The Colorado Cattlemen’s Association annual meeting in Loveland has wrapped up. There was no shortage of topics to discuss over the three-day meeting, but drought, cattle prices and screwworm were certainly among the most talked about.
National Cattlemen’s Beef Association CEO Colin Woodall spoke to the attendees and said no matter what prices are doing, there are always other challenges to be mindful of. Woodall said beef checkoff dollars earmarked for producer education and issues management are at work in the form of laminated cards distributed to cattle producers across the country. The cards carry information about the pest and the bottom is removable.
“It has all the information about what the New World screwworm is, and the bottom is actually a tear off card that fits in your pocket, fits in your wallet, the cup holder of your pickup truck that shows how you identify the fly and shows how you identify the larvae,” Woodall said. “That is a critical component of this response because now that it’s in the United States, we need producers to know what to look for and who to call.”
Woodall said Colorado and producers to the north are unlikely to see the pest but said it is not only a cattle issue. The NWS is hosted by warm-blooded mammals, including wildlife. He said patient zero, the calf that was the first documented case in the U.S. this year is alive and well…