The U.S. Import of Beef: Friend or Foe to Domestic Beef Production?

Controversy surrounding the United States import of beef has been an issue since at least 1958, which marked the beginning of major imports from Australia (Edward, 1964). From the onset, U.S. beef producers have been concerned that beef imports would depress the prices they receive for their product. Consumer groups, on the other hand, have welcomed increased imports, expecting that increased competition would lower meat prices. As a result of these conflicting views, the past 50 years has seen the creation of various measures of legislation which control the volume of imports.

Co-Product Prices May Be Nearing Seasonal Low

The supply of corn milling co-products from ethanol production has increased rapidly over the last several years. Based on United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) projections of corn ground for ethanol production, approximately 38 million tons of distillers grains would have been produced in the 2009-10 marketing year, with 40 million tons projected for the 2010-11 marketing year. While supply has grown, so too has demand from both domestic and international users. Cattle feeders in particular have found wet distillers grains plus solubles (WDGS), modified wet distillers grains plus solubles (MWDGS) and dried distillers grains plus solubles (DDGS) to be excellent feedstuffs that can lower cost of gain through performance efficiencies and lower ingredient costs. United States swine and poultry producers have also increasingly adopted DDGS in rations in response to higher corn prices, while international shipments of DDGS have also grown.

The Nebraska Agricultural Outlook for 1938

Each year the federal government gathers data relating to agriculture through the various departments of the United States Department of Agriculture. These data are classified and analyzed by the Bureau of Agricultural Economics at Washington and all information which may be helpful to farmers is published. For several years it has been the policy of the Department of Rural Economics and the Agricultural Extension Service of the College of Agriculture, Lincoln, to select from the federal information facts which may be especially helpful to Nebraska farmers. These facts and other economic conditions in Nebraska are published this year as the Agricultural Outlook for Nebraska, 1938. The Outlook should be helpful in the marketing of the crops and livestock on hand. It should also be helpful in making farm plans for 1938.

Experimental Infection of Contracaecum tipapillatum (Nematoda: Anisakinae) from Mexico in the Domestic Cat

Juveniles of Contracaecum multipapillatum infected the Mayan cichlid (Cichlasoma urophthalmus) and adults infected the olivaceous cormorant (Phalacrocorax olivaceus) and the great egret (Casmerodius albus) in the coastal lagoon at Celestun, State of Yucatan, Mexico. All are new host records, and, even though the geographic locality record of Mexico for the species has not been published, unidentified but presumably conspecific specimens have been reported from there. When juveniles of C. multipapillatum were fed to a kitten, but not rats, ducks, or chickens, they developed into adults. Measurements and morphological data are provided on the specimens from the kitten. Development of an avian ascaridoid in the intestine of a mammal increases the potential of this widespread species to infect other mammals, including humans.

Trade Liberalization, Corn Prices and a Rural Community in Guatemala

Trade liberalization policies in Guatemala have impacted agricultural production. This thesis focuses on how trade liberalization has happened, what have been the impacts at a national level and describes how a community has adapted to the implementation of these policies. The implementation of trade was influenced by several, international and national institutions. Among the international institutions are the World Bank, the World Trade Organization and the United States Agency for International Development. At the national level the institutions that have partaken in shaping the trade policies are the military and the owners of capital and labor. The implementation of trade policies at a national level has affected national corn prices, population level diets and to some extent reduced poverty levels. At a local level trade liberalization policies have impacted land holdings, increased intensification of agriculture, including agrochemical, machinery and crop plantations per year, and consumption rates of corn have been affected. Maximization of the benefits and minimization of the detrimental effects can happen with the implementation of policies that promote food security, improve access to health and education, and prevent environmental and human health consequences from the intensification of agriculture and at the same time continue with the production of non-traditional agricultural products.

HEALTH RISKS TO HUMANS AND DOMESTIC LIVESTOCK POSED BY FERAL PIGS (Sus scrofa) IN NORTH QUEENSLAND

A sample of 608 adult pigs from Cape York and adjacent islands was examined for parasites and their serum tested for livestock diseases associated with the Queensland tropics. Feral pigs from North Queensland pose a significant health threat to humans with the incidence of Spargana (the plerocercoid of Spirometra erinacei) through the consumption of undercooked pork. Meliodosis (Pseudomonas pseudomalleO. Leptospirosis (L. yar. pomona). and Brucellosis (Brucella suis) are capable of infecting humans directly during unhygienic butchering of infected carcasses. In North Queensland, the widespread intermingled distribution of feral pigs and cattle increases the potential for the transmission of Actinobacillus, Leptospirosis, and Brucellosis from feral pigs to cattle. Both Europeans and Aborigines on Cape York also raise wild-caught feral pigs for meat. It is important to realize that parasites and diseases are present in young pigs and that poor husbandry practices increase the risk of infection from several parasites, i.e., Lungworm (Metastrongylus sp.) Stomach worm (Physocephalus sexalatus. Hvostrongvlus rubidus). Thorny headed worm (Macracanthorrhynchus hirudinaceus) and Kidney worm (Stephanurus dentatus). Heavy infection of these parasites reduce growth rates and cause unthriftiness in infected ani¬mals.

A Fixed Netting System as a Means of Excluding Birds From a Domestic Waste Landfill

Many bird species are attracted to landfills which take domestic or putrescible waste. These sites provide a reliable, rich source of food which can attract large concentrations of birds. The birds may cause conflicts with human interest with respect to noise, birds carrying litter off site, possible transmission of pathogens in bird droppings and the potential for birdstrikes. In the UK there is an 8 mile safeguarding radius around an airfield, within which any planning applications must pass scrutiny from regulatory bodies to show they will not attract birds into the area and increase the birdstrike risk. Peckfield Landfill site near Leeds, West Yorkshire was chosen for a trial of a netting system designed to exclude birds from domestic waste landfills. The site was assessed for bird numbers before the trial, during the netting trial and after the net had been removed. A ScanCord net was installed for 6 weeks, during which time all household waste was tipped inside the net. Gull numbers decreased on the site from a mean of 1074 per hourly count to 29 per hourly count after two days. The gull numbers increased again after the net had been removed. Bird concentrations in the surroundings were also monitored to assess the effect of the net. Bird numbers in the immediate vicinity of the landfill site were higher than those further away. When the net was installed, the bird concentrations adjacent to the landfill site decreased. Corvids were not affected by the net as they fed on covered waste which was available outside the net throughout the trial. This shows that bird problems on a landfill site are complex, requiring a comprehensive policy of bird control. A supporting bird scaring system and clear operating policy for sites near to airports would be required.