Stiles Field day, a demo display

By MINDY POEHL | Central Texas Edition

People gather around a single row planter at the Stiles Farm Field Day, in Thrall. Photo by Mindy Poehl

June 24, 2004 -- A cool breeze was in the air at the Stiles Farm on June 15. The cloudy day allowed the guests to enjoy the annual Stiles Farm Field Day, in Thrall, without getting hot, sticky and sunburned.

Exhibit tables were set up in the large yard, surrounding Archie Abrameit's home. The tables included different information from fire ants and their elimination, to harvesting fresh fruits and vegetables, to displays of the 4-H Roundup winner's designs.

Speakers spoke about weed control and crop rotations, strip tillage, fertilization and what is in store for today's biotechnology. The field day showcased the latest in field crop research, livestock production and management practices. Walking tours and demonstrations were given, along with scholarships presented by the Stiles Farm Foundation.

The purpose of the field day is to "provide educational information to area farmers, ranchers and interested persons in agriculture," Abrameit, Extension Specialist and farm manager, said. "We teach them with a hands-on approach. They get to go into the field and see grasses, cotton, grain sorghum and corn - the field crops that are common in this area."

The equipment demonstrations included a new innovative fertilizer applicator, a strip tillage machine, a sprayer and a bail retriever.

The scholarships were awarded "to youngsters pursuing a degree in agriculture," Abrameit said.

The Stiles Farm Foundation, formerly a 3,000-acre family farm, was given to Texas A&M in 1961 for research and education on Blackland production practices. This year was the 41st Annual Stiles Farm Field Day, in which producers and area residents can examine the new research and demonstrations.

"This is a demonstration farm and our mission is for people to see what goes on in the countryside." Abrameit explained. "We take new ideas and put them to use in a practical setting."

Dr. Steve Hammack, professor and Extension beef cattle specialist emeritus, spoke about diseases and beef cattle identification.

"The main way to avoid diseases is to cook your food properly," Hammack said.

Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE or "mad-cow disease") is a degenerative disease of the central nervous system. BSE is believed to be caused by an altered or mutated protein, called a prion. It is thought to be a mutation of the scrapie disease of sheep. BSE is spread by cattle consuming by-products containing brain or nerve tissue and it is not contagious. When BSE occurs in humans, it is known as Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, but it occurs in one in one million people. Humans are infected when they ingest beef contaminated with brain or spinal cord.

After discovering BSE in Great Britain in 1986, the U.S. began testing in 1989. All European imports were tested and slaughtered. Meat and bone meal was banned as a feed in 1997, and brain and spinal cord were excluded from the human food supply, Hammack explained.

When a single Holstein cow was diagnosed with BSE in Washington, in December 2003, the cow's bull calf and herd mates were found, tested and euthanized. As a result of the BSE case in Washington, many precautions have been taken to reduce the chances of getting the disease. The skull, ganglia, eyes and spinal column are discarded from animals older than 30 months. No "downers" can enter the food supply. Poultry litter can no longer be fed to cattle and air-injection is banned.

Hammack then spoke about Country of Origin Labeling (COOL), which is a provision of the 2002 federal Farm Act.

"This means we have to tell where the cattle came from- it's origin," Hammack said. "The supplier bears the ultimate responsibility."

A bill has been introduced in the Senate to implement COOL on September 30, 2004.

The U.S. Animal Identification Plan (USAIP) was recently developed through a cooperative effort of cattle raisers, industry and government and it's goal is to form a trace-back system that can identify all animals potentially exposed to another animal with a disease.

"Animals will be identified in groups, not every single animal will be individually identified- like poultry." Hammack said.