A Little Spring Cleaning Never Hurt Anyone

When Spring came around my mom always had a chore list filled with cleaning tasks that needed to be done around the house. Chores such as washing the mini blinds, windows, cleaning out the medicine cabinet, dusting every surface in the house, and moving furniture in order to clean behind it. My mom always told us, "A little spring cleaning never hurt anyone," and this is so true.

My siblings and I didn't realize it at the time, but completing these yearly tasks was beneficial to our health. All the dusting we did decreased the amount of allergens in the house, which reduced our allergy symptoms in the spring. Cleaning out the medicine cabinet ensured we were not taking expired medications when one of us had a headache or needed something to take for sinus congestion. Today, however, cleaning out the medicine cabinet needs to be done for an entirely different reason in addition to the one my mom had ten years ago. The saying, "A little spring cleaning never hurt anyone," couldn't ring more true when it comes to properly disposing of prescription and over-the-counter medications.

You see, there is a an increasing problem in this country, and it is the abuse of prescription medications. The medications in your home may be falling into the wrong hands and used for purposes other than what was indicated. An article in the Kansas City Star discussed this topic and how it is becoming the fastest growing problem in America. To read the entire article click here. It was reported that drug overdoses are now the second most common cause of accidental death in the nation, killing more than gunshot wounds and behind only to traffic accidents. So what can you do to help combat this issue? The answer is simple; do a little spring cleaning.

As you set out to do those once-a-year cleaning chores, don't overlook your medicine cabinet. Take some time to review the medications in your home and properly dispose of them to ensure your family, your community members and your environment are kept safe by not allowing prescription medications to reach an end destination that could elicit harm.

Ways to properly dispose of your medications:

Saturday, April 30th, a national prescription take back day will be held. There will be over 5,000 sites across the nation available for you to take your unwanted and expired medications to. For more information and a site near you click here. Taking medications to one of these locations will allow you to feel confident in knowing the drugs were disposed of properly, safely, and did not reach the wrong hands and cause someone harm.

If you are not able to make it to one of these take back days you have additional options for disposing of medicaitons.

Certain local pharmacies have envelopes available for purchase. The medications are placed in the envelope, sealed and mailed to a company that incinerates or properly disposes of the drugs.

Another option available is disposing of your medications at home. This can be done by placing the contents of the bottles in a plastic container or sealable plastic bag. The medications should be crushed and then water is added to the tablets and capsules. The next step is to add an undesirable substance to the mixture to make the contents unattractive to someone who may find the medications in the trash. A substance such as coffee grounds or kitty litter is recommended. To learn more about this method of disposal watch the video below.

The piece of information I would like to stress the most when disposing of your medications at home is that MEDICATIONS SHOULD NOT BE FLUSHED DOWN THE TOILET!!! At one time this was common practice, but it is no longer recommended due to the fact that pharmaceuticals in the water supply can have detrimental effects to fish and wildlife populations of our rivers and streams. To learn more about why pharmaceuticals should not be flushed down the toilet visit the Department of Environmental Conservation's website.

When you are crossing off those spring cleaning tasks don't neglect the medicine cabinet, and remember, "A little spring cleaning never hurt anyone."

Crunch Time

The countdown to finals has begun, and a date I'm excited about is quickly approaching. The date is May 3rd. More specifically, May 3rd at 3pm. This is the date and time when freedom begins! I will be done with finals and summer break will officially start! No more days spent secluded in my study cave reviewing biochemistry, or memorizing complex chemical structures. No more nights of 4-5 hours of sleep and ingesting absurd amounts of caffeine throughout the day. I will actually have time to cook instead of heating up a microwavable food for lunch and dinner. The thing I'm most excited about once May 3rd gets here is moving back home for the summer and seeing Adam everyday!

Before all of these glorious things can take place I have to take four final exams, and present our group project for Professional Skills Lab. I have nine days to review an entire semester of Biochemistry, as well as study for three other finals (Pharmacy Physiology, Medicinal Chemistry and Pharmaceutics). Crunch time is here, and I'm hoping I will be able to cram it all in by the time the time of the exam.

I've got to get back to my study cave, wish me luck!

It's All There in Black and White

The concept of branding cattle has been around for hundreds of years. In the days of the Wild West, fences were not as abundant as they are today. Cattle would graze on the open range and it was common for different cattle herds to become mixed with each other. When it was time to round up the cattle, the brand provided a way to separate them and get them back to the rightful owner. In those days, hot branding irons were used to burn the brand into the animal’s hide. Today, a more humane technique of branding is used and this is termed ‘Freeze Branding.’

This past weekend Adam and I took advantage of the wonderful weather by working our yearling heifers and turning them out to the pasture. Part of this process involves putting a permanent identification on the animal. To do this we freeze brand each one with its own number and the year it was first bred. In this case, 2011. Identification of each animal is an important aspect on a farm or ranch; it aids in keeping more accurate cattle records on each animal as far as age, which bull an animal is bred to each year and so on. We put ear tags in each ear, but those can be lost over time; a brand is there forever.

Freeze branding uses cold temperatures to turn off the pigment of the hair. When the hair grows back, usually in about 90 days, it will be white. This provides a nice contrast against the black hair of the animal and a way for us to easily identify a cow from a distance. The entire process of branding is a laborious one. First, the branding irons are placed in a cooler with a dry ice and gasoline mixture. The irons must cool for about 20 minutes in order for the branding process to work. Next, the cattle are put into a squeeze chute. The hair is then clipped off over the rib cage; then rubbing alcohol is applied to the hide to numb the skin. Our personal brand is then held on the animal for approximately one minute to ensure the brand will show up when the hair regrows. The symbol of the brand will be indented on the hide for a few minutes, then it will disappear and you won’t even be able to see it again until the hair regrows. Holding the iron in the same place on the animal can be a challenging process due to the fact that the animal can move around in the chute. In order to produce a satisfactory final product (i.e. a clear brand and not a blurred one) the branding operator must exhibit strength and stamina. He or she must be able to hold the brand in the same place for a minute and be able to move with the animal so the brand does stays in the same place. A minute may not seem like a long time, but when you are putting up to 6 symbols on the animal the time adds up quickly. On this particular day Adam and my cousin, Gavin Swearngin, were responsible for placing the brand on the animal. Gavin’s help was greatly appreciated and it made the process go smoothly due to the fact he has a lot of experience freeze branding cattle from growing up on the Swearngin Angus ranch.

The technique of freeze branding is less stressful on the animal than hot branding. Freeze branding only affects the hair follicle, and the animal only experiences mild muscle soreness once the process is complete. The colder temperature is also safer for the person doing the branding because they don’t have to worry about being burned by a hot iron.

A brand is not just something we put on the animal to say that we own it. The brand is a symbol we, and many other farmers and ranchers, take tremendous pride in. It is our sign to let others know where the cattle came from and it is also a symbol of our hard work and dedication to the beef industry. It also symbolizes the many hours spent caring for the animal and time spent selecting genetics we want to use and exhibit in our herd. On our farm we place the brand over the ribcage, then the numbers are placed below that. We use a numbering system that identifies the cow, such as 3. The year the heifer was bred is placed after that. For example 3-11 tells us the cow is number 3 and that she was bred for the first time in the summer of 2011.

When we were done working the yearling heifers we let them have some time to de-stress before we loaded them in the trailer to take them to the pasture. They are now enjoying the green grass and wide-open spaces of the pasture and will be there until the fall.

To learn some additional information about branding visit Kelsey Pope's blog: Ag on the Forefront.

Clipping the hair over the area where the brand

will be placed

Putting our personal brand on the animal.

The indentation of the brand. This will go away after a
few minutes.

Putting the numbers on the heifer.

Putting the year the heifer was bred on the animal.

The process is now complete. You can see that the
top brand is almost completely gone.

Adam and Gavin working together to put the
brand on the animal.

This is a picture of what the brand will look like once the
hair regrows. This cow was branded in the spring of 2009,
and as you can see the brand is easy to read and the cow can
be identified from a distance.

The heifers enjoying the green grass in the pasture.

The Aftermath of the Cows Getting Out

Cows are a herd animal. They like to stick together, so when one finds a way to get out of the pen, the rest follow. Luckily, only three calves managed to escape, so it was easier to get them all back in the pen. However, the path of destruction they left during their time of freedom looks like the whole herd got out.

Adam hauled calves to market on Tuesday afternoon, and a gate did not get chained in the sorting pen. He has three calves in a separate pen that are getting fed to be butchered, and they pushed open the gate that was not chained. Adam said it was his fault, he just forgot to chain the gate after they loaded and hauled the calves the day before.

Adam was able to get them back in pen with the help of a feed bucket. Once all of the excitement calmed down, we surveyed the scene. Adam and I were not happy with what we saw. What was once the smooth surface of our newly seeded yard was now cratered with hoof prints. Then we saw the tree. One of our newly planted Red Sunset Maples was broken in two. Yes, profanities did fly after discovering this. Once the ground thaws out we will be out in the yard with a rake trying to smooth it out. We will also be making a trip to the greenhouse to purchase a new tree.

I'm pretty sure Adam will not forget to chain the gate in the future.

Our yard now looks like the surface of the moon.

The poor Red Sunset Maple.

Farm Chores

The animals on a farm or ranch come first before anything else. This includes making sure the livestock and other animals are taken care of before sitting down to have a meal ourselves. Adam begins his day by getting up early (he usually leaves the house between 6:30 and 7:00AM) to take care of the animals. The morning chores consist of feeding our Border Collie, Bill, our cat, Hank, and feeding the cattle. The cattle get fed silage, hay, and ground corn in the morning. If Adam has time, he will then come back inside and grab some breakfast before moving on to the other tasks of the day. At night the cattle chores consist of feeding the calves buckets of ground corn. This is usually the last thing Adam does for the day. Once the chores are done he can come inside, relax and have dinner.

This is the auger system used to remove the silage from

the Harvestore silo and get it into the feed truck. The

conveyor belt takes the silage up an incline and dumps

it into the back of the truck.

The feed truck parked in the bay. It is being loaded

with silage by the conveyor belt.

Here comes the feed truck! At this point the

calves know breakfast is about to be served.

They start making their way down to the feed

bunk to reserve their spot to eat.

Adam feeding the calves ground corn.

Mmmm. This is good stuff!

Adam feeding the calves silage from the feed truck on a windy

Sunday morning.

Becoming an Agvocate: Telling the Story of Production Agriculture

January 21, 2011

A date that would change me for the better. On this day I was watching The Today Show, and Natalie Morales was interviewing Suzanne Somers about her new book. In the interview Somers made several false statements about not only the agriculture industry but also about the scientific evidence needed to provide a causative agent for a disease state. After watching this interview I was spurred into action to tell the story and the truth about production Agriculture. I composed an email and sent it out to my family and friends. My email made it to Allie Devine, Vice President and General Counsel at the Kansas Livestock Association, she then forwarded it on to Stephen Russell, Director of Industry Relations at the Kansas Beef Council. Mr. Russell responded to my email with some educational information about antibiotic use in cattle. You will find his comments later in this post along with the links to this information. I guess in a round about way I have Suzanne Somers to thank for motivating me to do something to spread the truth about production Agriculture by becoming an Agvocate for the industry. Maybe I'll send her a thank you....

The interview with Somers that aired on January 21, 2011: Suzanne Somers on staying 'Sexy Forever'

This is the email I sent out to my family and friends on January 26th:

Every once in awhile you see something that is so disturbing it makes your blood boil and it motivates you to take action. Well today was that day for me; I simply could not believe what I was hearing. I was watching The Today show and Suzanne Somers was being interviewed about her new book, "Sexy Forever- How to Fight Fat Over Forty." After watching this interview I could not simply sit back and turn a blind eye to the attack on production agriculture and the misinformation Somers was feeding the public. I decided to take action and spread the truth and the facts about what actually happens. Now, it is fair to say that 99% of what came out of Somers’ mouth was false. I would be here all day disputing everything; I picked a few topics and provided the facts. At the bottom of this email you will find the link to a farm wife’s response that goes into more detail about all of the false statements.

In the interview Suzanne is afflicted with a case of verbal diarrhea. She just kept spewing completely false statements from her mouth. I couldn't believe what I was watching, I cringed in agony because the American public was watching this and may believe her statements to be the truth. What is even worse is that the book she is promoting is already on the New York Times bestseller list. This means people are buying her book and believing what she is preaching. Thank goodness Natalie Morales is a well-educated journalist who actually checks her facts before reporting on a story! She disputed and debated several of Somers' claims!

In the interview Somers goes on to completely bash the production agriculture industry. She states that antibiotics in our food cause women over forty to become fat. She says, "The antibiotics in the meat we ingest from our food accumulate over time in our bodies and gets stored in our fat tissue. As women age they accumulate more of these so called "toxins" and so they need more adipose tissue to store them, thus leading to the reason why women over 40 feel bloated and can't lose weight as well." She recommends we eat grass-fed beef to rid our systems of the antibiotics that are found in corn-fed beef. She then goes on to say that antibiotics in the food supply causes "leaky gut syndrome." This is a completely false and absurd statement and here are the reasons why:

Reason1: Antibiotics which are administered to food animals have a withdrawal period (usually 20-60 days) before they can be slaughtered and enter the food supply. The antibiotic is excreted of the animal's system before it ever enters the food supply. So the only antibiotics you are ingesting, Suzanne, are the ones your doctor prescribed to you! Oh, but wait, I forgot you don’t believe in Western medicinal practices, and you say in your interview that, “you would use Western medicine as your last stitch effort to get better.”

Reason 2: Testing is done in the locker plant for traces of antibiotics. If a test returns positive, the entire carcass is pulled off the line and disposed of. It never enters the food supply! IF this happens the producer is not paid for the animal, which means it hurts the producer’s livelihood. I find it hard to believe that a producer would intentionally risk their bottom line by trying to sell/slaughter an animal before an antibiotic had been purged from the animal’s system.

Reason 3: Producers eat the same meat as everyone else. Therefore, they are not going to knowingly damage the food supply by putting something harmful in the animal that may end up on their plate too.

Reason 4: Here’s a newsflash Suzanne, you may want to sit down for this one: Grass-fed beef is not guaranteed to be antibiotic free!! The only way you can ensure your meat is 100% antibiotic free is if you buy beef that is labeled antibiotic free.

Now to address the subject of “leaky gut syndrome.” I don’t recall hearing that Suzanne Somers recently earned her M.D. degree or that she is conducting scientific research on the causative agents for lupus, M.S. and fibromyalgia. When searching for Somers’ degree in anything from anywhere I came up short. Therefore, this does not give her permission to scare the American public into thinking they can get these diseases from eating beef that has been injected with antibiotics.

I am not studying to be a medical doctor but I am working on my Pharm.D. Degree and have learned a thing or two about the human body. In all my years of studying the anatomy, microbiology, physiology, biochemistry and now learning about disease states in pharmacy school I have never come across the term “leaky gut syndrome.” I was curious to learn more about this “new syndrome” so I did a little research on the topic. I searched trusted medical journals, such as The New England Journal of Medicine, for the term "leaky gut syndrome." The search returned this statement, "no search results found for ‘"leaky gut syndrome.’" Huh, imagine that. Maybe it returned this statement because it is a hypothetical disease, not a scientifically proven condition!! I was able to find it on Wikipedia, which we all know is a trusted source for your information. And yes that was sarcasm. :)

As producers, we often wonder why the American public has such a negative view of production agriculture. THIS IS WHY!! There are people spouting off their own personal beliefs and opinions without checking the facts or heaven forbid consulting someone who actually works in the industry. I challenge you to be an advocate, or as the term has been coined an "agvocate" for production agriculture by educating the public about the truth!

I found a response at Prarie Farmer, written by Holly Spangler, that discusses all the issues of misinformation Somers stated. It is very well written and provides the facts with just a hint of sarcasm.

This is response I received from Stephen Russell of the Kansas Beef Council a few days ago:

Ms. Navinskey:

I received your e-mail from Allie Devine at KLA. Thanks for you interest in this topic.

Yes, Ms. Somers makes several unscientific statements in her interview with the Today Show. Her viewpoints towards beef production are unfortunate and a bit disturbing. Melissa, your comments are well-said.

The beef checkoff program monitors media events on a daily basis that are potentially damaging to the industry. This interview is an example and was monitored by the National Cattlemen's Beef Association (NCBA), a contractor to the beef checkoff program, when it originally aired in January. In this case NCBA did not provide an official industry response to NBC. It was concluded that Ms. Somers' comments/data are not backed by science and that a response could have created additional unwanted media attention to the topic. Some individual producers expressed their concerns directly to NBC.

I've attached a document titled Antibiotic Use in Cattle Production. This document explains approval process and safeguard measures that are in place to protect the food supply. In short, antibiotics are heavily regulated and closely monitored by government agencies for the protection of the health and well-being of both animals and humans.

This document and others are available on the Internet at www.ExploreBeef.org. For information about how beef fits into a healthy diet visit www.BeefNutrition.org.

If you have additional questions or need additional information regarding beef production and beef nutritional values do not hesitate to contact the Kansas Beef Council, www.KansasBeef.org. If you'd like training on how to become and advocate for the beef industry visit the Masters of Beef Advocacy program websiste at www.beef.org/mba. Your interest in advocating for agriculture is appreciated!

Best regards,

Stephen Russell

Director of Industry Relations
Kansas Beef Council

To keep, or cull: that is the question

This post was written by Adam

The winter months on our farm are filled with many things. Doing cattle chores, having baby calves, caring for those calves, rolling out hay for them to lie down on; I could go on and on. One thing that is rewarding this time of year is selling our calves from last year. The calves were weaned off their mothers in November and have been getting fed at our house since then. They get corn silage, ground corn, protein, mineral, and all the hay they want. Selling these calves is a big deal; it’s one of the few paychecks we get every year.

There are several good places in our area to market these calves, but knowing which place and at what time to sell the calves is not an easy decision to make. Cattle prices this winter have been at record highs. My dad and I have compared many different sale barn prices and still haven’t decided when or where we are going to sell them. This is just one example of how farming and ranching is a risky business. If you wait too long to sell you could lose a lot of money; sell too early and you could leave a lot of money on the table. This can be a stressful time, but it is one of the many stresses we as farmers deal with.

One thing that is exciting and fun for me during this time of year is choosing heifers from our calf crop that we will retain and breed to make into cows. There are several factors that play into choosing such a heifer. First, in my opinion, you need to look at the calf and see how she is built. Melissa always tells me that structure defines function and this is a fact that can solidify my decision to keep a heifer. The first and most important thing I look at is if the heifer is structurally sound. Structural soundness is essential if the heifer is going to have a long reproductive life. To determine if the heifer is structurally sound I look at her legs. A heifer needs to have strong straight legs. The legs should be squarely placed on the corners of the body with the weight evenly distributed. The heifer should also be able to move without any evidence of unsound feet or legs. If the heifer passes this test the next set of questions I ask myself are, "Is she deep bodied? Does she carry herself well? Does she have a nice, small, feminine shaped head?" Next I reflect on looking into her genetic history. I ask myself, “What is her mother like? Does she have a good calving history? Is she a good mother? Does she produce enough milk and raise a good calf?” Then I take the heifer's temperament into consideration. I look at her personality to determine if she is calm and easy going. This is an important deciding factor because the last thing I need in my cattle herd is a cow that is stubborn or difficult to deal with. The last major thing my dad and I look at when selecting a heifer to keep is the bull that sired the calf. For the most part, I feel comfortable keeping heifers out of the bulls my dad and I have due to their genetic makeup. I purchase bulls that have a history of making females that have good udders, good milk supply and good mothering ability. However, my dad has a couple of bulls that just put pounds on the calves. They are used strictly for making calves that grow and put on weight, not for keeping females. All of these things are taken into consideration when my dad and Melissa and I choose heifers to keep to make into cows.

For me, after looking at the structural soundness of the calf, the thing I look at the most is the calf’s mother. We have kept back heifers for at least 10 years, and I know every cow in the heard front to back. There are cows, that if they have a heifer, right then and there I know we will be keeping it because of the history of that cow. Then if that heifer goes on and produces a heifer we will be keeping it, and so on. My dad and I have so many cows that have daughters and granddaughters in our herd. It’s good to keep using what works, as in so many other things, if it isn’t broke, don’t fix it.

Farming and ranching is an occupation of constant improvement of the operation. As a producer, I am always looking for ways to improve the herd to make a better product for the consumer. Raising cattle is an in-depth process, one that requires a lot of time spent looking at genetics, and evaluating the desirable traits we want in the herd. To keep or cull a heifer is not a question that can be answered right away; it is a process. Choosing to keep a heifer takes time. It requires a thorough evaluation of all the factors involved in selecting the traits and characteristics desired for the herd. It is not easy to cull out the heifers I don’t want, but I have to keep the end goal in mind; the overall enhancement of the herd.

Definitions

Corn silage- Fodder prepared by storing and fermenting green forage in a silo. Corn silage is a popular forage for cattle because it is high in energy and digestibility.

Cull- To remove rejected members from the herd

Heifer- refers to a young cow before she has had a calf

Sire- Male parent of an animal.