Chute N The Bull

I was struggling to find a topic for this article when a child in an
Agriculture Awareness Program at the Ft Worth Stock Show inadvertently
gave me an idea. They had seen a similar program at the State Fair of
Texas during the fall semester, during that program the presenters do
projects with pumpkins because it is timely for Halloween and
Thanksgiving. The students wanted to know if they would get to do the
pumpkin projects. How many fresh pumpkins are available in January? This
story exemplifies one of the huge problems facing farming and ranching -
a lack of knowledge or understanding and the corresponding disconnect by
those who are not involved in production agriculture.
Farmers and ranchers have become a huge minority! Approximately 2
percent of the U.S. population is involved in farming or ranching. Of
that number, more than half are small operators. Therefore, less than 1
percent of our population is truly engaged in farming. The majority of
our population doesn't know when, where or how their food gets to them.
They expect it to magically be there when they need it. Obviously, more
than 1 percent of the population is involved in getting food to the
consumer, but how many of them know that most of our vegetables and
numerous other crops are planted in the spring and harvested in the
fall? And how about the food animals? Do they know that cows have one
calf per year and that milk cows freshen only once a year? What about
the seasonality of pork and egg production? I think you are getting the
picture. Production agriculture has some giant hurdles.
How can such a minority survive? I think we need to study how others
have been successful in advancing their causes. Generally, they have:
• been dedicated to a purpose;
• been very persistent;
• been very vocal to draw attention to themselves or their issues;
• targeted a small number of key issues; and
• raised money very aggressively.
I am not advocating that we employ all of the actions and methods that
some minority groups have used; however, I think there are lessons to be
learned. Unity is a key issue. The time has long since passed for
squabbling and bickering within the industry. We need to seek common
ground and work together to accomplish meaningful goals.
The general population is far removed from farms and ranches. There is a
wide gap in knowledge, understanding and perception between production
agriculture and the general population. The public doesn't understand
that fertilizer, pesticides and biotechnology are good things when used
properly. They have watched too many movies and listened to too many
slanted "news reports" that are based on emotion and fear rather than
facts and science. Many children don't know that beef comes from cattle
and think that milk and eggs originate at the grocery store. They think
cereal comes from a box without realizing that it was grown on a farm.
We must become advocates of agriculture. We have to do a better job of
telling our story and explaining our position, or we may not have a
story to tell. How can you effectively impact this situation? Become
more active in producer organizations. Be a member of the local, state
and national organizations that represent you. Go to local meetings and
have an influence on what is happening regarding issues and policy. An
organization has a difficult time representing you and your views if you
are not a member or fail to participate in the process. Learn the issues
- be informed and proactive. Engage people you encounter in your daily
life. Tell the good things about agriculture and know the facts. Avoid
being negative or argumentative as this generally hurts your credibility
and the industry. Be dedicated to purpose and avoid coming across as
unintelligent or hotheaded. We can sometimes be our own worst enemy.
Strive to represent what is right with farming and ranching, not what's
wrong with it. You can find this and past articles on the web at
http://www.mycountrytractor.blogspot.com/ for your reference. Extension proserve of all ages regardless of
socioeconomic level, race, color, sex,
religion, disability, or national origin. The Texas A&M University
System, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the County Commissioners
Courts of Texas Cooperating serve of all ages regardless of
socioeconomic level, race, color, sex, religion, disability, or national
origin. The Texas A&M University System, U.S. Department of Agriculture,
and the County Commissioners Courts of Texas Cooperating



Thank you,

Tommy Neyland
County Extension Agent
Texas Agrilife Extension Service
P.O. Box 188
Centerville, Texas 75833
903.536.2531 phone
903.536.3804 fax

Chute N The Bull

For the benefit of regional ranchers, the ultimate achievement would be to provide a year-round grazing system that could utilize a perennial cool-season grass. Cool-season grasses, such as tall fescue, can fill part of the forage gap by replacing annual winter pasture.


For me, what makes this grass so interesting is a fungus (Neotyphodium coenophialum) that grows between the plant cells and grows into the developing seed. This fungus is known as an endophyte, and it provides grasses like tall fescue with tolerance to stresses such as drought and resistance to insects. A similar fungus, Neotyphodium lolii, is found in perennial ryegrass, a grass that is predominantly used for forage in New Zealand and Australia. The grass and fungus live in a mutualistic symbiotic relationship where the endophyte is provided with shelter and nutrients, and is dispersed in the seed while the grass gains greater persistence and tolerance to stresses.

Unfortunately, this very fungus is what gave tall fescue a bad reputation. When tall fescue was first introduced in the late 1930s, it showed great promise as the next generation forage due to persistence during drought. However, it was noted that there was a negative side to this grass. The fungus that was beneficial to the grass was capable of producing compounds detrimental to grazing animals and resulted in poor animal performance. In this case, the grass was considered "hot" in that it contained an endophyte that was harmful to the livestock because of the production of ergot alkaloids that caused fescue toxicosis. If you cure the grass of the fungus, animal productivity goes up, but the grass persistence declines. There are many management possibilities for fescue toxicosis (Roberts, C., and Andrae, J. [2004]. Tall fescue toxicosis and management. Online. Crop Management doi:10.1094/CM-2004-0427-01-MG), but one solution is to replace the "hot" endophyte with one that is considered animal friendly, but still able to provide many of the positive attributes. The animal-friendly endophytes are the same species as the toxic varieties, but are naturally occurring variants that have been identified in tall fescue from places such as the Mediterranean. Once an animal-friendly endophyte is reinfected into an endophyte-free seedling, it is able to establish in the plant and can be transmitted through the seed. This allows for seed production of a pure animal-friendly line.

So how does the endophyte help the grass and how are the toxic compounds made? We actually don't understand all the biology behind this grass/fungal association, but we do know that the fungus is capable of making a range of compounds that help with persistence. Some of the compounds, the lolines and peramine, are considered beneficial to the host plant as they provide protection from many insects. However, ergovaline (an ergot alkaloid) and lolitrem B have been documented as compounds that are detrimental to the grazing animals. In the last 10 to 15 years, a lot of research has been accomplished to identify the fungal genes that are essential for the production of these compounds. Now that we know the regions of the genome that are required for these compounds, we can use this information to help us search for better endophytes that don't have the detrimental genes.

In my laboratory, we are using a series of molecular biology tests that allow us to monitor the presence of the endophyte in the grass. Not only can we tell the endophyte is there, but we also have markers to help us distinguish them from each other and markers that tell us the likelihood that a newly identified endophyte can make certain compounds. For example, we can tell the "hot" endophytes apart from the animal-friendly types. We can also conduct analyses for ergot alkaloid levels. These tools are being used in quality assurance pipelines with our grass breeders to follow levels of endophyte infection and make sure the right endophyte is present. Through these extra levels of testing, farmers and ranchers can be assured that forages released by the Noble Foundation will not only be productive, they will also be safe for livestock. You can find this and past articles on the web at www.mycountrytractor.blogspot.com for your reference. Extension programs serve of all ages regardless of socioeconomic level, race, color, sex, religion, disability, or national origin. The Texas A&M University System, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the County Commissioners Courts of Texas Cooperating serve of all ages regardless of socioeconomic level, race, color, sex, religion, disability, or national origin. The Texas A&M University System, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the County Commissioners Courts of Texas Cooperating





Thank you,

Tommy Neyland

County Extension Agent

Texas Agrilife Extension Service

P.O. Box 188

Centerville, Texas 75833

903.536.2531 phone

903.536.3804 fax