Cattle producers gain insights for providing beef quality management
By JULIET BRISKIN | Country World Central Texas
May 10, 2001 -- On May 1, 2001 in Waco the Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association hosted one of 14 statewide Beef Quality Producer programs. The new program is a cooperative effort between TSCRA, the Texas Beef Council and the Texas Agriculture Extension Service and is designed to educate cattle producers on the importance of beef quality assurance to their operation and the consumer.
The day-long program covered topics that ranged from beef quality to the environment. "Beginning with a genetic plan for your cow herd, the day-to-day management of your cattle impacts the wholesomeness and quality of beef," said John Dudley of the TSCRA.
According to the program, best management practices for antibiotic use include strictly following all recommendations and guidelines from your veterinarian when selecting products, following label directions for use of product, calculating proper dose requirements based on the animal's weight and health problem, and not mixing products prior to administration.
Ron Gill, a livestock specialist with the Texas Agricultural Extension Service, spoke on the importance of knowing the withdrawal time for products used in treating various ailments. According to Gill reading product labels is one of the best ways to prevent sending a cow to slaughter with high levels of violative drug residues in the animal.
"Products you have been using for years may have new dosage recommendations," said Gill. "You have to read labels; every time you get a new box you have to go through the whole process of determining how much of the product to use."
The program touts the benefits of working with a veterinarian to develop a treatment protocol book specific to an operation. The book is a plan for what treatments to use when cattle fall ill. According to Gill, the book should include follow-up and alternative treatments and should be reviewed and updated regularly.
Another topic discussed at the meeting was foreign object avoidance. The two main types of foreign objects to be concerned with are buckshot or birdshot and broken needles. According to Todd Thrift, a livestock specialist with the Texas Agricultural Extension Service, lead is difficult to detect with the metal detection devices in packing and processing plants.
"Based on information from a 1999 Market Cow and Bull Beef Quality Audit, lead is detected in more than 10,000 carcasses a year," said Thrift. "That is how serious this is."
The presence of lead in a carcass is considered an adulterant by the Food and Drug Administration and the entire carcass must be condemned. If shot is detected during ground beef production, the entire lot of ground beef must be condemned. The costs to the industry are astronomical.
Working with and educating hunters to prevent shooting cattle can help prevent buckshot and birdshot from being introduced into cattle. The Texas Beef Quality Producer Program manual also points out that using a shotgun to gather cattle can be just another way lead might be introduced into a herd.
Broken needles are an emergency and need to be dealt with as soon as possible. "The problem with broken needles," said Thrift, "is that they work just like a knife on the tissue." Proper restraint and proper needle selection are the best ways to prevent needles from breaking, he said. If the animal jumps when an injection is being administered they can break or bend a needle.
When choosing a needle consider length, gage and type. A needle that is too long has a higher propensity to break. A needle with a smaller numerical gage size can leave a large hole in the tissue. Thrift advised researching the types of needles available and then choosing the ones that best fit the need.
Developing a standard operating procedure for dealing with broken needles is a management practice that can help minimize the number of cows that are sent to slaughter with needles in the tissue.
The Texas Beef Quality Producer program stresses the importance of reassuring customers that every step possible was taken to raise quality beef. Each producer is reminded that every cow sold has the potential to go into the food chain. For more information on the program contact the TSCRA at 1-800-242-7820.
