But neverfear, here are some other highlights of some non-beef projects;
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| A sheep at the multi judging competition. |
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| A sleeping draft horse foal. |
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| Goats! |
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| Market hogs. |
Monday, 30 May 2011
4-H on Parade Highlights
As some of you may know, last weekend was 4-H on Parade, the big finale of the 4-H year. I've talked a lot about beef cattle showing, and the beef shows at 4-H on Parade (or 4hop as some people call it) are quite a big deal for many. Unfourtantly, I had prior committments during the weekend and was not able to watch the shows.
But neverfear, here are some other highlights of some non-beef projects;
But neverfear, here are some other highlights of some non-beef projects;
Sunday, 29 May 2011
Beef Hormones
It's that time of year again!
4-H beef club members are selling their steer projects. In relation to this, there has recently been a lot of hype regarding hormone implants in beef cattle and opinions on these are often quite mixed. From a more holistic point of view these are a very negative thing. From a producers point of view these are economically beneficial.
First of all, let me explain what hormone implants in cattle can be used for. In the beef industry the main drug of discussion involves a synthetic version of estrogen called zeranol is implanted beneath the skin. According to the Ralgro website (http://www.ralgro.com/implants/mag_qfar.asp), zeranol functions to "stimulate the pituitary gland of the animal to produce increased amounts of somatotropin, the animal's own natural growth-promoting agent..." Ralgro also claims that since the drug is not actually an estrogen, it does not accumulate in muscle tissues. Obviously this is a good thing for human consumption of meats. I would imagine that hormones are also used in dairy production, but I don't know enough about the subject to say anything concrete.
I did some research on the subject and came across a website called the Canadian Animal Health Institute (CAHI). This non-profit organization supports growth promoting hormones on a basis of strict laws which ensure the following;
- any new drugs which enter the market meet Health Canada regulations, and
- that there is no implant residue found in meat samples.
The CAHI goes on to make several other points, the most striking of which I will paraphrase here:
- the implanted hormones are already present in humans. Using estrogen as an example, an adult will produce about 136,000 ng of estrogen daily where the estrogen found in a 6-ounce serving of beef from a treated animal is 3.8 ng, and
- hormones are naturally occurring in other foods such as cabbage, milk and soybean oil.
The website also makes a valid point, stating that drugs were designed to improve cattle efficiency, thus making meat cheaper to produce and therefore buy. More information can be found at http://www.cahi-icsa.ca/pdf/Beef-Hormones-Factsheet.pdf.
On the flip side, there is concern from consumers whether or not hormone implants could cause cancer or otherwise negatively affect humans. The major concern stems from a worry over humans ending up with hormone imbalances. Some people claim that animals given hormone implants excrete excess hormone in their urine which then can make its way into urban water supplies and thus cause hormone increase in humans. Links have been drawn between this and a startling number of young girls beginning menstruation at ages as young as nine. Whether or not these links are valid has not been fully researched but one would only hope that if there were harmful levels of hormones in water sources we would know about it!
In the end, how you feel about eating beef that comes from a treated animal is up to you. If you have concerns, there are a number of farmers who market their beef as hormone-free. The best way to ensure that you are happy with what you are eating is to learn where your food comes from and talk to those who are producing it.
4-H beef club members are selling their steer projects. In relation to this, there has recently been a lot of hype regarding hormone implants in beef cattle and opinions on these are often quite mixed. From a more holistic point of view these are a very negative thing. From a producers point of view these are economically beneficial.
First of all, let me explain what hormone implants in cattle can be used for. In the beef industry the main drug of discussion involves a synthetic version of estrogen called zeranol is implanted beneath the skin. According to the Ralgro website (http://www.ralgro.com/implants/mag_qfar.asp), zeranol functions to "stimulate the pituitary gland of the animal to produce increased amounts of somatotropin, the animal's own natural growth-promoting agent..." Ralgro also claims that since the drug is not actually an estrogen, it does not accumulate in muscle tissues. Obviously this is a good thing for human consumption of meats. I would imagine that hormones are also used in dairy production, but I don't know enough about the subject to say anything concrete.
I did some research on the subject and came across a website called the Canadian Animal Health Institute (CAHI). This non-profit organization supports growth promoting hormones on a basis of strict laws which ensure the following;
- any new drugs which enter the market meet Health Canada regulations, and
- that there is no implant residue found in meat samples.
The CAHI goes on to make several other points, the most striking of which I will paraphrase here:
- the implanted hormones are already present in humans. Using estrogen as an example, an adult will produce about 136,000 ng of estrogen daily where the estrogen found in a 6-ounce serving of beef from a treated animal is 3.8 ng, and
- hormones are naturally occurring in other foods such as cabbage, milk and soybean oil.
The website also makes a valid point, stating that drugs were designed to improve cattle efficiency, thus making meat cheaper to produce and therefore buy. More information can be found at http://www.cahi-icsa.ca/pdf/Beef-Hormones-Factsheet.pdf.
On the flip side, there is concern from consumers whether or not hormone implants could cause cancer or otherwise negatively affect humans. The major concern stems from a worry over humans ending up with hormone imbalances. Some people claim that animals given hormone implants excrete excess hormone in their urine which then can make its way into urban water supplies and thus cause hormone increase in humans. Links have been drawn between this and a startling number of young girls beginning menstruation at ages as young as nine. Whether or not these links are valid has not been fully researched but one would only hope that if there were harmful levels of hormones in water sources we would know about it!
In the end, how you feel about eating beef that comes from a treated animal is up to you. If you have concerns, there are a number of farmers who market their beef as hormone-free. The best way to ensure that you are happy with what you are eating is to learn where your food comes from and talk to those who are producing it.
Thursday, 26 May 2011
What in the world is an Angus Burger?
Well.... Angus is a specific breed of cattle known for its marbled meat.
Marbling is a meat trait which means higher fat percentages within the meat which improves tenderness. Angus cattle are typically black or red and are usually of a smaller frame size than other cattle.
Another breed which exhibits this marbling trait are Shorthorn cattle. These cattle are also of a slightly smaller frame than average and they are often a roan colour.
Marbling is a meat trait which means higher fat percentages within the meat which improves tenderness. Angus cattle are typically black or red and are usually of a smaller frame size than other cattle.
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| A Red Angus cow. From http://brandlcattleco.com/redfemales.htm, accessed 26 May, 2011. |
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| A Black Angus bull. From http://www.bovin.qc.ca/en/the_quebec_beef_production/overview/main_breeds.php, accessed 26 May, 2011 |
Another breed which exhibits this marbling trait are Shorthorn cattle. These cattle are also of a slightly smaller frame than average and they are often a roan colour.
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| A Shorthorn bull. From http://www.showsteers.com/NAV/Sorted%20Sires/Shorthorn.htm, accessed 26 May, 2011. |
To contrast this, Charolais cattle are typically larger framed cattle with red meat and that is leaner.
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| A Charolais calf. From http://www.mbfarviewfarm.com/Charolais-Cattle-Cows.htm, accessed 26 May, 2011 |
That was just a brief overview of just three of the different breeds of cattle. There are actually many more breeds which, in the interests of space, I omitted. Often people will cross breed cattle in order to attempt to take advantage of the certain traits of both breeds.
I also came across a great resource today which nicely highlights the various beef cattle breeds. Check out the website http://www.bovin.qc.ca/en/the_quebec_beef_production/overview/main_breeds.php.
Sunday, 22 May 2011
Q: What did you do for your long weekend?
A: I went to McKinnon's Feedlot!
That has been the story of my life since I was 10 years old because every May long weekend the Balzac Beef 4-H Club holds its Achievement Day on the Sunday. For those of you who aren't involved in 4-H let me explain what an Achievement Day is.
In the 4-H program, Achievement Days are set aside for members to showcase their final projects after a years hard work. Usually the projects are judged against their fellow 4-H members projects but this is not necessarily the case. In our club, the projects are judged. Now what, you may ask, does one do when showing a cow?!
There are several key steps involved in the cattle show world which may seem bizarre or surprising to those who are not involved in the cattle industry.
1. First of all, one must work with their cattle for a substantial period of time prior to any show. This ensures that the animal is well behaved and (relatively) calm in the show ring. A few times a week for a month in advance would be about the minimum you should do - and I mean the MINIMUM! When I say "work with your cattle," I mean that one should halter, groom and lead their cattle daily; as well as getting the cattle used to stimulus such as clippers, blowers, being bathed and standing calmly while activity is happening in the yard.
2. Prior to the show it is important to wash the bovine using soap and warm water. This ensures that the animals hair is clean and ready to style!
4. Finally when a person is showing an animal, a special halter made of leather is used and the handler carries a "show stick" to help them in showing the animal. A show stick is a stick that is approximately five feet long and has a little hook on the end that is used for gently prodding the animals feet in order to make it stand nicely. Once it is standing nice, the little hook is used to scratch the animals belly and help keep it calm. Now this is all for beef cattle showing - in dairy shows the handlers walk backwards with their animals and always wear white pants. In beef shows it doesn't matter so much what the handler is wearing but it is still important that they look good and are wearing clean clothes!
5. After showing an animal, the glue must be washed out otherwise it can severely damage the hair, resulting in hair loss!
There you have it! Cattle showing in under 15 minutes!
That has been the story of my life since I was 10 years old because every May long weekend the Balzac Beef 4-H Club holds its Achievement Day on the Sunday. For those of you who aren't involved in 4-H let me explain what an Achievement Day is.
In the 4-H program, Achievement Days are set aside for members to showcase their final projects after a years hard work. Usually the projects are judged against their fellow 4-H members projects but this is not necessarily the case. In our club, the projects are judged. Now what, you may ask, does one do when showing a cow?!
There are several key steps involved in the cattle show world which may seem bizarre or surprising to those who are not involved in the cattle industry.
1. First of all, one must work with their cattle for a substantial period of time prior to any show. This ensures that the animal is well behaved and (relatively) calm in the show ring. A few times a week for a month in advance would be about the minimum you should do - and I mean the MINIMUM! When I say "work with your cattle," I mean that one should halter, groom and lead their cattle daily; as well as getting the cattle used to stimulus such as clippers, blowers, being bathed and standing calmly while activity is happening in the yard.
2. Prior to the show it is important to wash the bovine using soap and warm water. This ensures that the animals hair is clean and ready to style!3. At most shows, animals are "fitted." This is a fancy way of saying that their hair is styled so that the animal looks good. This is done through the use of heavy-duty hair "glue," clippers, and sometimes aerosol paints. Obviously the better an animal looks, the better it will place in the show ring and there is big money in fitting animals if one knows how to do it - the website I got the below picture from was charging $200 an animal! Some shows are moving to a "dry brush" format which means that use of glues or paints are not allowed in preparing an animal for showing.
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| A fully fitted calf. From http://www.austincattle.com/fitting/fittingservices.html, accessed 22 May 2011. |
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| Dairy Showmanship From http://www.rutters.com/?m=201001, accessed 22 May 2011. |
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| My last 4-H Steer, 2008. Lightly fitted, wearing show halter and being handled with show stick. |
5. After showing an animal, the glue must be washed out otherwise it can severely damage the hair, resulting in hair loss!
There you have it! Cattle showing in under 15 minutes!
Wednesday, 18 May 2011
How do bats crawl?
Today, while I was at work I was covered in mosquitoes. This is a fairly common occurrence since I work outside landscaping. Anyway, I made a comment to my coworkers that I hate it when the mosquitoes crawl on you like little bats. To my surprise none of my coworkers knew what a bat looks like when it crawls!
I couldn't resist sharing this with everyone so here you go:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4EZgLhZNFKU.
Enjoy!
I couldn't resist sharing this with everyone so here you go:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4EZgLhZNFKU.
Enjoy!
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