pennicilan and semen

[15444]

I've know the antibiotics, such as pennicilan, is supposed to kill the semen that the treated bull produces, but for how long? We treated a bull which is about 2100 lbs with 75 cc's of pennicilan a day for three days, as recommended by the local vet. Is the semen killed for as long as the antibiotics are active (i.e. the withdrawal time)? or for how long should it be until he is producing quality semen again?

Help would be greatly appreciated

[dcdvm]

Antibiotics do not kill the semen, infact certain antibiotics are added to semen when it is procesed before freezing for artificial insemination usage. The death of the semen is a result of the temperature elevation [fever] that occured from the infection that you were treating with the antibiotics. The impairment to the semen production will depend on how high the fever, duration of fever and severity of the disease.

[cowman]

I agree with most of what you say. The thing we must all realize is our government doesn't really care about us peasants down on the farm as long as we continue to supply a cheap food source. That is what Canadian and American agriculture policy has always been.What are subsidies but a way to keep the old peasants toiling away for another year? The CWB is just another way to control the peasants not to mention a rather lucrative place to take care of some political hacks.
I will admit my ignorance when it comes to the marketing of wheat but I believe barley is a product that should be wide open. The fact of the matter is barley only makes real sense when it is sold on the domestic market. The freight costs make export uneconomical except to the U.S. and due to the fact Americans don't like real competition all that much, it would be a very limited market. Of necessity barley must compete with corn or else why feed cattle and hogs here? Personally I couldn't care less if my calves are fed here or in the states. The CWB, with a very small portion of the barley market, gets in there and distorts the price for all kinds of reasons that have little to do with the market place. That is one of the reasons I would sure like to see it go, but then what you or me might want doesn't cut much mustard with the elites down in Ottawa. After all we are the peasants!

[TOM4CWB]

Chas,

A wise man said 4 years ago, that the only way a grain farmer could remain profitable over the next 10 years, would be to farm the large speculators.

I beleive he was right then, and still is today.

With a good marketing plan, and a realistic veiw of what a good price is for the prevailing stocks and consumption levels, a grain farmer can still make a dollar if mother nature co-operates.

Knowing when to hold, and when to fold em, is a special skill, but a good marketing plan can really simplify this skill.

It takes money to make money, and yes greedy pigs do usually get slaughtered!

Patience is needed, but don't stand in the lights of an oncomming freight train if it is thundering down on top of you, stand aside and get out of the way. In the end, the market is always right, no matter how much we don't want to admit it!

In the Western Producer Page 10 June 14, a Lady said,

"You can't be a master farmer and a master marketer at the same time."

She is wrong, and anyone who is not a master marketer, will not be a farmer at all in short order.

This farmer will be bankrupt.

There are not margins in grain farming to fool around and not know what you are doing!

[ianben]

Hi All
Same thing is happening over here too. We just had an election despite foot and mouth crisis. Now our Ministry of Agriculture has been re-named Ministry for Rural Affairs so the farmers interests will further down the chain.
I agree with Tom that his is the best stratagy to survive at present but not that it is the way we will see the family farm survive long term.
We need something along Chas's lines.
Something which will make a life in farming affordable for our children.
I still favor some sort of minimum price worldwide. A price below which we will only sell a percentage of our production. A way to even out the whims of mother nature and try to keep the surplus for the bad years. A price which fluctuates little and therefore has no need for speculation. I still think I will be 500tonnes down on last year.
How much good has that rain done for you?

[melvill]

Gosh, Tom4CWB, I'm nearly speechless (something my wife thinks doesn't exit) about your post earlier on this thread. You and I have both been saying those things for quite some time but I sometimes don't have much luck with convincing farmers (your term, not mine). Maybe you should come to work with me - you might be away more convincing than I can be!

I especially liked "Knowing when to hold, and when to fold em, is a special skill, but a good marketing plan can really simplify this skill." and ". . . . anyone who is not a master marketer, will not be a farmer at all in short order."

I had this discussion with three brothers that farm together last week when I was trying to convince them that they should thoroughly understand, and maybe use, the CWB Producer Payment Options. The general idea from them was, 'I want to produce. Let them marketing boys do their thing.'

Lee

[melvill]

Sorry, Tom4CWB. It was "rockpile" that didn't like the term "farm manager".

Lee

[TOM4CWB]

ianben,

Our early seeded wheat looks awful east of Edmonton.

It is a really good thing we went to the other farm at Killam and seeded there between the 5th and 14th of May as the later seeded crops at Edmonton are reasonably even.

I have heard, east of Edmonton has about the most uneven crops anywhere on the Prairies!

We have had enough rain to keep all the weeds really growing well, the biggest flush of wildoats I have ever seen here!

Everything germinated after it rained, seems the really dry weather made all the weed seeds sprout!

I was hopeing for low weed control costs, no way now!

[chas]

Tom4cwb: Tom your idea of the good of a large speculator in the market place and my idea of a speculator is at totally different ends of what would create a good market. The large speculator can manipulate a market to his own advanage. If you don't believe that manipulation doesn't go on in the market, I say be careful there's lots of evidences that it does. As for your wiseman (I'll bet he was a broker} as to farmers farming speculators to exsist. The farmer is more likely to get plowed under. If you were a master marketer you wouldn't need to be a master farmer or be a farmer at all. That why I'am farming.
Please explain why we need speculators to make a living.
If you deliver a product when you sell and take delivery when you buy. What do we need speculators to jam up the supply and demand signals for. Its not business its a form of gambling with the most important industry known to man kind.
Lets not complicate our pricing system lets simplify it and bring some honesty and common sense into it. The market isn't always right it just can't figure out what is wrong with all the manipulation it receives daily.
Is dandelion wine production organic farming or what. Chas??????

[TOM4CWB]

Chas,

I really believe that we need to approach marketing from a positive perspective!

Being in the position to patiently wait for speculators to make my farm profitable, is an important state of mind to get into!

The most important question that must be answered is, what is a profitable price?

Obviously my break even will be different than yours, and it depends also what product we grow to how profit margins work out!

Now to value add, make our products the most valuable possible, we must know exactly what our customer needs!

To supply exactly what our customer needs, and make them believe it, we must be master marketers!

This is why we must be both master marketers and farmers to remain profitable today.

We must understand the risks and rewards of each decision we make every day.

Speculators do get carried away at times in the commodity markets, we must cash in when they drive the market higher than what supply and demand would dictate!!!

Take Canola today!!!, it is way higher than what the market can justify, sell it if you have some and put the speculators money in your bank account!!!