Here is the main site for United Egg Producers: http://www.unitedegg.org/ The following link takes you to the site about the certification program. To be allowed to utilize the logo on their eggs, producers must be audited by a certified animal care auditor: http://www.uepcertified.com/

Although not a brief pamphlet, following is a link to well written manual on the actual certification program. http://www.uepcertified.com/media/pdf/UEP-Animal-Welfare-Guidelines.pdf

Pork Production: Many are familiar with Pork Quality Assurance - Plus (PQA Plus), a companion program to Beef Quality Assurance which most of you are aware of. Dr. Steve Moeller, OSU Swine Extension Specialist, is our point person on this with information posted at: http://www.pork.org/Producers/PQAP.aspx?c=PQAP

Beef Production: Ohio's Beef Quality Assurance Program follows national BQA guidelines regarding proper care of handling of cattle. Questions can be forwarded to Dr. Steve Boyles, OSU Extension Beef Cattle Specialist, regarding Ohio's BQA program: http://www.beefusa.org/newsRecommendations.aspx

Veal Production: The American Veal Association has some excellent materials on veal production and future policies: http://www.vealfarm.com/

Get with the times - Miranda Reiman, Industry Information Specialist, Certified Angus Beef (reprinted with permission from the CAB "Black Ink" publication, March, 2009)

It's the 1970s. An air-dried Polaroid shows your leisure suit and platform shoes, just before you hop into your pickup and check the CB for friends talking skip. At home, you play a new video game called Pong but don't know anything about computers. Radio Shack's ad on the sports page says you need one.

In the '80s and early '90s, clunky "bag phones" let you communicate across the airwaves from your vehicle, or anywhere it can reach an analog signal.

Fast forward to the new millennium, where chatting about all of those "innovations" from the past can prompt laughter among family and friends. Almost everyone remembers something distinct: their first TV, mom's fashion eye glasses, an eight-track player in a deluxe tractor cab or walking soybeans before the days of biotechnology.

Looking back, it's funny - and simultaneously astounding - to see the progress made since the first inventions and ideas were introduced.

The passage of time allows us to gain different perspective on everything from fashion to technology. Showing up at church or a business meeting in bell-bottom slacks and a groovy hair style back in 1971, people might bestow on you the title of trendsetter. Doing the same thing today would raise a few eyebrows, along with whispers of being archaic or perhaps too frugal to invest in wardrobe updates.

Looking at your business through that same lens might help determine if you're "with the times" or not. Sometimes passé practices work for so long that you've never made an effort to search out more modern, timesaving alternatives. Or maybe you got so focused on one area of your farm or ranch that you didn't even notice you were slipping from your once progressive standing to old-fashioned.

If you have thin stocker cattle that you just finished "roughing through the winter," the market is wondering why. With today's cattle genetics geared for high performance through every phase, trying to starve a later profit out of them now is at least 20 years behind the times.

Talking to your producer friends, you could be saying, "Remember when we'd pick bulls on looks alone? Those days before expected progeny differences (EPDs) sure created some challenges."

If that sounds more like a conversation for the future, maybe this is your year to catch up and discover those tools.

You've seen or at least read about historical industry trends from the short, fat cattle to the giant, leggy ones. Those extremes seem ridiculous now, but would you recognize a similar craze before you aimed your herd toward a goal you regret in hindsight? And are you sure you haven't done that already?

Research has sorted fad from facts, showing that beef demand is built on taste; that's flavor, tenderness and juiciness. From the cholesterol crisis to the Atkins diet, the ever-evolving roller-coaster ride shows it's important to shoot for consistency. The modern method of hitting high marks with consumers is to include marbling in your selection criteria, and then manage the cattle with that potential in mind.

A few decades earlier it would have been hard to predict the prevalence of video sales or even source- and age-verified programs. Twenty-first century marketing is full of options as varied as our choices for cell phones and digital cameras.

You may call yourself modern, progressive or forward-thinking, but be truthful. If your cell phone isn't small enough to carry in your pocket or your camera's "instant feedback" doesn't involve a screen, you're probably not on the front lines of the digital age. That may have little relevance in your cattle business, but the same rule applies: be honest with yourself. Today might be the perfect day to get with the times and enjoy the success that a contemporary update provides.

There is No Profit from Calves that Cost $2.80 Per Pound - Kris Ringwall, Beef Specialist, NDSU Extension Service

"The pass is open" is an expression that is used by residents and travelers in mountainous areas. This year, the saying, "the interstate is open" would ring a bell, especially given all the changes in travel agendas in the past three to four months.

A more relevant outburst, "the yard is open," can be heard muffled in the sound of water starting to flow. That call means some of the outbuildings can be accessed and the start of a more normal routine is evident.

A normalcy is needed because calving is or soon will be the routine of choice. Cattle producers know the demands of calving and the need for good, clean space.

The Dickinson Research Extension Center started calving with mixed results. The weather has not been horrendous and the first-calf heifers are up close.

The first calf born, however, was dead. The feeling of seeing the desire and efforts of a cow that wants to be a mother and is licking and nudging her dead calf is not good.

We simply don't know what went wrong. One cannot be present for every birth.

The second heifer was calving and having difficulty, so life moves on. The birth was assisted, but she ended up with a 96-pound calf. However, the heifer was belligerent and ornery.

Her intent on inflicting damage to us or the calf was obvious, so out of the pen she went. She will spend her remaining days with us in the feedlot, but with us out of her reach.

Fortunately, heifer 7037 was still looking for a calf and adopted the calf with no questions asked. Sometimes things actually do work out.

The center has tried to keep birth weights low and calving ease high when selecting bulls for heifers. This year's sire of the calves was listed in the top 15 percent of the breed for calving ease and the top 45 percent of the breed for birth weight (the smaller birth weight expected progeny differences (EPD), the better).

The bull was a high-growth bull that is in the upper 15 percent of the breed for weaning weight, upper 10 percent for yearling weight and has very good carcass EPD values. The bull is a good bull, but is he a heifer bull?

One can listen to the usual hemming and hawing, but for us, the bottom line is this bull is not a heifer bull. One is always a little on edge with high-growth bulls bred to heifers.

In this case, the four calves that had difficult pulls or cesarean sections have averaged 84.5 pounds. Out of 26 heifers, we have lost three calves and assisted five births (one light assist).

Of the dead calves, two were born dead and the third was a cesarean section. Of the four difficult assisted births (other than the cesarean section), they are doing fine, but had big calves.

The four calves that needed assistance averaged 98 pounds and ranged from 92 to118 pounds. Of the 21 heifers that had no birthing problems, their calves averaged 82 pounds at birth and are doing fine.

Although hard to document, when a set of calving heifers are slow to recoup after calving and the calves are cumbersome at best, you should know you are pushing the envelope. We pushed the limits and created a manageable, but difficult situation.

Is the return for the added performance of the calves worthwhile? We will wait and see, but I can tell you it costs $2.80 a pound to produce a calf through caesarean section.

There is no profit from calves that cost $2.80 per pound and have no heartbeat.

With that, it is time to ponder next year's breeding bulls and wait for the pheasant wattles to turn red. Spring is coming and, yes, "the yard is open!"

Call Clif Little, (740) 489-5300 or (740) 432-9300, for more information.

The new law, which went into effect on Sept. 30 last year, has different rules for line fence obligations. "A rule of individual responsibility will apply to 'new' line fences, while 'old' and previously existing fences will be subject to a rule of equitable shares," Hall writes in a fact sheet called "The New Ohio Fence Law") (free at http://www.aede.osu.edu/programs/aglaw/; look under "The Latest News").

"Landowners should note that certain actions are necessary to ensure the continuation of shared responsibility for old or pre-existing fences," she explains.

OSU Extension, the Ohio Department of Natural Resources' Division of Soil and Water Conservation, and Ohio Farm Bureau's Guernsey County office are the sponsors.

Forage Focus: Ryegrass Ain't Ryegrass - Bruce Anderson, Extension Forage Specialist, University of Nebraska

Perennial ryegrass, annual ryegrass, Italian ryegrass, and even cereal rye. It's enough to confuse anyone. In a moment I will try to sort out their differences and where they fit your forage program.

Interest in ryegrass has increased in our area in recent years. But there is much confusion because there are many different types of ryegrass, so let's see if I can help reduce this confusion.

Let's begin with perennial ryegrass. This may be the highest quality perennial grass in the world and is used widely in many mild climates. Perennial ryegrass does not like hot, dry summers or dry winters so it does not survive well in our climate. I suggest using it only in mixtures for short-term use with animals that respond greatly to high quality, like dairy cows or stockers.

Most of the confusion comes from annual ryegrass because there are two types. The more traditional annual ryegrass is the Westerwold type. Westerwold annual ryegrass grows very rapidly after spring planting but goes to seed in early summer. If grazed or clipped it usually regrows, although slowly, and forms seed heads again. It will not survive winter. As a result, Westerwold is used best as an emergency forage.

The other type is called Italian ryegrass. The best ones act like biennials - they don't form seed during the year of planting. Instead, they go to seed the next spring and often die. After planting, they start growing fast in about June and continue to grow rapidly up until frost. And all the growth is high quality leaves. Winter survival is not very dependable and varies from year-to-year and by variety. Extra confusion occurs because botanically, Westerwold also can be called Italian ryegrass. So be very specific when buying these ryegrasses. If you want one that acts like a biennial, be sure to ask for it that way.

With the right type, ryegrass can provide outstanding feed.

The Impact of the U.S. and Global Recession on Beef Exports to Mexico - Derrell S. Peel, Oklahoma State University Extension Livestock Marketing Specialist

Weakness in the U.S. economy has resulted in very soft beef demand in recent months. The situation is made worse by the impact of global economic weakness and changes in exchange rates on many foreign customers for U.S. beef. Since 2004, Mexico has been the largest buyer of U.S. beef on a volume basis. These exports are not only important in terms of the quantity of meat sold to Mexico but also because Mexico typically buys end meats and lower valued cuts for which there is less demand in the U.S. However, the recessionary impacts in the U.S. and Mexico are having a large impact on U.S. beef sales in Mexico. The following trade example is based on beef round, which is a very popular cut in Mexico known as Milanesa.

In January, 2008, the wholesale price of beef round was about $1.50/lb. and the Mexican Peso exchange rate was at 10.91. The Peso had remained at roughly 11 to the dollar for several years. Thus, the price of beef round in Mexico was about 16.37 Pesos/lb. As the U.S. economy weakened in 2008, the Mexican Peso initially strengthened so that by August, 2008, the Peso was 10.13 to the dollar. The price of beef round had increased to $1.69/lb., an increase of 12.7 percent but the stronger Peso meant that the price of beef round in Mexico was 17.1 Pesos/lb., an increase of only 4.6 percent. Beef sale to Mexico remained strong through mid-2008 but dropped sharply by October when the Peso began to devalue rapidly.

The U.S. economy has for many years had a big impact on the Mexican economy and it was inevitable that the U.S. recession would be felt in Mexico. By January, 2009, the Peso had fallen to 13.89. The price of beef round was $1.71/lb., up 14 percent from January, 2008. However, in Mexico the price was 23.8 Pesos/lb., up 45 percent from one year earlier. Not surprisingly, beef sales to Mexico have decreased sharply in recent months. The Mexican Peso weakened to a peak level of 15.4 in early March. Although beef round prices fell from January to March, even at last year's level of $1.50/lb., the price of beef round in Mexico is still 41 percent higher due to exchange rates alone. The Mexican Peso appears to be gaining some ground and has strengthened back to around 14.2 to the dollar in mid-March. However, the recessionary impacts in Mexico and the still higher prices for U.S. beef mean that exports to Mexico will be constrained in 2009.

Visit the OSU Beef Team calendar of meetings and upcoming events

BEEF Cattle is a weekly publication of Ohio State University Extension in Fairfield County and the OSU Beef Team. Contributors include members of the Beef Team and other beef cattle specialists and economists from across the U.S.

All educational programs conducted by Ohio State University Extension are available to clientele on a nondiscriminatory basis without regard to race, color, creed, religion, sexual orientation, national origin, gender, age, disability or Vietnam-era veteran status. Keith L. Smith, Associate Vice President for Ag. Admin. and Director, OSU Extension. TDD No. 800-589-8292 (Ohio only) or 614-292-1868

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