BSE (aka Mad Cow Disease)- What's the deal?

In case you have been on vacation and out of touch with technology and the news, earlier this week a cow in California was found with BSE. We all know that "mad cow disease" is something we want to keep out of our food supply, but what exactly is it??
Well, the correct term is Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (or just BSE for those of us that can't spit that out in casual conversation). BSE is a type of Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathy; in cattle it is called BSE because it is in the bovine species, but TSE's have also been found in other species including humans (in which case it is called Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease). This is a degenerative neurological disease in which prion proteins in the brain unwind, eventually causing neurological and behavioral changes in the infected individual.

So if a cow has BSE, and I ingest milk or meat from that animal, will I get the human TSE?
No. Because this disease affects the prion proteins that are only located in the brain, spinal column, and ileum of the small intestine, the meat and milk from an animal would not contain any harmful pathogen caused by BSE. However, if an animal is diagnosed with BSE, no product from that animal enters into the food chain.

So is every animal tested before being harvested?
No. Approximately 1 in every 5 animals that enters a harvesting plant is tested. According to the USDA, approximately 40,000 cows are tested for BSE each year. However, as a safeguard, none of the high risk parts of the animal (brain, spinal cord, and small intestine of animals 30 months of age or older) are ever allowed to enter the food chain.
Those high risk parts have historically been used to make meat and bone meal (a protein source fed to livestock animals and pets). Since the research conducted on BSE and the discovery of ruminant to ruminant transmission, it is now illegal for producers to feed any meat and bone meal to ruminant animals. Today meat and bone meal is most commonly found in pet food because it is not harmful to your non-ruminant pets.

Is BSE a growing problem?
On the contrary, new regulations and awareness about the issue has decreased the number of instanced drastically. In 1992, there were over 37,000 cases of BSE discovered worldwide. Last year, that number was 29... and none of those cases were in the US. In fact, the case discovered this week puts the total number of diagnosed BSE cases in the US at 4.

At the end of the day, BSE is an issue that the cattle industry has dealt with in the past, and learned how to prevent. The case in California this week was atypical, meaning that cow did not ingest any infected material, it simply came down with the disease spontaneously. This is not a very likely occurrence, but it does happen. The number of cases show that the threat of BSE on our food supply has been diminishing and continues to get smaller. Even with the present threat, the USDA and FDA have regulations in order that prevent any infected material from entering our food supply even if an infected cow were to enter the harvesting plant without being detected.
So BSE is something that the industry keeps a constant eye on, but nothing that should be a major concern to you as a consumer. There are many measures in place ensuring you a safe, TSE-free product.

NAMA: Experience for Ag Students

As you have heard me say before, being an agriculture major means you are getting more than just a classroom education. Last week, I was in Kansis City attending the National Agri-Marketing Conference with other members of my university's Student NAMA chapter. For the past year, our chapter has been working on a marketing project that we presented at this year's conference in Kansas City.
Each school that competes comes up with an innovative product directly related to the agriculture industry and designs a marketing plan for that product. This experience allows students to not only learn about marketing in a classroom setting, but to actually implement strategies and ideas. An experience like this prepares students to enter the work force with a better understanding of what it takes to implement a marketing strategy like the one we spent a year working on.

This year, our team made it to semi-finals with our marketing project. NAMA isn't just about working on a presentation, though. Our chapter was also recognized as the Outstanding Student NAMA Chapter and presented with a John Deere Signature Award. This award is presented to chapters who "excel in encouraging student opportunities for increased business knowledge, academic excellence, leadership development and community citizenship."
Working on the marketing project gives students useful experience, but it doesn't stop there. The opportunities and networking that an organization like this can offer a student are limitless and extremely valuable. Through NAMA I have had job shadowing opportunities, networking opportunities with countless professionals in the industry, and the opportunity to learn about marketing hands on and gain experience in public speaking through our presentation.
"The proof is in the pudding," and the pudding here proves that being an agriculture major offers students a learning experience that extends beyond the classroom, and into real-world experience. In my opinion, ag students are some of the most well prepared and sought after students upon graduation (take that Terence Loose, author of Most Useless Degrees)!

Friday Farm Photo: Conservation Award

In 2010, my family was recognized by the state of Illinois for our efforts in soil and water conservation on our farm. Strip tillage, rock dams in the creek, and CRP (conservation reserve program) land that is set aside on the farm all contributed to my family being recognized for conservation efforts. Environmental integrity is important to farmers because our livelihood and success depends on things like soil fertility, water quality, and other resources our crops and animals need to stay healthy and grow. 

I am very proud of my family and the steps they have taken to conserve the environment!

April Showers Bring May Flowers... and Baby Calves!

Spring is here! That means April showers, May flowers... and baby calves! Just like humans, cows have a gestation period that is approximately 9 months long. So if we want to have calves in the spring, we breed our cows in late summer/early fall. These calves will stay on pasture with their mothers until they are weaned at about 6 months of age. 

On our farm, we use the fence-line weaning method. This simply means that rather than abruptly separating the pair, the calves are moved to a pasture right next to the cows. This way, they can still see each other and socialize, but the calves will no longer be nursing from the cows. We choose this method because research has shown that this method puts less stress on the animals; lower levels of stress = healthier animals = happier farmers.

Spring time on the farm is one of my favorite times of year. The leaves and grass are getting green, flowers are blooming, and new babies are being born on the farm! It doesn't get much better than that!

Farm Photo Friday: Take 3

Just one of the many perks of living in the country... you can saddle up and go for a horseback ride anytime! Summer is almost here, and there is no better time to go for a ride than on a beautiful summer evening. I can't wait!

Farm Photo Op

Pretty cool, huh? Last year around this time, I took these photos on my farm and spelled out my family's last name (since "sanderson" was a took up too much space, I shortened it to my first name for the blog). I have seen these in many homes, but I think the coolest part about my project was the fact that every letter was a photo of something on our farm. Pictured above: "R" is from an old brick, "O" is a wreath in my mom's garden, "S" is part of a metal decoration on our garage, and "E" is a portion of the back of our fork lift.

Impressed? You ain't seen nothin' yet.
 "A" -the side of the porch swing on our cabin's porch.
 "D" -a view through our cattle chute.
 "N" -an old broken gate. (one man's trash is another girl's photo op)

I had a lot of fun doing this project, just thought I would share the idea!

To pump, Or not to pump... Ethanol that is.

Yesterday, the US Environmental Protection Agency approved applications for the registration of E15 fuel. What does this mean exactly? It means gas stations are one step closer to having the option to sell gasoline that contains 15% ethanol. Ethanol has been blended into gasoline for over 30 years but the law has limited it to 10% for use in gasoline-fueled vehicles.

Once a few more legal hurdles are jumped and gas stations have E15 available, you will see this sticker at the pump:


Why choose ethanol?
1) If you have a 2001 or newer vehicle, it is safe for you to use E15 fuel. If you drive a flex-fuel vehicle, it is safe for you to use fuel that is up to 85% ethanol (E85).
2) Ethanol is considered a renewable fuel because it is generally produced from plant or waste products, not from fossil fuels. Some people have shown concern for using too much corn for ethanol production, but corn used for ethanol production doesn't stop at the ethanol plant. After the starch is extracted from the kernel, the remainder of the corn is used as a livestock feed called Dried Distillers Grain with Solubles (DDGS). This is an economical feed choice for livestock farmers, and the fermentation process involved with making ethanol actually makes the protein in the corn more available to the animal.
3) If safety and sustainability aren't good enough reasons for you to choose E15 at the pump, here is one last tidbit for you: It costs less! According to Dave Loos, Technology & Business Development Director at Illinois Corn Growers, E15 would cost the consumer 10 cents/gallon less than the E10 blend, and 27 cents/gallon less than gasoline without ethanol! Sign me up!

Most importantly, I want to point out that E15 is approved as an option. Retailers don't have to add it as a product, and consumers don't have to buy it. Keep an eye out for these stickers at the pump in the future, and make a choice as an informed consumer!