CAST WORK GROUPS

     Work Groups are established in the CAST bylaws, and each Member of the Board serves on one Work Group for the duration of their tenure. Currently there are four Work Groups: Animal Sciences (AS), Food Sciences and Agricultural Technology (FSAT), Plant, Soil, and Environmental Sciences (PSES), and Plant Protection Sciences (PPS). Each work group nominates one person in the group to serve for a 3-year term on the Executive Committee. The charges for each Work Group are to (1) identify, clarify, and prioritize national issues and concerns they believe should be addressed by CAST; (2) develop appropriate approaches for addressing those topics and suggest candidates for Task Force Chairs and Members; and (3) make recommendations for proposals to CAST’s National Concerns Committee as soon as possible, including internal issues, concerns, opportunities for membership, liaison, funding, and education.

(AS)                May 5, 2008:  Minnesota has enacted legislation to increase the state’s efforts to eradicate bovine tuberculosis from beef cattle and deer.  Seehttp://www.trftimes.com/index.php?id=5671&task=view&option=com_content

(AS)                May 5, 2008:  According to surveys, when tenderness is held constant, marbling governs great taste in beef.  Seehttp://www.wlj.net/editorial/050508_marbling_governs_beef_flavor.htm

(AS)                May 5, 2008:  What about using growth promoting implants in heifers?  See http://www.cattlenetwork.com/Content.asp?contentid=218696

(AS)                May 5, 2008:  The Indiana egg industry is being impacted by high prices.  See http://www.thepoultrysite.com/poultrynews/14794/indiana-egg-industry-impacted-by-high-prices

(AS)                May 6, 2008:  The percentage of cows that may become lame with vertical wall hoof cracks may generally be low, but when lameness does occur it can be difficult to manage.  See http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/VM131

(AS)                May 6, 2008:  According to some specialists, horses in the United States are being abandoned or neglected because of skyrocketing maintenance costs.  Seehttp://www.montana.edu/cpa/news/nwview.php?article=5893

 (AS)               May 6, 2008:  Australian researchers working for a New Zealand stock and station company are developing a genetically engineered grass to reduce the amount of methane given off by livestock such as cows. See http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/4511404a3600.html

(AS)                May 7, 2008:  A highly contagious swine virus has been detected on a privately owned game ranch in Michigan. Seehttp://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/fn/5761366.html

(AS)                May 7, 2008:  The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced that the United States will begin exporting breeding cattle; bovine embryos; breeding, fattening, and slaughter swine; and breeding and sport horses to Russia. See http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/!ut/p/_s.7_0_A/7_0_1OB?contentidonly=true&contentid=2008/05/0120.xml

(AS)                May 7, 2008:  Feed, fuel, and fertilizer are top concerns for cattle producers. See http://www.amarillo.com/stories/050708/bus_10269754.shtml

(AS)                May 8, 2008:  There’s an important key to using low-cost roughages in a supplementation program that minimizes out-of-pocket expense and meets nutritional requirements.  See http://www.cattlenetwork.com/Content.asp?ContentID=219868

(AS)                May 8, 2008:  The European Union (E.U.) may proceed with plans to relax current safety measures on pig and poultry feeds, which outlaw animal proteins.  Seehttp://www.thepoultrysite.com/poultrynews/14839/feeding-animals-to-animals-eu-may-lift-ban