both sides of the issue, but again, good science and the facts suggest much of the long-run problem has been on the demand side. The cycle is complete, then, when we ask why we have demand problems. If we can …

Empowering People, Burke Teichert

Range Beef Cow Symposium

Empowerment is a function of systems, attitudes and access. A ranching system is a grouping of subsystems which includes biological, climatic, business, financial and managerial processes. The system may be structured to enable and encourage or to impede empowerment of the team members. Access to ideas, research, training, tools, mentoring, modeling, etc. is vital to high level empowering. If the system is right, then the attitudes of the people involved will determine how much empowerment will take place.

Bosses and managers don't empower people. They enable and facilitate, but people at all levels of reporting are responsible for their own …

Ets-Core Binding Factor: A Common Composite Motif In Antigen Receptor Gene Enhancers, Batu Erman, Marta Cortes, Barbara S. Nikolajczyk, Nancy A. Speck, Ranjan Sen

Dartmouth Scholarship

A tripartite domain of the murine immunoglobulin μ heavy-chain enhancer contains the μA and μB elements that bind ETS proteins and the μE3 element that binds leucine zipper-containing basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH-zip) factors. Analysis of the corresponding region of the human μ enhancer revealed high conservation of the μA and μB motifs but a striking absence of the μE3 element. Instead of bHLH-zip proteins, we found that the human enhancer bound core binding factor (CBF) between the μA and μB elements; CBF binding was shown to be a common feature of both murine and human enhancers. Furthermore, mutant enhancers that bound …

Strategies To Reduce Double-Crested Cormorant Depredation At Aquaculture Facilities In Mississippi, David S. Reinhold, Charles A. (Bo) Sloan

Symposium on Double-Crested Cormorants: Population Status and Management Issues in the Midwest

Double-crested cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus) depredation throughout the Southeastern United States has been on the increase over the past 20 years. The increase in depredation coincides with the growth of the aquaculture industry and an expansion of double-crested cormorant wintering populations throughout the Southeast. The U.S. Department of Agriculture–Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service–Wildlife Services plays a major role in reducing double-crested cormorant damage. Nonlethal harassment on farms, dispersal from night roosts, and lethal control have reduced double-crested cormorant depredation at aquaculture farms in Mississippi. However, the efficiency and compatibility of current methods of reducing double-crested cormorant depredation must …

Possible Effects Of Catfish Exploitation On Overwinter Body Condition Of Double-Crested Cormorants, James F. Glahn, Mark E. Tobin, J. Brent Harrel

Symposium on Double-Crested Cormorants: Population Status and Management Issues in the Midwest

Concurrent with the rapid growth of the Mississippi catfish industry during the 1980’s, there was evidence of similar growth of double-crested cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus) populations wintering in the delta region of Mississippi. Observational and food habits studies indicate that this expansive industry, incorporating more than 100,000 acres of ponds, provides an enormous food base for overwintering populations estimated in recent years to exceed 50,000 birds. As much as 75 percent of the diet in certain roosting areas of the Mississippi delta consisted of catfish, and according to bioenergetic models cormorants can exploit as much as 940 metric tons …

Overview Of A Tqm Approach For Improving Beef Tenderness, J. D. Tatum, M. H. George, K. E. Belk, G. C. Smith

Range Beef Cow Symposium

Steers and heifers comprising the U.S. "fed" beef supply are highly variable in biological type, age, and management background (most are grain-finished, but they are started on feed at different ages, given different growth promoting implants, fed for differing periods of time, and slaughtered at different ages). The beef industry's current system for ensuring acceptable product tenderness involves "mass inspection" (USDA Quality Grading) of completed products (carcasses) at the end of the production process. Although this system results in general categorization according to tenderness differences, product value is lost due to inaccuracy of sorting methodology (Quality Grades account for approximately …

Reproductive Toxicology: Pine Needles And Plant Estrogens, R. E. Short, S. L. Kronberg, E. E. Grings, J. P. Rosazza, S. P. Ford

Range Beef Cow Symposium

Reproductive rate or efficiency, the number of live offspring produced from a herd of a specified number each year, is the main determinate of biological and economic efficiency of a beef cattle enterprise. Reproduction is a complex and continuous process that starts before birth and continues through puberty and a series of endocrine and behavioral events that include estrous cycles, breeding, conception, gestation, parturition, and lactation. The culmination of reproduction is live offspring produced for sale or for reentering the herd as replacements. Whenever any of these events are interfered with, reproductive rate and economic efficiency will decrease. In most …

Ingestion Of Ponderosa Pine Needles By Cattle, S. L. Kronberg, R. E. Short, E. E. Grings

Range Beef Cow Symposium

Given the relatively high fiber and moderate crude protein concentrations in Ponderosa pine needles (Adams et al., 1992; Pfister et al., 1992) and their potential negative effect on organic matter digestibility and nitrogen retention in ruminants (Adams et al., 1992), it is not readily apparent why cattle eat them. However, there are a number of ideas that may help explain why they do. Ponderosa pine needles contain a variety of nutrients and precursors including glucose, fructose, galactose, sucrose, citric acid, shikimic acid (a precursor in the biosynthesis of the amino acids phenylalanine, tyrosine and tryptophan), crude protein (Pfister et al., …

Matching Calving Date With Forage Nutrients: Production And Economic Impacts, Richard T. Clark, Don C. Adams, Gregory P. Lardy, Terry J. Klopfenstein

Range Beef Cow Symposium

Reducing costs while maintaining production is one way to improve the economic performance of a cow-calf operation. In large parts of the beef cattle production area, feed cost is a major factor in determining overall economic efficiency. Harvested forages and purchased feed make up the majority of the total feed cost. A major goal of our work has been to research cow-calf production systems that improve the economic and overall sustainability of the cow-calf operation. Given that feed costs are such an important component of most cow-calf operations we have focused our research on ways to reduce those costs without …

Cow/Calf Analysis: Key Indicators Of Profitability, Don Boggs, Eddie Hamilton

Range Beef Cow Symposium

Which of the following herds is more profitable: herd A that weans a 90% calf crop of 450 lb. calves that go on to grade 60% Choice or herd B that weans a 95% calf crop of 600 lb. calves that go on to grade 80% Choice? Obviously the question can not be answered with the information at hand. We have only the output side of the profitability equation and none of the inputs. It is likely that herd B will generate more revenue, but without knowing the costs of producing that revenue we can never know which herd is …

Colonial Waterbird Nesting On West Sister Island National Wildlife Refuge And The Arrival Of Double-Crested Cormorants, Mark C. Shieldcastle, Larry Martin

Symposium on Double-Crested Cormorants: Population Status and Management Issues in the Midwest

Recent survey data have shown the importance of West Sister Island National Wildlife Refuge, Lake Erie, to nesting waders. About 40 percent of all herons and egrets nesting in the U.S. Great Lakes are found there, including the Great Lakes’ largest colonies of great blue heron (Ardea herodias), great egret (Ardea alba), and black-crowned nightheron (Nycticorax nycticorax), and the largest of two snowy egret (Egretta thula). West Sister Island’s importance to Ohio has grown in recent decades with the loss of smaller mainland colonies of waders, especially the black-crowned night-heron. The double-crested …

Double-Crested Cormorant Culling In The St. Lawrence River Estuary: Results Of A 5-Year Program, J. Bedard, A. Nadeau, M. Lepage

Symposium on Double-Crested Cormorants: Population Status and Management Issues in the Midwest

Modeling indicated that lowering the doublecrested cormorant population from 17,361 to 10,000 pairs could be attained only by a combination of techniques: culling breeding birds in arboreal colonies to lower breeding stock and egg spraying in accessible ground nests to lower recruitment. The 5-year program was launched in 1989; culling was halted 4 years later because the population had fallen below the threshold of 10,000 breeding pairs. A greater vulnerability of males to shooting (203:100) probably accounted for the faster-than-predicted drop in numbers. Egg spraying spanned the entire 5-year period, during which 25,095 nests were treated with inert mineral oil. …

Front Matter And Contents

Symposium on Double-Crested Cormorants: Population Status and Management Issues in the Midwest

Symposium on Double-Crested Cormorants: Population Status and Management Issues in the Midwest

The Problems Of Being Successful: Managing Interactions Between Humans And Double-Crested Cormorants, Douglas Siegel-Causey

Symposium on Double-Crested Cormorants: Population Status and Management Issues in the Midwest

The natural history, behavior, and ecology of double-crested cormorants (Phalacrocorax auritus) predispose this species for conflict with human sport and commercial fisheries. Cormorants breed early in life, have large broods, are efficient predators even in marginal conditions, seem to be able to adjust colony sizes quickly in response to local conditions, and have limited requirements for feeding and nesting habitats. A survey of the past history of successes and failures in managing cormorants reveals that economic impact is greatest with aquaculture and least in sport fisheries. Research during the past 5 years suggests that some control methods like …

Appendix 1: Authors' Affiliations

Symposium on Double-Crested Cormorants: Population Status and Management Issues in the Midwest

Authors' affiliations

Silica Gel: An Experiment In Surface Area, Scott Vermullen

Paper Engineering Senior Theses

Within the paper industry today, there are advancements in technology every year, every month, most likely every day as well. These new technologies work to obtain the same major goals. These goals include faster machine speeds for improved output. They-include less, pollution, and in fact are working towards a pollutant free system. And finally, product quality for today's high demanding consumer market.

To realize these goals, paper makers must effectively utilize the most amount of fiber and filler possible in their sheet. That is, they must bind up fines and filler within the sheet rather than sending it to the …

Introduction To The Symposium On Double-Crested Cormorants: Population Status And Management Issues In The Midwest, Stephen J. Lewis, D.V. (Chip) Weseloh

Symposium on Double-Crested Cormorants: Population Status and Management Issues in the Midwest

Populations of double-crested cormorants (Phalacrocorax auritus) have increased dramatically in the last 2 decades, particularly in the Great Lakes and the Southeastern United States. Their food habits and propensity for killing the trees in which they nest and roost have made cormorants the subject of much controversy. Cormorants affect—or are perceived to affect—sport fishing, aquaculture operations, vegetation, and other colonial waterbirds. Anglers, aquaculturists, resort operators, lakehome owners, politicians, and others are calling for a solution to these problems. This symposium was convened to provide information that will help conservation agencies and others make sound resource management decisions about …

Impact Of Double-Crested Cormorant Predation On The Yellow Perch Population In The Les Cheneaux Islands Of Michigan, Glenn Y. Belyea, Susan L. Maruca, James S. Diana, Philip J. Schneeberger, Steve J. Scott, Richard D. Clark Jr., James P. Ludwig, Cheryl L. Summer

Symposium on Double-Crested Cormorants: Population Status and Management Issues in the Midwest

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources, in conjunction with the University of Michigan and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, initiated a research study to determine the impact of double-crested cormorants (Phalacrocorax auritus) on the yellow perch (Perca flavescens) population in the Les Cheneaux Islands area of northern Lake Huron. Aerial and nesting colony counts were conducted to monitor cormorant abundance. Creel census counts and tagging of 8,400 perch were used to study perch abundance. We collected 373 cormorants to study food habits via stomach-content analysis. We found that (1) cormorants fed heavily on yellow perch …

Diet Of The Double-Crested Cormorant In Western Lake Erie, Michael T. Bur, Sandra L. Tinnirello, Charles D. Lovell, Jeff T. Tyson

Symposium on Double-Crested Cormorants: Population Status and Management Issues in the Midwest

Sport and commercial fishing interest groups are concerned about potential impacts double-crested cormorants (Phalacrocorax auritus) may have on fish species. Our objectives for this study were to determine the diet of the cormorant in western Lake Erie and the diet overlap and competition for resources with piscivorous fish, such as walleye (Stizostedion vitreum.) The stomach contents of 302 double-crested cormorants collected in western Lake Erie consisted primarily of young-of-the-year gizzard shad (Dorosoma cepedianum), emerald shiner (Notropis atherinoides,) and freshwater drum (Aplodinotus grunniens). In the spring, freshwater drum were the most …

Information Needs For The Double-Crested Cormorant In Midwestern North America, As Identified By An Audience Survey , D.V. (Chip) Weseloh, Stephen J. Lewis

Symposium on Double-Crested Cormorants: Population Status and Management Issues in the Midwest

Double-crested cormorant (DCCO) research needs and data gaps were identified in the early 1990’s by Erwin (1995) and Nisbet (1995). Erwin (1995) recommended four areas of research: (1) large-scale banding and marking to determine age- and sex specific survival and fecundity, (2) studies of movements during migration and winter, (3) assessment of limiting factors such as contaminants and disease, especially in light of recent Newcastle disease in cormorants, and (4) evaluation of economic impacts of cormorants on cultured fishes and ways to reduce predation by fish-eating birds.

Double-Crested Cormorants In The Midwest: Symposium Summary, Francesca J. Cuthbert

Symposium on Double-Crested Cormorants: Population Status and Management Issues in the Midwest

Populations of double-crested cormorants (DCCO’s, Phalacrocorax auritus) have increased dramatically in North America during the past 2 decades (1978–98), especially in the Great Lakes region and Southeastern United States. Concern about the impact, real or imagined, of DCCO’s on economics and ecosystem health has risen in parallel to the increase in cormorant numbers.

A daylong symposium on this subject was opened by Stephen Lewis and D. V. (Chip) Weseloh, who introduced the audience to the general problems associated with cormorants in the Midwest. The moderators identified the following symposium objectives: (1) to provide current information on the status and …

Factors Affecting Calf Survival, R. A. Bellows

Range Beef Cow Symposium

Survival of the calf at or shortly after birth can be compromised leading to high death losses and a serious impact on net income for the cattle producer. This paper will briefly review some findings related to causes of death of the newborn calf.

Characterization Of Alliances, Mike Miller

Range Beef Cow Symposium

Content:

Today’s Cattle Market

Future Cattle Market

“Average” Grid

The Target

“Value” Checklist

Factors to Consider

Potential Trade Offs

The Bottom Line: Does It Increase Profit

Nesting Populations Of Double-Crested Cormorants In The United States And Canada, Laura A. Tyson, Jerrold L. Belant, Francesca J. Cuthbert, D.V. (Chip) Weseloh

Symposium on Double-Crested Cormorants: Population Status and Management Issues in the Midwest

Double-crested cormorants (Phalacrocorax auritus) are receiving increasing attention in North America because of depredations at aquaculture facilities and alleged impacts on sport and commercial fisheries. We obtained recent (most since 1994) estimates for the number of nesting double-crested cormorants in the United States and Canada from published references and by conducting telephone interviews with State and Provincial biologists. Using published data, we also determined annual rates of change in the number of cormorants since about 1990. The estimated minimum number of nesting pairs (colonies) of double-crested cormorants was 372,000 (852). Most cormorants nested in the Interior region (68 …

Changes In The Status, Distribution, And Management Of Double-Crested Cormorants In Wisconsin, Summer W. Matteson, Paul W. Rasmussen, Kenneth L. Stromborg, Thomas I. Meier, Julie Van Stappen, Eric C. Nelson

Symposium on Double-Crested Cormorants: Population Status and Management Issues in the Midwest

We reviewed and summarized historical data and conducted population surveys from 1973 through 1997 to determine the breeding status and distribution of doublecrested cormorants (Phalacrocorax auritus) in Wisconsin. Breeding cormorants historically occupied large, isolated lakes and wetlands in northern Wisconsin, but there were no known nesting sites until 1919, when cormorants were reported nesting on Lake Wisconsin in south-central Wisconsin. From the 1920’s to the 1950’s, cormorants occupied 17 colony sites in 16 counties, though no more than 7 sites were occupied during any particular year. From the 1950’s to the early 1970’s, the number of cormorant nests …