Your Monthly News & Updates
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News and events for the Maine Beef Producers from the University of Maine Cooperative Extension, Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation & Forestry, Maine Beef Producers Association and other agricultural organizations in Maine.
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What's New?
- Beef Program at the Maine Agricultural Trades Show
- Cattlemen's College a Success
- Platform Scale from a Kit
- Interpretive Summary: Consumer preferences for beef with improved nutrient profile
- Importance of knowing cattle weights
- National Beef Prices
- Items of Interest *Featured Resources
- Upcoming Events *Newsletter Subscription Information
- Mission and Quick Links
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Maine Agricultural Trades Show
Beef Program
Wednesday, January 15, 2020
11 am
Cooking Maine Beef with Flair - Mediterranean to Mexican with Chef Rob in
the exhibit hall demonstration area.
Chef Rob will do a demonstration on how to make Fajitas from flank steak. This a is a quick and easy presentation that will fill the civic center with the wonderful smell of beef and fried peppers and onions. He will also do a quick demo on making Lebanese Meatballs and Sauce (Kofta) with ground beef. Members of the University of Maine Food Science Club will be assisting.
Chef Rob Dumas brings 20 years of experience in the hospitality industry and is a Certified Executive Chef with the American Culinary Federation. Chef Rob has a diverse background ranging from cooking for the President and first family to teaching culinary arts and meat fabrication at the New England Culinary institute. His current work with UMaine allows him to focus on his passion for local and seasonal food while working as a resource to the state’s agricultural industries.
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Beef Day Programs
Wednesday, January 15, 2020
Sagadahoc Room
1 pm – BVD Prevention on the Farm – An opportunity for beef producers
- Dr. Michele Walsh, Maine State Veterinarian
1:30 – Virtual Farm Tour presentation
- Casa Cattle Co., Corinna, ME
2 pm – USDA Farm Service Agency Programs
2:15 pm - Introduction to Recordkeeping -
- Dr. Colt Knight, Livestock Specialist, UMaine Extension
3 pm – Maine Beef Producers Association Annual Meeting
- Beef Awards Presentation
- Nominations for Board of Directors
- Old Business
- New Business
4 pm Maine Beef Producers Association Board Meeting
Other programs of interest to beef producers on Wednesday, January 15th in the Sagadahoc Room
9 am to 10 am United Farmer Veterans of Maine
11 am to noon - Maine Grass Farmers
1 pm to 3 pm Beef Education Program
3 pm to 4 pm MBPA Annual Meeting
4 pm to 5 pm MBPA Board Meeting
5 pm to 7 pm Maine Highand Cattle Association
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Cattlemen's College
Over 15 folks enjoyed a smoked brisket dinner and time to socialize with each other at Colt's house the night before the Cattlemen's College. Thank you to Heartstone Farm in Charleston for the brisket. It was delicious.
We had a great 3rd Annual Cattlemen's College! One of the highlights was Chef Rob from UMaine showing how to cook lower value cuts of beef and provided samples chicken fried steak for all. Dr. Josh Jackson from Univ. of Kentucky talked about facility design, the importance of knowing how much your cattle weigh, and building a low-cost live-weight scale on the farm.
Other speakers included Dr. Colt Knight, UMaine Extension, Dr. Sue Ishaq, Dr. Carolyn Hurwitz, MDACF, a producer panel, and sponsor presentations.
Thank you to Diamond V who sponsored the delicious prime rib lunch and the Cattlemen's College. No one went home hungry.
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Dr. Josh Jackson from University of Kentucky talked about facility design with the small herd in mind and shared how to build a low-cost (~$700)effective live-weight scale on the farm.
Scale Construction
- Weld C-channel together
- Weld Mounting Block to C-channel (DO NOT weld on or around actual load cell as this will destroy them!)
- Cut boards to length
- Drill holes in boards and C-channel
- Attach load cells to mounting block and boards to C-channel
- Run wires from load cells and display to junction box
- Attach junction box to scale platform
- Calibrate - Use a known weight
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Interpretive Summary: Consumer preferences for beef with improved nutrient profile
Beef is high in protein and several essential vitamins and minerals including B vitamins, iron and zinc. Despite being nutrient dense, however, consumer doubt in the healthfulness of beef, particularly in relation to its fat content, persists. The authors of a December 2019 study published in the
Journal of Animal Science
evaluated consumer knowledge about iron, fatty acids (FAs) and their willingness to pay for beef with an improved nutrient profile.
When educated about "healthy" and "unhealthy" FAs prior to taking the survey, over 90% of consumers were able to sort them and became more willing to pay a higher premium for a steak with an improved nutrient profile. Questions about what consumers thought were the most important attributes of beef identified grade, taste, and appearance as the most important, and least important were brand, breed, and organic.
Overall, this study suggests that education about beef nutrition, particularly FAs, may potentially influence consumer purchasing preference and willingness to pay. Education may also help beef marketing and sales by empowering consumers to make more informed choices based on the content listed in nutrition labels.
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Importance of Knowing Cattle Weights
Dr. Josh Jackson from University of Kentucky discussed the importance of knowing cattle weights at the recent Cattlemen’s College. Producers make many management decisions that are linked to the weight of their cattle. How much dewormer or antibiotic to give an animal is based on weight. When to market animals, how well calves are gaining, replacement heifer development and cull cow decisions are based on weight.
When producers don’t have scales they rely on visual or “eye ball” weight measurements. When treating the herd they treat them all the same except for the exceptionally small or large animals.
Over-treatment can cost between $0.20 to $1.50 per head.
But there is an equal chance of under-treatment of cattle. Under treatment means ineffective parasite control and subclinical costs such as reduced milk production,ADG, conception rates, etc. Or the herd could exhibit clinical signs of parasite infestation with roughness of coat, anemia, edema, diarrhea or death.
A hidden cost of under or over treatment is parasites faster development of resistance to the dewormer.
Before getting scales, farms need to have working facilities or chute that is safe for people and animals. They should be convenient to use.
Dr. Colt Knight is available to help cattle producers in Maine with designing a low-cost cattle handling facility that incorporates a platform scale kit on their farm. Give him a call to set up a time to discuss your needs.
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National Beef Prices
USDA Ag Marketing Service
publishes agriculture price for a number of commodities throughout the US. Here is the latest cattle dashboard graph showing the current, last year and three year average of live cattle.
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Information
- Healthy Farms Healthy Agriculture - The Hub for Biosecurity to Protect the Herd. Farm biosecurity is the practice of preventing or greatly reducing the introduction of diseases and pests, and is a whole farm approach for assessing, prioritizing and addressing the risks to herd/flock health. Use this website as a guide and source of current information on how to make biosecurity a routine on the farm, in the backyard, and anywhere farm animals are raised.
Grants & Loans
- Maine Rural Rehabilitation Trust Fund - has a loan program to help beef producers purchase breeding stock or feeder cattle.
- Value Added Producer Grant (VAPG) RFP - Deadline March 5th. VAPG program helps agricultural producers enter into value-added activities related to the processing and marketing of new products. The goals of this program are to generate new products, create and expand marketing opportunities and increase producer income.
Equipment, supplies, etc.
Agriculture Jobs
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Videos:
- Biosecurity for the Beef Producer - Dr John Campbell and Producer Dave Zehnder discuss biosecurity for the beef producer in this episode of the Beef Research School presented by Beef Cattle Research Council with Alberta Livestock and Meat Ltd.
- Winter Grazing Systems - In this video ranchers discuss how they calculate feed requirements, adjust feed intake to account for changing weather conditions, and time fence moves in bale grazing systems. Alberta Agriculture and Forestry.
Publications:
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- January 14-16, 2020: State of Maine Agricultural Trades Show, Augusta, ME.
- January 15, 2020 Beef Program at the Maine Agricultural Trades Show, Augusta, ME in the afternoon.
- January 15 - 16, 2020 Northeast Pasture Consortium, Lake Morey Resort, Fairlee, VT. $75 - $250.
- March 28, 2020 Maine Grazing Conference. Waterville. Sponsored by Maine Grass Farmers Network and UMaine Extension.
- May 14 - 17, 2020 Northeast Livestock Expo, Windsor Fair Grounds, Windsor.
- May 16, 2020 Spring Preconditioned Feeder Calf Sale at NELE.
- July 26, 2020 Open Farm Day, Sponsored by MDACF. Agritourism opportunity for farms throughout the state.
- August 19 - 20, 2020 Maine Farm Days, Misty Meadow Farm, Clinton. Field Demonstrations, speakers, vendors, etc.
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Maine Beef Producers Association
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Join the Maine Beef Producers Association.
The Maine Beef Producers Association is accepting dues for the 2020 year. Annual dues are $35. For an extra $25 you can get a year subscription to County Folks. For more information on this organization and for membership application go to
http://www.mainebeefproducersassociation.com/forms.html
The Maine Beef Producers Association has a Facebook page. Like and follow to get the fastest information from Maine Beef Producers Association.
Facebook
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Newsletter Subscription Information
The Maine Beef Newsletter (MBN) is now received by over 690 readers, has been offered as an educational resource by University of Maine Cooperative Extension since 2011. As of January 1, 2015, the MBN transitioned to electronic-only delivery. There will still be four ways to receive the MBN from UMaine Extension:
1) Maine Beef Newsletter remains available online for free! You can sign up to receive the newsletter through your email or view the archived issues anytime at
http://bit.ly/PPfarming
If you currently do not have an email, you can get one for free from several email hosts. If you do not have a computer, community libraries have computers for you to use to access information on the Internet and to view your email.
2) Those with no email can opt to pay an annual subscription to receive the newsletters monthly for $15/year. If you are interested in subscribing send a $15 check made out to UMaine Extension to Piscataquis County Cooperative Extension, 165 East Main St., Dover-Foxcroft, ME 04426.
3) A third option is to come into the Piscataquis or Penobscot County Extension Office and pick up a free printed copy of the newsletter.
4) Maine Beef Producers Association members who do not have an email on file will receive a printed copy of the newsletter as a benefit of their membership.
We appreciate our readers referring others to the newsletter, and sharing it with your family and friends.
Thank you for your continued support of the MBN, providing valuable agricultural information from Extension for beef producers and those interested in the beef industry in Maine since 2011.
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Mission
The University of Maine Cooperative Extension is the major educational outreach program of the University of Maine with offices statewide. UMaine Extension provides Maine people with research-based educational programs to help them live fuller, more productive lives.
Mention or display of a trademark, proprietary product, or firm in text or figures does not constitute an endorsement and does not imply approval to the exclusion of other suitable products or firms.
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Local Weather Anytime
Many farming activities are driven by the weather. Our local National Weather Service in Caribou has meteorologists on staff 24 hours a day. They are willing to talk with you about rain predictions for your town. Give them a call at 492-0180. Or check out their online detailed maps at
http://www.weather.gov/car/.
Need Pesticide Credits
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Contributors
Donna Coffin, Extension Educator
Colt Knight, Extension Specialist
Goal
The goal of the Maine Beef Newsletter is to provide timely information on the production and marketing of beef grown in central Maine.
The University of Maine does not discriminate on the grounds of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, including transgender status and gender expression, national origin, citizenship status, age, disability, genetic information or veteran status in employment, education, and all other programs and activities. The following person has been designated to handle inquiries regarding non-discrimination policies: Director, Office of Equal Opportunity, 101 North Stevens Hall, 207.581.1226.
Photos: Donna Coffin unless indicated otherwise.
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Open Monday - Friday 8 am to 4:30 pm
307 Maine Ave Bangor, ME 04401 207-942-7396 or 800-287-1485
Piscataquis County Office -
website
Open Monday, Thursday, Friday 8 am to 4:30 pm
Open By-chance on Wednesday, Closed Tuesday
165 East Main St Dover-Foxcroft, ME 04426 207-564-3301 or 800-287-1491
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