Extension-Sponsored Field Day Focuses on Beef Quality and Safety

Atlanta resident Carl Smith harbors a couple of post-retirement ambitions.

The retired U.S. Postal Service employee (pictured left) is developing a cattle and vegetable operation on his late grandfather’s farm in Barbour County.

While his vegetable operation is still in the planning stage, his cattle operation already is well under way, and like any conscientious producer, he wants to learn as much as he can about genetics, feeding and animal health --- anything and everything required for a profitable herd.

Torrential rains did not deter Smith in his quest for knowledge on Oct. 27. The producer was in east Alabama Oct. 27 to attend the regional Beef Cattle Field Day, sponsored by the Alabama Cooperative Extension System offices in Lee and Chambers counties.

Ever the optimist, Bobby “Smokey” Spears, a retired Extension agent who organized the field day along with Chambers County Extension Coordinator Kim Wilkins, opened the training by expressing gratitude for the rain and confidence that the field day would prove successful regardless of the inclement weather.

If producer interest was any measure, the field day proved to be a resounding success. More than 170 producers registered to attend the training, held at Lawler Angus Farm, Highway 51 in Beauregard.

The field day focused on four topics of vital interest to beef producers: herd health issues, premise identification, electronic ear tagging and body confirmation and conditioning.

“If you watch TV, one of the top issues discussed constantly is the safety of the U.S. food supply and what foods are fit for human consumption,” Spears says.

Now more than ever, producers are concerned about the quality of beef products --- what they’re being fed and how they’re being fed, he says. Because beef quality and safety issues now figure so prominently into public discourse, Spears says it is critical that producers remain on the cutting edge of production practices designed to ensure high-quality, safe products.

At the top of the agenda is product traceability --- a system by which every beef product can be traced to its point of origin. Another major priority is herd health --- as Wilkins describes it, “making sure our animals are as healthy as they can be.”

Wilkins says the state’s beef producers are as committed as consumers to both of these goals.

“Our producers want to do what’s best for the consumer --- that’s what is driving our efforts,” she says.

One common misconception among consumers is that farmers are being forced by the government to make these changes, Wilkins says.

“That’s just not right. There is no mandate in place for any of these measures and may never be. Our producers are doing this because they want to do what’s best for the people who buy their products.”

Posted by Jim Langcuster at October 27, 2006 04:04 PM | TrackBack