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News and events for Maine Beef Producers from 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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With the new year comes a new format for this newsletter. The first section "What's New?" will have a brief description of articles that appear in full length farther down the newsletter. Next are links for the regular parts of the newsletter. At the end of the newsletter are Quicklinks to get you to popular sites that have had a number of clicks in the past.
Occasionally there will be surveys to help us plan programs that meet your needs. Check out the current Drone Survey. (FAA just allowed an ag exemption with certain requirements.)
I hope you enjoy the new newsletter format. Let me know what you think.
Donna
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- Celebrating 150 Years at University of Maine- The Morrill Act established the Maine State College of Agriculture and Mechanical Sciences that later became the University of Maine. Throughout 2015 UMaine will celebrate its 150-year legacy of leadership in the state. Click here for more details.
- Maine Agricultural Trades Show - The Maine Beef Producers had a well attended session on evaluating animals before sending to market, working with slaughter facilities and comparing grass-fed and grain-finished beef. Click here for more details.
- Maine Beef Producers Association Annual Awards - The MBPA have honored deserving beef producers and industry representatives with awards for their hard work at improving the Maine beef industry. Click here for more details.
- Effect of Frame Size and Time-On-Pasture on Quality and Tenderness - Researchers found in pasture-based beef finishing systems, increased time-on-pasture (TOP) increases animal age, hot carcass weight, marbling score; however, tenderness decreased with more TOP such that longer postmortem aging times were required to achieve similar tenderness levels. Click here for more details.
- There's an APP for That - More and more farmers are getting smart phones and tablets. We are starting to see more applications or APPS that have very practical benefits for ag producers. Click here for more details.
Items of Interest Featured Resources Events & Announcements Newsletter Subscription Information Quick Links |
  A walk through history at UMaine
In 1978, the National Register of Historic Places designated a University of Maine at Orono Historic District.
The historic district, framed by Munson, Sebec and Schoodic roads, includes 10 architecturally significant structures constructed from 1868 to 1913. The district represents the oldest section of campus of the land grant institution that opened Sept. 21, 1868, on the site of the former Frost and White farms. Frederick Law Olmsted, founder of American landscape architecture, conceived the original campus plan.
From 1868 to 1870, students built the first campus academic building - Fernald Hall, originally called Chemical Hall. Phi Kappa Phi, (Philosoph́a Kratéto Photôn, "Let the love of learning rule humanity"), an honor society promoting academic excellence, was founded in 1897 in Fernald Hall.
The nine other buildings in the district are Alumni Hall, Carnegie Library, Coburn Hall, Holmes Hall, Lord Hall, the President's House, Stock Judging Pavilion, The Maples and Winslow Hall.
Events and publications will provide opportunities for the community to reflect on the history of Maine's land grant and sea grant university, and to look to its future.
For more images and history of the UMaine campus click here.
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 Maine Agricultural Trades Show Beef Program
Over 60 folks packed the room to hear about the Maine Board of Agriculture from David Bell. Kevin Woltemath - Pineland Farms Natural Meats gave an introduction to carcass evaluation. He had some surprising before and after images of animals that stressed the importance of beef producers going back to the slaughter facility to see what their carcass looks like before it is cut up. Interestingly beef animals will put on condition or fat from the front to the rear, so it is important to note the amount of condition near the loin and rump of the animal when determining readiness for market. Currently Maine does not have a USDA grader to grade carcasses, but their criteria and pictures of loin area marbling are available from the USDA Agriculture Marketing Service. Here is their How to Buy Meat that includes black and white photos of the rib eye. Barry Higgins - Maple Lane Farm gave a processor's perspective. It is important to talk with your processor about scheduling as well as the cut sheet to be sure the carcass is cut according to customer order. Be sure to discuss the hanging time. It is important not to put down or criticize one production method over another (ie. organic, grass fed, grain finished, etc.) since they all have their benefits. The Higgins started in 1941as a dairy and has expanded to include a beef operation as well as slaughter and processing facility. Recently they have increase to their storage capacity and added a smoker facility. Gabe Clark - Cold Spring Ranch gave a grass-fed producer perspective. Thousand Hills Cattle Co. has a comprehensive outline of their protocol for their all grass-fed beef. Producing prime beef on grass is not possible since most grass is low in energy and high in protein. Gab buys animals from farms that use the same bull to get consistency in the finished product. He sells thick steaks that weigh about 1-1/2 pounds, to customers to assure a better eating experience. He tries to market at 20 to 22 months with a 600 pound carcass. He suggested the following Google Image searches to review the carcass characteristics of beef: "grass fed beef carcass quality", "beef carcass class aggiemeat", grass fed vs grain fed t-bone steak", "Belted Galloway Society carcass image", "beef tail head fat", and "cod fat or udder fat." Ron Howard - Aldermere Farm gave a Producer perspective also, Aldermere is part of the Maine Coast Heritage Trust that focuses on improvement of their purebred stock, meat sales for Belted Galloway and developing the next generation of beef farmers. Sales of their premier breeding stock include the Northeast, Indiana, Missouri, Texas and California. In the last 5 years they have increased beef sales to almost $100,000 with beef sourced from their farm as well as 30 to 35 other farms that follow their protocol (purebred Belted Galloway, best practice health care and humane practices.) Nutritional analysis of their rib eye beef compared to USDA provide valuable sales information to the customer.
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Aldermere Beef Rib Eye
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USDA Beef Rib Eye
| Total Calories/100g
| 169
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306
| Cholesterol (mg)
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47
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70
| Protein (g)
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18.7
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16.5
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Customers have the option of grain finished or 100% grassfed beef. They process at a state inspected facility and sell cuts of meat, sides, partial sides and wholesale.
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Maine Beef Producers Annual Awards
Pine Creek Show Cattle - Seedstock Producer Award - Matt Thurston, a past recipient of the MBPA Youth Award, has continued breeding and developing top quality Angus and Simmental Cattle. Pine Creek Show Cattle exhibits successfully at the highest levels and has developed a well-deserved reputation for top genetics both in-state as well as beyond the borders of Maine. |
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Jerry & Sharon Chadwick with Kevin Woltemath presenting award.
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Ben Eva Farm - Beef Producer Award - Jerry and Sharon Chadwick have been raising commercial Black Angus beef on their BenEva Farm for sale in freezer trade and occasionally breeding stock for decades. The key to their success has been consistent high quality. They have also been mentors to new beef producers, valued members of the Maine Beef Producers Association and supporters of the Pre-Conditioned Feeder Calf Sales.
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Cindy Kilgore with Kevin Woltemath presenting award.
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Cindy Kilgore - James Worthley Service Award - Cindy has supported the Maine beef industry in a number of ways including being a valuable information resource. She coordinates training for producers towards Beef Quality Assurance certification, and travels throughout the state, with scale in tow, weighing animals on-farm, at the fairs, and at MBPA Feeder Sales, plus identifying the 4H livestock for the fair season. Carter McLaughlin - Youth Award - Carter, an Aroostook County 4-H member, developed a small herd through breeding and selection, then exhibiting annually at the Northern Maine Fair. His competence in Showmanship and willingness to help others was especially noteworthy. Hall of Fame - The Maine beef industry lost two great producers in 2014. Bruce Emery of D'Ameri Acres was involved with the beef industry for 30 years, originally raising Hereford's before supporting his son Heath's interest in breeding and exhibiting award-winning Blond D'Aquitaine cattle. He supported the farm's development of a robust freezer trade, and was a dedicated 4-H volunteer known for his quick wit and sense of humor.
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Arthur Randall accepting award for Lew Randall from Kevin Woltemath
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Lew Randall was a lifelong member of the American Hereford , New England Hereford and Maine Beef Producers Associations. He always took pride in his cattle and enjoyed traveling throughout the Northeast searching to buy animals to improve the genetics of his herd. He received the 2003 Beef Producer of the Year Award, was a steadfast consignor to the MBPA Feeder Sales and a strong supporter of 4H and youth.
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Effect of Frame Size and Time-On-Pasture to Quality and Tendernesss
A long term study by researchers at Clemson University, Virginia Tech and USDA-ARS Research Center in WV evaluated the impact of frame size and time-on-pasture (TOP) of steer performance, longissimus muscle fatty acid composition and tenderness. Two frame sizes (3.3 and 4.1) and three times on pasture (89, 146, and 201 days on pasture or 16.6, 18.6 and 20.3 months of age at slaughter ) were evaluated. Carcass Trait*
| Small Frame
| Medium Frame
| 89 Days
| 146 Days
| 201 Days
| Finishing ADG, lb/d
| 2.4
| 2.2
| 2.7
| 2/1
| 2.0
| Slaughter weight, lb
| 811
| 865
| 757
| 816
| 941
| HCW, lb
| 471
| 502
| 439
| 473
| 546
| FT, in
| 0.12
| 0.11
| 0.08
| 0.10
| 0.15
| Quality grade**
| Std+
| Se-
| Std+
| Se-
| Se
| Ribeye color L
| 39.98
| 40.19
| 41.35
| 39.31
| 39.6
| | Subcutaneous fat color b | 16.34
| 15.85
| 15.11
| 15.74
| 17.43
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* ADG = average daily gain, HCW = hot carcass weight, FT = fat thickness
** Se = select, Std = standard Larger frame sized steers produced greater ADG by 0.22 lbs., body weight by 53 lbs, and HCW by 31 lbs. Ribeye L and Subcutaneous fat color b are instrument measures of darkness and yellow color, respectively. Lower values indicate darker lean and more yellow fat. There is no difference in the color of the lean or subcutaneous fat due to frame size. As cattle spent more time on pasture and were older at harvest, the lean was darker and the fat more yellow.
 The Warner-Bratzler Shear Force is a test to measure the tenderness in beef with 3.0 kg as the threshold level for guaranteed tenderness. Higher values indicate less tenderness. As the days-on-pasture increased the shear force values for 14- day and 28-day postmortem increased. Longer postmortem aging times were required with longer TOP to achieve similar tenderness levels to steers with shorter TOP.
The study found that TOP, or animal age, is an important determinant in beef tenderness of grass-fed beef and that tender grass-fed beef should be slaughtered at 18.3 months of age or before. Source: Duckett, et al., J. Anim. Sci. 2014.92:4767-4774. "Effect of frame size and time-on-pasture on steer performance, longissimus muscle fatty acid composition, and tenderness in a forage-finishing system." Click here for link to this paper.
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There's an APP for that!
More and more farmers are getting smart phones and tablets. We are starting to see more applications or APPS that have very practical benefits for ag producers. The Dairy Herd Management website recently included an article on top mobile apps for agriculture. A number of the apps are free or available for a minimum costs.
Below are the apps that I have on my technology. You can search for them in your app store. What APPS do you find useful?
- MAGNIFYING GLASS - take close-up pictures of insects, diseases, other stuff. You can then send your picture to Extension for help on identifying it. (see image)
- ID WEEDS from University of Missouri Extension. Identify a weed from a list of attributes, search for a weed by name or view a list of weeds.
- THE WEATHER CHANNEL to keep up to date on weather in your area. Includes forecast and video of satellite images.
- TAPE MEASURE for when you need to measure distance to something. Note it is calibrated to your height.
- BEEF COW BCS - Includes body condition score descriptions for beef animals and the ability to take photos of your animals and assign a BCS and store the information.
- ACCURATE ALTIMETER AND ACCURATE BAROMETER. for those who like to track the height and barometric pressure at their location.
- GROWING DEGREE DAYS - Put in your dates, location and 50 degree or 60 degree selection.
- MACHINERY SIZING - from Kansas State University. It tells how much horsepower is needed based on ground condition, soil type, tractor type, implement, speed, width and depth.
- CATTLE MARKET MOBILE - select your state to review USDA Ag Market Reports. (Note the last one for Maine was 2009 when USDA graders attended the fall feeder calf sale) I
 t does have a number of current reports from Pennsylvania. - WEED ALERT - Find your weed from description, name or region. This app does include information on calibration, first aid, weights & measures and compatibility.
- IHERD -to keep track of pastures for livestock.
- SOILWEB - identifies your soil type where you are standing. Developed by California Soil Resource Lab at UC Davis in collaboration with USDA-NRCS. (see image)
- FEEDCOST CALCULATOR - put in the cost of various feed stuffs and compare based on protein or TDN.
- DECIBEL - how loud is that machinery? This app will tell you.
- AG-PHD field guide by FMC to identify corn pests and suggest controls. Includes weeds and a few insects. Select from a list.
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 Organic Farming Survey - USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service is initiating a survey of organic producers who are certified, exempt from certification or transitioning to organic production. To learn more about this survey click here.
- Update Hay and Straw Directory If you have excess or are in the position to sell hay or straw, consider using the Maine Hay and Straw Directory. It is free to use. More information is available online, or call Cooperative Extension 1.800.287.1426.
- Marketing Beef for Small Scale Producers How do you respond to potential customers concerns about buying beef from you? Iowa State Extension put together 10 reasons why people don't buy meat in halves, quarters and bundles and what to do about them. Click here for the 5-page publication.
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Featured Resources
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Webinars: Beef Webinars Part of Michigan Extension Series
This program is part of a 20-webinar Michigan State University Extension 2015 Beginning Farmer Webinar Series. A descriptive flyer and on-line registration and payment for any or all of the webinars is available at http://events.anr.msu.edu/beginningfarmerwebinars/ A registration fee of $10 per webinar, or $100 for all 20 webinars is required. Getting started with beef cow-calf production Frank Wardynski, Kable Thurlow, Kevin Gould, MSU Extension Wednesday, March 25, 2015, 7-9pm (all times 'eastern time') Beef prices are at record levels and offer profitable opportunities for farmers with access to affordable acres for forage production. This session will cover basic management practices critical to profitable beef production, beef cow/calf cost of production values, and evaluating profitability by cost per unit of production. Getting started with beef feedlot management Frank Wardynski, Kable Thurlow, Kevin Gould, MSU Extension Wednesday, April 29, 2015, 7-9pm Beef prices are high and opportunities are present to allow new farmers to engage in feeding/finishing beef cattle. Several factors are critical for success, including managing cattle health, nutrition and feed costs and financial management. This session will cover management practices to keep
Publications:
Visit the UMaine Extension Cooperative Extension online Publications Catalog for beef information, such as: - Beef Housing and Equipment Handbook #1001
Information on cow-calf, cattle handling, and cattle feeding facilities; feed storage, processing and handling; water and waterers; manure management; farmstead planning, building construction, materials, ventilation and insulation; fences; gates and utilities. 133 pages with index, 1986. From Midwest Plan Service $20.
- Beef Cattle Herd Health Vaccination Guide for Maine #1031
A herd health management plan is vital to profitable beef production. Don't wait until a disease outbreak occurs before implementing a sound herd health program. For cattle to reach their performance potential, they must be healthy. Vaccinations are an approved practice for organic producers. 5 pages. © 2014 by University of Maine Cooperative Extension. Download it for free or buy a color copy $0.75.
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Newsletter Subscription Information
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The Maine Beef Newsletter (MBN) is now received by over 550 readers, has been offered as an educational resource by University of Maine Cooperative Extension since 2011. As of January 1, 2015, the MBN will be transitioning to electronic-only delivery. There will still be three ways to receive the MBN from your local 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. More details on how to subscribe will be provided later this fall.
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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Maine Beef Producers Association
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 Join the Maine Beef Producers Association
The Maine Beef Producers Association is accepting dues for the 2014 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://bit.ly/19oljzu
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Events & Announcements
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March 7, 2015 (snow date March 14) Farm & Estate Succession Planning Workshop, 10 am to 3 pm at the Dover-Foxcroft Congregational Church. Sponsored by the UMaine Extension and Piscataquis County Soil and Water Conservation District. $25 registration through PVAEC at 564-6525 or www.pvaec.maineadulted.orgClick here for flyer. -
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March 21, 2015 Maine Grazing Conference Kennebec Valley Community College, Fairfield. Sponsored by Grass Farmers Network, UMaine Extension, Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association and others. Click here for more information.
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Mission
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.
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Quick Links
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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/. |
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Contributors
Donna Coffin, Extension Educator
donna.coffin@maine.eduGoal
The goal of the Piscataquis & Penobscot Farming Newsletter is to provide timely information on the production and marketing of crops and livestock grown in central Maine.
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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.
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Photos unless otherwise indicated by Donna Coffin.
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