Here’s what to look for if you suspect rabies in cattle Dec 30, 2015 Connor Orrock, K-State Research and Extension

I am reprinting this article just as a reminder. It was just a few years ago that in Eddy County we had a horse with rabies, and Dr. Urig and I investigated a range cow that it turned out did not have ti but was suspect. That years we had 48 confirmed cases of rabies. Currently in west Texas there is concern by the Texas department of Health and they will be monitoring for it. Rabies may be a bigger problem than some folks think. The most commonly diagnosed domestic carrier of rabies in the Midwest is cats; however, in Kansas, there has been a recent increase in cattle confirmed with rabies. “In Kansas the past two years, cattle have been the most common domestic species we’ve diagnosed with rabies,” says Gregg Hanzlicek, director of production animal field investigations for the veterinary diagnostic laboratory at Kansas State University. “This year, we have 13 confirmed bovine cases. Last year there were nine.” Hanzlicek says the skunk is the most likely carrier that spreads the disease to domestic animals such as dogs, cats, horses and cattle. Those species then will show the clinical signs of rabies. For producers interested in where rabies has been located in Kansas, the veterinary diagnostic laboratory’s website has a tab called “Disease Trends” that showcases the number of recent rabies cases, by species within each county. Producers can use that map to see the specific cases of different diseases throughout the state,” Hanzlicek explains. “It is updated every Monday morning, and it shows in the state, county-by-county, what species and the number of that species have been confirmed with several important diseases, including rabies.” HOW INFECTION OCCURS The rabies virus is spread through the saliva of a positive animal, Hanzlicek says. Being bitten by a positive animal is the primary way the virus is spread. However, other methods of spreading the disease include saliva from a positive animal getting into an open wound, or saliva from a positive animal getting into a mucus membrane—the eyes, gums or lips—of another animal or human. The time between infection and the onset of clinical signs varies, he adds. It can range from as early as a few weeks to as late as a few months after infection. “Many animals will start to carry the virus in their saliva before they start to show clinical signs,” Hanzlicek says, adding that the rabies virus is different than most other viruses, because it does not enter the bloodstream. Rather, the rabies virus travels through the nerves from the point of infection. For the latest on southwest agriculture, please check out Southwest Farm Press Daily and receive the latest news right to your inbox. “Let’s say an animal is bitten on its back leg,” Hanzlicek says. “Rabies will travel through the nerves of the back leg to the spinal cord, and then from the spinal cord it will go to the brain. When it gets into the brain we start seeing the clinical signs.” An animal bitten on the nose, as it is believed most cattle are, will start showing clinical signs earlier than an animal bitten on the back leg because the virus has less distance to travel to the brain. This accounts for the time variation between being infected and showing clinical signs. “Once rabies is in the brain, it will get into the salivary glands,” Hanzlicek says. “Then every time that animal bites another animal or human, it is going to spread the virus. Toward the end of the disease, we believe all of the organs that have nerves are basically infected with the virus. Therefore, an animal thought to be rabid should not be salvaged.” CLINICAL SIGNS OF INFECTION Hanzlicek says behavioral changes alone are not definitive for rabies. Other possible signs include anorexia, head pressing, bellowing (rabid cattle many times exhibit a unique vocalization), continually trying to defecate, unproductive defecation and unexplained rear-limb lameness. “There are many different clinical signs, but we say if an owner sees one of his or her animals acting strangely, rabies has to be on the list to rule out,” Hanzlicek says. Rabies has two forms, a furious form and dumb form. “The furious form is the form we remember from the movies, where the dog becomes rabid,” Hanzlicek says. “The infected animal will attack inanimate objects, such as tractors, feed bunks and fences. They will also attack animate objects, including other animals and humans. We do see cattle with the furious form, but it is more rare than the dumb form.” “With the dumb form, cattle act like they are not aware of their surroundings. They are quiet. They stand off, and they may head press. Often, they will start drooling at the mouth and have difficulty swallowing, and they might become slightly bloated.” Often when producers see abnormal salivation or trouble swallowing, they think something is stuck at the back of the throat, Hanzlicek says. This can lead to human exposure to rabies, because producers will reach into the mouth of the cow or the calf to see if some object is present. While they are doing so, they are exposed to the saliva that contains the rabies virus. WHAT TO DO WHEN SUSPECTING INFECTION Hanzlicek stresses that no treatment exists for rabies. Once an animal shows clinical signs, typically within four to five days that animal will get progressively worse and die. “If I am a producer, and I see a behavioral change in one of my animals, I will put rabies on the list of possible causes and call a veterinarian,” Hanzlicek says. “Veterinarians can help identify rabies, but also most veterinarians are vaccinated for rabies. They know what precautions to take to avoid contamination when examining the rabies suspect animal.” Therefore, let the veterinarian look into the mouth of a potentially infected animal; don’t personally do those examinations. Unfortunately, the only way to definitively diagnose rabies is in a deceased animal, where a specific portion of the brain is required for testing. Veterinarians are trained to sample the appropriate portion of the brain for a diagnosis. Effective rabies vaccinations are available for humans, dogs, cats, horses and cattle. Hanzlicek recommends that producers who show cattle consider vaccinating those cattle for rabies. If the show animals contract rabies, there is more of a chance of exposure to humans. “While it isn’t always practical to vaccinate the whole cow herd, some herds in Kansas have started due to the number of skunks that are present in their area,” he says. “However, in certain states rabies is more prevalent than in Kansas, and veterinarians in some states do recommend all cattle receive the rabies vaccine.”

Over-regulation limits farmer access to necessary tools Dec 30, 2015 Ron Smith

Regulation in agricultural research may be necessary to insure product and system safety, says David Baltensperger, but government agencies err in trying to regulate production to the point that researchers and individual farmers are denied access to necessary tools. Controversies surrounding genetically modified crops (GMOs) top the list of issues his organization follows, says Baltensperger, who is head of the Department of Soil and Crop Science at Texas A&M University and president of the Crop Science Society of America. He cited other issues during a presentation at the recent Texas Plant Protection Association annual conference at Bryan. They include climate change, bioenergy, water quality, intellectual property, scientific travel, food labeling, drones in agriculture and pesticide/technology registration. He says misinformation often results in negative responses to new products — GMOs being a prime example. In a recent survey, he says, 80 percent of respondents indicated they did not want GMO ingredients in their food. “But 80 percent also responded that they did not want DNA in their food either.” He says it’s important that scientific organizations such as the CSSA coordinate with other scientific groups, industry, university researchers, and others to dispel the myths surrounding agriculture technology.

Ag secretary offers help for lost livestock

Ag secretary offers help for lost livestock Roswell Daily Record By AJ Dickman A group of about 40 local ranchers and dairy farmers gathered at the Chaves County Cooperative Extension Office on Wednesday to meet with the New Mexico secretary of agriculture and officials from the state’s Farm Service Agency to learn about federal programs that could help ease the burdens brought on by Winter Storm Goliath. Sec. Jeff Witte’s overall message for livestock owners was to be as detailed and meticulous as possible when documenting their losses. “The number one thing I want to say here is document, document, document your losses,” Witte said. “We are here to serve you guys. Let us know what we can do.” Witte said this particular weather event was unprecedented for this part of the state. “This is a catastrophic event, something you just cannot plan for,” he said. “Snow is one thing, wind is one thing, but when you get this kind of snow and wind together, it’s not a good mix, especially in an area of New Mexico where they just really aren’t prepared for it.” The Agricultural Act of 2014, also known as the 2014 Farm Bill, authorized the Livestock Indemnity Program to provide benefits to livestock producers for livestock deaths in excess of normal mortality caused by adverse weather. LIP payments are equal to 75 percent of the market value of the applicable livestock on the day before the date of death of the livestock as determined by the U.S. secretary of agriculture. Molly Manzanares, executive director of the New Mexico office of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s FSA, said livestock owners should contact their county FSA office as soon as they discover a loss to take advantage of federal programs that can provide some financial relief. “Our county offices are staffed and open,” she said. “If bad weather forces the closure of your county office, you may phone any neighboring county office to file your notice of loss.” FSA program specialist Emaleta Mooney described the filing process in more detail. “You need to call your county office the minute that you find you have a loss,” Mooney said. “Then, you get your documentation together and go in (to the county FSA office) and sign the application for payment. Once you sign the application and it’s approved by the county committee, your payment should be generated. In a perfect world, with a fully-staffed county office and county committees meeting on time, you should get paid within 30 days.” The FSA requires documentation of the number and kind of livestock that have died, supplemented, if possible, by items such as, but not limited to, dated photographs or video recordings, purchase records, veterinarian records, production records, bank or other loan documents, written contracts, records assembled for tax purposes, private insurance documents or other similar reliable documents. “As (Sec. Witte) said, document, document, document,” Mooney said. “You can’t have enough documentation.” Manzanares said livestock owners should have a veterinarian verify their losses initially. “I’ve been in contact with APHIS (Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service) and they have veterinarians available for producers to work with to verify losses,” Manzanares said. Mooney said livestock owners have until Feb. 1 to sign the application for payment for losses incurred during the 2015 crop year. “If it’s after Feb. 1 that you realize your loss is apparent, you’re going to be in the 2016 crop year and the rates will be a little different,” Mooney said. “They’ll actually be a little bit higher.” Witte said it’s important for livestock owners to keep the deadlines for each crop year in mind. “One thing I want to point out is that you are potentially dealing with two program years here,” the secretary said. “You could have the opportunity for two funding cycles.” The deadline for signing the application for payment for the 2016 crop year is Jan. 30, 2017. Mooney said beginning and ending inventory records are important for livestock that are never found. “If you never see them and you know they are lost because of the storm, you should get reimbursed for them,” she said. Manzanares said the FSA is working to get a secretarial designation from the USDA which would enable livestock owners to apply for emergency loans of up to $500,000 at low-interest rates. Witte said the Farm Bill programs are not perfect, but they will help while his office explores other possible solutions. “These are good programs. They have their limitations and hopefully we can find some way to look for some other kinds of programs that may become available,” he said. “In the past, you had to go through Congress and get some different types of designations, but these are automatic programs so the producers can get paid a little quicker and get on their feet a little faster.” Charlie DeGroot of Three Amigos Dairy in Dexter said he has not applied for federal assistance in the past, but hopes the process is as quick and efficient as Witte and others suggested. “They made it sound like everything might go smoothly, but we’ll see how it goes,” he said. DeGroot said Winter Storm Goliath was the biggest natural disaster for the dairy industry in this area, but the agricultural community came together to help each other. “It’s a good bunch of people and we try to be the best neighbors we can be for the community,” he said. “We did have to mostly dig ourselves out, especially people who are farther from the highways. We needed to open the roads as soon as possible to get feed in and get milk out. The dairymen and also neighboring farmers who had equipment suited for clearing roads helped out. It’s a great community and we help each other out in these situations.” The USDA Chaves County FSA office is at 300 Pennsylvania Ave. and can be reached at 575-622-8745.

Statement from Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack on Expanded Market Access for U.S. Poultry, Pork and Beef Exports to South Africa

Statement from Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack on Expanded Market Access for U.S. Poultry, Pork and Beef Exports to South Africa WASHINGTON, Jan. 7, 2016 -- Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today released the following statement: On Jan. 7, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), in collaboration with the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), reached agreement with South African officials to allow most U.S. exports of poultry, pork and beef and their products to re-gain access to the South African market, pursuant to an out-of-cycle review of South Africa conducted under the African Growth and Opportunity Act. The agreement was reached following intense U.S. government engagement with South African officials over the last year. Only a limited number of U.S. poultry and meat products have been exported to South Africa in recent years, due to unwarranted sanitary requirements by the South African authorities, with most poultry exports blocked for the last 15 years. With this renewed access for U.S. red meat and poultry products, U.S. exports to South Africa could generate $75 million of shipments annually. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today made the following statement regarding this announcement: "This is good news for American farmers, ranchers and poultry, pork and beef companies. We welcome this move by South Africa and will continue our efforts to break down barriers and expand access for high-quality, safe and wholesome U.S. food and agricultural products around the world. With this agreement, South Africa reaffirms the scientific soundness and integrity of the U.S. system for ensuring animal health and food safety, and this will result in high-quality U.S. meat and poultry being available for South African consumers. The regained access for American meat and poultry exports we're announcing today is the culmination of many months of hard work by USDA and USTR staff. The past seven years have been the strongest in history for agricultural trade, with U.S. agricultural product exports totaling $911.4 billion since 2009. Strong agricultural exports contribute to a positive U.S. trade balance, create jobs and boost economic growth. Those exports supported approximately 1 million U.S. jobs last year. The economy is strengthened in rural communities and throughout the entire country from the additional economic activity that flows from the expanded farm and processing business." #

Hottest conference in town, NMSU’s annual New Mexico Chile Conference set for Feb. 1-2

Hottest conference in town, NMSU’s annual New Mexico Chile Conference set for Feb. 1-2 DATE: 01/07/2016 WRITER: Justin Bannister, 575-646-5981, jbannist@nmsu.edu CONTACT: Danise Coon , 575-646-3028, hotchile@nmsu.edu Registration is now open for the world’s largest conference dedicated to chile peppers, the 2016 New Mexico Chile Conference. The event runs Feb. 1-2 at Hotel Encanto de Las Cruces and is hosted by New Mexico State University’s Chile Pepper Institute. Conference registration and additional details are available at http://www.chilepepperinstitute.org/events.php. This year’s conference will focus on the use of drones in agriculture, new regulations and research into food modernization safety, current chile marketing strategies and updates on mechanization as well as insect and weed control. There will also be updates from the New Mexico Chile Association and the Chile Pepper Institute Development Leadership Council. “The New Mexico Chile Conference brings together growers, producers, processors and researchers from all over the world to learn about the latest innovations and research in the chile pepper industry,” said Danise Coon, senior research specialist at the Chile Pepper Institute. “This year’s guest speaker, Jerry Miller, from High Desert Consulting, will highlight opportunities in using drones in agriculture.” Conference pre-registration is $110 for individuals and $450 for a vendor booth. Walk-ins are $120 for individuals and $475 for booths. For further information, contact the Chile Pepper Institute at 575-646-3028. - 30 - Follow NMSU News on Twitter: http://twitter.com/nmsunews Follow NMSU News on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/NMSUNews

Legal: Understand your right to farm

Legal: Understand your right to farm Dairy Herd Management By Tiffany Dowell Lashmet Imagine a family-owned dairy in business for generations. It complies with all state and federal laws, ensures animals are treated well and works hard to minimize odors. As a nearby city grows, the dairy finds itself surrounded by new neighbors unfamiliar with agriculture. They express frustration when slow-moving tractors are on roadways. They complain about the smell of manure and silage. They dislike dust blowing into their swimming pool. Soon, a neighbor files a nuisance lawsuit against the dairy, claiming the odor and dust constitute a nuisance. Sadly, this is not an imaginary situation. Beginning in the 1970s, state legislatures recognized this problem threatened not only individual operations, but also the nation’s food supply. In response, legislatures in all 50 states passed statutes, known as Right to Farm laws, designed to protect an agricultural operation facing a nuisance lawsuit if certain conditions are met. Right to Farm statutes provide an affirmative defense in the event a farm is sued for nuisance. It does not prevent a lawsuit from being filed, but does allow a party to whom the statute applies to successfully seek its dismissal. Specific provisions vary greatly by state. It is critical for dairy operators to be familiar with their state’s Right to Farm statute. Consider these points when reviewing your state’s Right to Farm statute. To whom does the statute apply? Most Right to Farm statutes define agricultural operations to which the statute applies. Most cover traditional farming operations and practices like soil cultivation, dairying and breeding and raising livestock. However, certain definitions are much broader. For example, Hawaii’s law protects farmers’ markets, and Nebraska’s protection includes grain elevators and warehouses. What claims does the statute bar? All Right to Farm statues offer protection from nuisance suits, but it’s important to understand whether the statute also applies to trespass suits. A nuisance suit involves the interference with one’s use and enjoyment of his or her property, while a trespass suit involves unauthorized entry onto property. A plaintiff might bring both claims, and it is important to know if the defense is applicable. In Texas, for example, a dairy was sued for both nuisance and trespass when a rainstorm caused manure to run onto a neighboring property. The plaintiff argued the Right to Farm defense applied only to the nuisance claim, but the court rejected that argument. Other states, including Oregon, California and Hawaii, have found the defense applies to both types of claims. Does the statute require compliance with generally accepted practices? Some statutes, including those in Michigan and New York, offer protection to farmers who comply with generally accepted agricultural practices. Michigan publishes generally accepted practices for dairy activities such as manure storage, nutrient utilization and animal care. Producers must know how generally accepted practices are defined, and should attempt to comply with them. Is there a “time in operation” requirement? Many statutes establish a time period the agricultural operation must be in existence before the statutory defense is available. Montana and Wyoming require only that the ag operation be in existence before the plaintiff possessed his or her property. Idaho requires the operation be in existence one year before a suit is filed, Oklahoma requires two years and California requires three years. Finally, some states like Rhode Island have no such duration requirement. How does the statute address changes in operation? Producers must know how changes to their operation – changes in technology or new agricultural activities – will impact their Right to Farm protection. For example, in Colorado “employment of new technology” cannot constitute a nuisance. Missouri allows “reasonable expansion” to an operation. Other state statutes do not offer these protections. Does the statute allow for attorney fees? Even if successful, defending a lawsuit is expensive. Some Right to Farm laws (Michigan and Texas) award attorney fees to the successful party. Others, like Virginia, contain no such provision. What are the limitations? Right to Farm laws are not absolute. Most statutes provide no protection if the farm operated in a negligent manner or violated state or federal laws, such as the Clean Water Act. *************************

Post Gollitah Blizard for EDDY COUNTY

I need help on a couple issues dealing with post snow storm. Call or e-mail me if any agriculture structures, barns, hay shed, loafing sheds, were damaged by the snow or the wind in this past storm. The number of dead livestock. Any dead wild life observed. Any vehicle damage trying to get to livestock. I know one producer told me found some dead wildlife. Also had reports of two truck which damaged transmissions. I know some of you still have not be able to get around. Estimate miles of damaged private roads too, something that may require work estimate time and equipment needed. I hope we can put this information together to help you. If dairy had to dump product because they had no open hwy to transport or could not get transport. my e-mail is whoughto@nmsu.edu Thanks! Woods Houghton