Yes to Lamb Check-Off!

By an astounding margin of 85.1 percent, the members of the U.S. sheep industry voted to continue the deduction on sheep sales to support the marketing of American lamb. These are the certified results of the nationwide vote that was conducted at U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Farm Service Agency offices during February 2009 and announced today by the USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service.

"This is the second referendum since the inception of the program in 2002 and both have recorded overwhelming approval for an industry-funded lamb promotion," remarks Peter Orwick, executive director for the American Sheep Industry Association (ASI). "Sheep producer volunteers encouraged a yes vote in the referendum to keep this valuable tool alive in the fight for a piece of the meat market in the United States.

"This promotion effort is designed for American lamb only and is the key to providing additional visibility for domestically grown lamb in the meat cases of the nation's retailers as well as in the restaurant trade," Orwick adds.

ASI President Glen Fisher, a Texas sheep producer, comments that the lamb program is the only livestock checkoff program that has producers, feeders and meat packers all contributing funds to the promotion effort. He relays that the vote had to be approved on both the individual votes as well as the volume of sheep represented. In the volume vote, a record setting 93 percent supported the referendum.

A 13-member volunteer board, known as the American Lamb Board, representing these segments of the industry collects the funds and administers all the programs.

"The promotion board and its programs deliver benefits to the lamb market and it has also been extremely successful in avoiding conflict among industry segments, so much so that the principal concern around the referendum was motivating folks to vote when there was little to no controversy over the issue," Fisher concludes.

- ASI Weekly

Prepare Early for Easy Calving

The spring season on beef cattle operations, usually means heavy calving. For many herds, calving season is underway or about to start. Here are a few tips that will help to keep you prepared and make calving season easy!

Be sure to check all facilities and equipment that will be used during calving. Calving stalls should be clean and dry. Bedding should be changed after every calving to prevent the spread of diseases. A warmer environment should also be prepared just in case you have chilled calves.

Managers should have a calving kit ready to assist with the birthing procedure. The calving kit is effective for making sure you are prepared, without the stress of looking for all of your tools. Calving kits should include items such as calf pullers (chains and handles), disinfectant to sanitize, gloves, lubrication, paper towels, frozen colostrum, electrolytes, and iodine for the calf’s navel. Also, it is good to have phone numbers of people to call in case you need help pulling larger calves. Other items that might be helpful would be an oral calf feeder, calf feeder bottle, selenium and vitamin A and D injections, dehorning paste, castration tools, and an ear tagging kit. Calving kit tools can be placed in a bucket or some producers put their equipment in a back pack so they are able to arrive at the birthing scene faster.

Be prepared to check your herd frequently and keep a close watch on first time calving heifers. Pregnant heifers should be moved to a calving area two weeks before their due date to keep a closer eye on them. Once cows have calved, make sure calves receive colostrum and their navel dipped in 7 percent iodine within the first two hours of birth. Ear tagging and tattooing should be completed early to identify calves easily. After two to three days, Cow-calf pairs should be moved out to pasture. Calves will stay clean, dry, and much healthier outside. Be sure to watch calves for scours and other health issues.