Injured animals and animals under stress react differently than they do in normal circumstances. If you don’t work with livestock often, you may not completely understand how to keep yourself and animals safe in stressful situations, or how to provide …
Enhancing Biosecurity at Fairs and Shows
Photograph is copyright Luc Asbury and is used under Creative Commons licensing.
This webinar was presented by Scott Cotton, University of Wyoming Area Educator and EDEN Chair-elect, and Curt Emanuel, Purdue Extension Educator and Boone County Extension Director. Cotton has …
How do you calibrate a manure spreader?
Calibrating a manure spreader is critical to ensure that the appropriate rate of manure nutrients is being applied to a field. For some livestock operations, this practice may be a required practice as part of their permit. Calibration will differ …
Are there different strains of the foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) virus?
There are seven immunologically distinct serotypes of the foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) virus and over 60 subtypes. The seven serotypes are A, C, O, Asia 1, SAT 1, SAT 2, and SAT 3. New subtypes occasionally develop spontaneously. The large number …
Livestock Biosecurity
What Is It and Why Should I care?
Biosecurity refers to strategies and management practices that lessen biological risk. On a farm, attention to biosecurity is the most important measure to reduce and prevent the introduction of diseases or pests …
What’s the P Index?
The P Index is the Phosphorus Index, a risk assessment tool to quantify the potential for phosphorus runoff from a field. The P Index helps to target critical source areas of potential P loss for greater management attention. It includes …
How is foot-and-mouth disease spread?
Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) can be transmitted in a variety of ways, the most common being direct contact with an infected animal. Once infected, animals become “virus factories,” capable of spreading high numbers of viral particles to other animals and into …
What is the difference between the “higher heating value” (HHV) and “lower heating value” (LHV) of a biomass fuel, and why is the difference important?
We need these two ways of expressing the heating value of fuels because the combustion of some hydrogen-rich fuels releases water that is subsequently evaporated in the combustion chamber. In other words, the process of evaporating water “soaks up” some …
How can I prevent leaching of nitrate into groundwater from manure applications?
Nitrate contamination of groundwater occurs when excess nitrate in the soil profile moves along with water that is moving down past the root zone of the crop. In most cases, it is not possible to keep water from moving past …
What is a breech birth, and what causes it?
During parturition, a breech birth describes fetal presentation. Breech birth is characterized with a calf presenting butt first with no front or hind limbs entering the birth canal. The tail and hindquarters of the calf can be palpated via the …