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?
- Shaw Road Farm
- Low Stress Cattle Handling Workshop & Pasture Walk - July 20
- Women Caring for the Land: 2019 Summer Soil Health Meetings
- Tractor Safety & Operations 101 Workshop
- More Plants is Not the Answer: Red Meat Harvest and Processing Study
- My Fields are Turning White!
- National Beef Prices
- GPS Cows
- Items of Interest *Featured Resources
- Upcoming Events *Newsletter Subscription Information
- Mission and Quick Links
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Shaw Road Farm
“There is a fundamental difference between cows and screwdrivers. Cows feel pain and screwdrivers do not”. “Animals are not things”. These words from Temple Grandin resonated with me, and really guided my focus as I started taking over my father’s cattle farm.
The question I have to ask myself is, if I am going to commit to raising these animals, how can I change our farming practices in a way to reduce the stress and overall “pain” of the animals under my care. Every animal has a basic fundamental right to life in an environment which is as comfortable as possible, and if my charge is to care for a herd, then it is my duty to provide such an environment.
I must provide high quality feed, abundant access to water, adequate space, and a low or no stress living space. Understandably someone could identify flaws in my thinking because I am ultimately raising these
animals to kill them, but it is how I tend to them while they are alive that is the focus of the Low Stress Cattle Handling workshop on July 20th.
We also have a duty to our customers. We are providing sustenance to people and my integrity is at stake if I do not provide the highest quality food I possibly can. Reduction of stress is a key component to superior quality beef.
Increased stress triggers adrenaline and an increase in the pH or acidity of the meat. The adrenaline prepares the muscles of the animal for quick action which changes the tenderness and flavor of the meat.
There are two types of stress which must be managed. The long term stress of the animal’s living conditions, and the short term stress of the moving, separating, and loading of the cattle. Both can be effectively managed to provide the herd with superior environments, and the customers with superior food.
Ben Cookson, Shaw Road Farm
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Low Stress Cattle Handling Workshop and Pasture Walk
Saturday, July 20th
Noon to 3 pm
Shaw Road
Dover-Foxcroft
Free lunch included.
Attendees will hear a presentation on reducing stress in cattle by Colt Knight, UMaine Extension Livestock Specialist with a live demonstration of Shaw Road Farm’s practices of separating three beef animals from a herd of approximately 50.
Also, the Cookson's will discuss they have changed their practices to more effectively reduce long term and immediate stress on the herd.
Also, attendees will have an opportunity to see Shaw Road Farm’s mob grazing pasture management system and water delivery system with a pasture walk.
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Beef Scholarships Awarded
Scholarships presented by the Maine Beef Association for 2019.
Kristen Davis of Ellsworth will be studying at Husson University.
Audrey Varney of Turner will be studying at the University of Maine, Farmington.
July 9 College of the Atlantic - Bar Harbor
July 10 Viles Arboretum - Augusta
July 11 Hall's Christmas Tree Farm - Sangerville
8:30 am to 3 pm (Free lunch and field tour included)
Are you a female landowner who wants to learn about the best natural resources management of your farmland? Join us for a free women landowners meeting this summer, meet with female conservationists, and discuss how your local professionals from USDA's Natural Resource Conservation Service can assist you with soil health and conservation planning. Any female landowner is welcome's to attend.
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Tractor Safety & Operations 101 Workshop
On Tuesday July 30th, 2019 from 5:30-8:30pm Rick Kersbergen from University of Maine Cooperative Extension will be teaming up with Piscataquis County Soil and Water Conservation District (PCSWCD) to offer a Tractor Safety & Operations 101 Workshop. We wanted to offer the opportunity for local farmers in Piscataquis County and all adults (18+) who wish to learn the basics or have a refresher on how to safely operate farm equipment in this introduction course.
Rick will be joining PCSWCD at the Law Farm located on Lee Cemetery Rd. in Dover-Foxcroft where we will go over the basics of learning how to handle tractors and equipment safely, how to identify hazards, and how to minimize the chances of accidents. There will be no driving time but a chance to ask questions and learn the tips and safety tricks of safely operating or learning more about a tractor. Registration is required and spots are limited for this event with reservations at $20 per person.
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More Plants is Not the Answer: Red Meat Harvest & Processing Study
- Availability & Quality of Labor - lack of access to qualified workers is the biggest constraint to the industry.
- Limits to Cold Storage constrains their product throughput.
- Limited Access to Funding in order to grow their business and increase cooler space.
- Seasonality of Livestock - plants need business in the off-season to remain viable. If producers start finishing livestock during the slower season (Feb. to May) then existing plants can attract year round labor.
It is important that existing plants operate closer to capacity year round to become economical for the livestock industry.
It is important that industry stakeholders and policymakers seek strategies that help plants become viable year round through finding labor, providing livestock to harvest year round, and help with funding to update and expand existing plants.
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My Hay Field is Turning White!
Every year we have folks that come into the Extension office concerned that their hayfields are infested with a new and unique weed. The white-flowering weed is most likely smooth bedstraw
(Galium mollugo L.) a perennial spreading at an alarming rate in hayfields and pastures.
Smooth bedstraw is an invasive and opportunistic weed that was first found in poorly managed fields - hayfields with low fertility and high acidity (low pH), or pastures that were continuously grazed or underutilized.
Control is a multi-step process:
- Soil test and maintain nutrient and pH levels where grass and legumes will thrive.
- Keep bedstraw from flowering, setting, and spreading seed.
- Control the spread of seed with harvest equipment moving from infested to clean fields.
- Tillage, rotation and cover-crops can help.
- If using a herbicide, be sure to control the wee's seed rain the year before herbicide use.
- A well-managed, fertilized hayfield with a dense stand of perennial forage is a good defense against smooth bedstraw.
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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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Last year Colt Knight worked with Central Queensland University in Australia to develop a new youth STEM education program called GPS Cows.The GPS Cows program was designed to increase digital literacy and understanding of precision agriculture to rural students. Students participating in this program learn about:
- Precision Livestock Management
- How GPS works
- How GPS is used in modern livestock management and research
- Scientific Method
- How to use geospatial software, spreadsheet software, and
- How to make a scientific poster
Students are then invited to the University of Maine campus for a tour, and a chance to make a GPS tracking collar. They are encouraged to design an experiment using their cattle( or borrowed cattle if they do not have access) and the GPS collar to test a hypothesis.
In the end, participants make a Poster and compete for prizes in a poster competition. They are judged on their poster presentation, content, and delivery. Last year, prizes included a silver trophy buckle, gift certificates, and more.
Up to 20 Jr. High and High School age students participate in this years GPS Cows program / science fair. If you work with youth, or know of 4-H groups that would like to participate, please contact
Colt.Knight@umaine.edu
or
Debra.Kantor@maine.edu
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Podcast
- What is the Market Telling Stocker Yearling Operators? Aaron Berger and Dr. Derrell Peel from Oklahoma State University discuss factors that have impacted the cattle market and an upcoming program specifically for stocker/yearling operators. UNL BeefWatch on Apple Podcasts.
Publications:
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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 2018 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 660 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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Piscataquis County Office
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Maine Beef Producers Association
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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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