"This is a joint statement from the agricultural organizations in Indiana."

As agricultural professionals the health and welfare of our livestock and poultry should always be a leading concern. Recently, the Minnesota based Sparboe Farms became the latest subject of yet another undercover video by the animal rights group Mercy for Animals which aired on ABC News 20/20.

Everyone who works with livestock or poultry should take a step back and review these critical areas.

1. Animal care policies and enforcement
2. Hiring practices.

Proper animal care policies should reflect the best management practices of your industry. Enforcement mechanisms should be in place to ensure employees/coworkers are following those policies. The hiring practices on a farm should be thorough enough to identify an applicant that may have nefarious reasons for seeking employment on your farm.

With this as a backdrop, please consider reviewing your farm and company policies for the following:

• Office and Plant Security
• Employee Screening
• Employee Training & Accountability
• Responding to Activist's Letters
• Talking With Law Enforcement
• Talking To The Media

Our main priority should be the health and safety of our animals, but we cannot discount the threat that these types of videos and the subsequent news coverage have on our industry. Please take the above items into consideration. Tools are available to help farmers if you are interested in learning more, have any concerns or questions please contact Doug Leman at dougleman@indianadairy.org or 317-695-8228. 

The Indiana Soybean Alliance and Indiana Corn Marketing Council funded a new online training course to help livestock farmers access materials from home to prepare for the CAT 14 Fertilizer and Manure Applicator Certification. The tutorial has built-in tools allowing farmers to verify that all the proper practices are in place and help in the training and overseeing of employees who fall under the supervising certified applicator rule.

The Indiana State Department of Agriculture (ISDA) is hosting a series of producer workshops across the state as part of the Certified Livestock Producer Program (CLPP), a voluntary program that recognizes farmers for their commitment to innovative and top industry standards.

Each workshop is free of charge and will include industry experts in the five areas of focus for the CLPP program: commitment to the environment, animal well-being, food safety, emergency planning, biosecurity and being a good neighbor in their community.

"The Certified Livestock Producer Program gives an opportunity for livestock producers to publicly demonstrate their commitment to their farm, their family, and the future. The instructional session are the first steps in completing the program, and they offer the opportunity to gain knowledge from experts in the livestock industry that will benefit each producer's operation and community." said CLPP Program Manager, John Nagle.

Free CLPP Instructional Sessions:

Jan. 24, Carroll Co. 4-H Building Flora, IN, 8:30 - 3:30

Feb 8 and Feb 9: Decatur County Extension Office, Greensburg, IN, 5 - 8:30 PM both evenings  

Feb. 14, Wabash County REMC, Wabash, IN 8:30-3:30

Feb. 22, Jay Co. Public Library, Portland, IN 8:30-3:30

Registration information available here. (scroll down)  

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - The Indiana Department of Environmental Management says it has added a new agricultural liaison responsible for managing the agency's relationship with farms and ag-related businesses, groups and agencies.

The agency announced Wednesday that the liaison, Steven Howell, also will advise the agency about federal, state and local agriculture-related trends and issues.

IDEM says Howell has experience in agriculture and conservation as a congressional aide and as a field representative with the Indiana Farm Bureau. He also was part owner and operations manager of a family grain and livestock operation in western Indiana's Jay County.

Steven will take over the position vacated recently by Andy Tauer. IPDP looks forward to working with him. 

Todd Janzen and Mike Bowman with Byron Seeds Samuel Fisher

What impressed me most, however, are the people.  Everyone was friendly and willing to explain the science and business to a novice, and really made me feel welcome.  The conversation was stimulating and educative, and I cannot imagine a better way to spend a late-summer day.  Last but not least, the pastries and lunch were excellent - I came to the tour hungry for knowledge, and drove away stuffed!

The estrous cycle and associated hormones are the cornerstone of dairy cattle reproduction.

The 21-day estrous cycle relies on a handful of key reproductive hormones for successful completion. A Dairy Cattle Reproduction Council publication entitled Back to the Basics: Explaining the Estrous Cycle provides an illustration of how these hormone levels change during the estrous cycle.

The three-page publication also provides definitions for key reproductive hormones and their respective functions in the dairy cow. It can serve as a useful training tool for employees involved in herd reproductive management.

Source: Dairy Cattle Reproduction Council 

On Nov. 22, 2011, USDA announced that individual U.S. dairy farms would have to ship milk with a somatic cell count (SCC) of fewer than 400,000 cells per milliliter to qualify for export to the European Union (EU).

The marketing requirement went into effect on Jan. 1, but dairy farms have until May 1 to comply. Farms can apply for a temporary exemption, called a "derogation," under special or seasonal circumstances.

The new standard has been under discussion since June 2009. In fact, on Jan. 20, 2010, USDA announced that the industry would have to meet the standard by Feb. 1 of that year. The announcement caused such an uproar that the agency issued a retraction and spent the next 22 months crafting the new requirement. Read more.