Misplaced Pages

#150849

32-509: It is, basically, a dry zone, with abundant scrub vegetation suitable only for Sheep husbandry . It is also famous for silk and milk as many farmers depend on silkworms and cattle for their livelihood. Annual rainfall is similar to Rayalaseema in Andhra Pradesh and north Arcot region. However, south Kolar district region has climate similar to western Bangalore. Since Kolar plateau is covered with valleys, channeling water from one lake to another

64-517: A branch of animal husbandry . Sheep are raised principally for their meat ( lamb and mutton ), milk ( sheep's milk ), and fiber ( wool ). They also yield sheepskin and parchment . Sheep can be raised in a range of temperate climates, including arid zones near the equator and other torrid zones. Farmers build fences , housing, shearing sheds , and other facilities on their property, such as for water, feed, transport, and pest control. Most farms are managed so sheep can graze pastures, sometimes under

96-558: A natural lifespan of 12–14 years. George Monbiot 's 2013 book Feral attacks sheep farming in the United Kingdom as "a slow-burning ecological disaster, which has done more damage to the living systems of this country than either climate change or industrial pollution. Yet scarcely anyone seems to have noticed." He particularly looks at sheep farming in Wales . Economic Research Service The Economic Research Service ( ERS )

128-656: A single agency. While the USDA's data collection activities were developing, the department was also developing expertise in agricultural economics research. In 1903, the Office of Farm Management was formed within the Bureau of Plant Industry. In 1915, this office was transferred to the Office of the Secretary to provide analytic support during World War I. In 1919, the office was renamed in Office of Farm Management and Farm Economics. In 1920,

160-1006: Is "elastration", which involves a thick rubber band being placed around the base of the infant's scrotum, obstructing the blood supply and causing atrophy. This method causes severe pain to the lambs who are provided no pain relief during the process. Elastration is also commonly used for docking. Based on the preference of the shepherd, docking and castration are commonly done after 24 hours (to avoid interference with maternal bonding and consumption of colostrum ) and are often done not later than one week after birth to minimize pain, stress, recovery time, and complications. Ram lambs that will either be slaughtered or separated from ewes before sexual maturity are not usually castrated. Objections to all these procedures have been raised by animal rights groups, but farmers defend them by saying they reduce costs, and inflict only temporary pain. Although sheep primarily consume pasture roughage , they are sometimes given supplemental feed, such as corn and hay provided by

192-675: Is a component of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and a principal agency of the Federal Statistical System of the United States . It provides information and research on agriculture and economics. The first USDA agency formally tasked with data collection was the Division of Statistics, created in 1863, one year after the USDA itself was created. By 1902, a Division of Foreign Markets had been created, and

224-472: Is alleged that speed is prioritised over precision and care of the animal. Crutching is the practice of removing wool for hygiene reasons, typically from around the face and buttocks. Sheep sold for slaughter often pass through saleyards, also known as auctions. When sheep can no longer produce enough wool to be considered profitable, they are sent to slaughter and sold as mutton, and lambs raised for meat are killed between 4 and 12 months of age. Sheep have

256-506: Is led by an administrator, historically a career Senior Executive Service appointee that (along with NASS) reported to the Under Secretary for Research, Education, and Economics . However, in 2019, the Trump administration , under Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue , moved to place ERS under the direct oversight of a political appointee, reporting to the chief economist under the Office of

288-402: Is often busy elsewhere during fall lambing. Furthermore, fall-born lambs can be weak and small because of heat stress during the summer gestation period. Spring lambing has the advantage of coinciding with the natural breeding and lambing seasons, but supplemental feed is often needed. The advantage of winter lambing is that the lambs are weaned in spring when pastures are most fertile. This allows

320-463: Is often used to make old or soon-to-be infertile ewes give birth one more time before they are slaughtered. After lambs are several weeks old, lamb marking is carried out. This involves ear tagging , docking , mulesing , and castrating . Ear tags with numbers are attached, or ear marks are applied, for ease of later identification of sheep. Tail docking is commonly done for welfare, having been shown to reduce risk of flystrike when compared to

352-448: Is possible. The region produces woolen blankets , leather goods , handloomed silk , pencils and coarse cotton fabrics. This article related to a location in Kolar district , Karnataka , India is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Sheep husbandry Sheep farming or sheep husbandry is the raising and breeding of domestic sheep . It is

SECTION 10

#1732858957151

384-938: The Agricultural Resource Management Survey , a multi-phase, nationally representative survey of U.S. farms that is the USDA's "primary source of information on the financial condition, production practices, and resource use of America's farm businesses and the economic well-being of America's farm households." The ERS publishes the magazine Amber Waves five times a year. The publication began in February 2003; it replaced Agricultural Outlook , FoodReview , and Rural America . The publication "features information and economic analysis about food, farms, natural resources, and rural community issues" and includes data and charts on various economic indications, including livestock cash receipts, farm household income , agricultural imports and exports, and food spending. The ERS

416-479: The Clinton and George W. Bush administrations , said that the requirement was contrary to the USDA's longstanding policy that permitted and encouraged federal scientists to publish work in journals, and the "disclaimer" mandate was strongly criticized by USDA employees, science advocates, and scientific journal editors. In May 2019, following an outcry, the USDA rescinded the directive. Current and former employees of

448-522: The FAOSTAT database of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization , the top five countries by number of head of sheep (average from 1993 to 2013) were: mainland China (146.5 million head), Australia (101.1 million), India (62.1 million), Iran (51.7 million), and the former Sudan (46.2 million). Approximately 540 million sheep are slaughtered each year for meat worldwide. In 2013,

480-536: The United Kingdom (335,000), and Turkey (288,857). The top five producers of sheep meat in 2013 were mainland China (2 million), Australia (660,000), New Zealand (450,000), the former Sudan (325,000), and Turkey (295,000). In the United States, inventory data on sheep began in 1867, when 45 million head of sheep were counted in the United States. The numbers of sheep peaked in 1884 at 51 million head, and then declined over time to almost 6 million head. Between

512-471: The United States Department of Agriculture , the sheep industry accounts for less than one percent of U.S. livestock industry receipts. Most lambs are born outdoors. Ewes can be made to give birth in fall, winter, or spring months, either by artificial insemination or by facilitating natural mating. Fall lambing is generally not done as the lamb crop percentage is likely to be low; ewes often need hormone therapy to induce estrus and ovulation, and farm labor

544-491: The 1960s and 2012, per capita per year consumption of lamb and mutton has declined from nearly five pounds (about 2 kg) to just about one pound (450g), because of competition from poultry, pork, beef, and other meats. Between the 1990s and 2012, U.S. sheep operations declined from around 105,000 to around 80,000 because of shrinking revenues and low rates of return. According to the Economic Research Service of

576-500: The ERS were strongly critical of the relocation to Kansas City and other Trump administration policies, and the exodus of scientific and economic talent and disruption to federal research (especially on climate change and food security ) that they had caused. The move to Kansas City area resulted in an attrition rate particularly high in the Resource and Rural Economics Division (90%) and in

608-725: The Food Economics Division (up to 89%). ERS economists said that the Trump administration's moves were retaliation against the agency for publishing research reports detailing the negative economic effects of Trump's policies, including tariffs and Republican tax legislation , on U.S. agriculture. Today, ERS's mission is to provide "economic research and information to inform public and private decision making on economic and policy issues related to agriculture, food, natural resources, and rural America ." The ERS and National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) jointly fund and manage

640-605: The Secretary. This restructuring prompted criticism that the ERS's historically independent and autonomous data-collection mission would be compromised by political interference. The ERS is organized into the Office of the Administrator and four divisions: The Food Economics Division; the Information Services Division; the Market and Trade Economics Division; and the Resource and Rural Economics Division. Each division

672-465: The alternative of letting sheep collect waste around their buttocks. The Merino breed, accounting for around 80% of the wool produced in Australia, have been selectively bred to have wrinkled skin resulting in excessive amounts of wool while making them much more prone to flystrike. To reduce the risk of flystrike caused by soiling for the lambs who make it to summer, Merino lambs are often mulesed at

SECTION 20

#1732858957151

704-421: The control of a shepherd or sheep dog . Farmers can select from various breeds suitable for their region and market conditions. When the farmer sees that a ewe (female adult) is showing signs of heat or estrus , they can organise for mating with males. Newborn lambs are typically subjected to lamb marking , which involves tail docking , mulesing , earmarking , and males may be castrated . According to

736-524: The first time in data collection and economic analysis and research. The first leader of the BAE was the pioneering agricultural economist Henry Charles Taylor , appointed by Secretary of Agriculture Henry C. Wallace . In its initial years the BAE recruited agricultural economists from the handful of land-grant universities that offered the Ph.D in agriculture, such as Wisconsin , Minnesota , and Cornell . The ERS

768-795: The five countries with the largest number of head of sheep were mainland China (175 million), Australia (75.5 million), India (53.8 million), the former Sudan (52.5 million), and Iran (50.2 million). In 2018, Mongolia had 30.2 million sheep. In 2013, the number of head of sheep were distributed as follows: 44% in Asia, 28.2% in Africa; 11.2% in Europe, 9.1% in Oceania, 7.4% in the Americas. The top producers of sheep meat (average from 1993 to 2013) were as follows: mainland China (1.6 million); Australia (618,000), New Zealand (519,000),

800-459: The following year, that division was merged with the Division of Statistics to form the Bureau of Statistics. In 1914, the bureau was renamed the Bureau of Crop Estimates, and in 1921 this bureau merged with the Bureau of Markets to form the Bureau of Markets and Crop Estimates. This merger brought together "responsibility for the collection of farm-level crop and livestock data with that for major domestic and foreign commodity market transactions" in

832-775: The lambs to grow more quickly, and to be sold for slaughter during the summer (when prices are generally high), but it results in roughly one in every four newborn lambs dying within a few days of birth of malnutrition, disease, or exposure to the harsh cold. In the UK, it results in around 4 million newborn lamb deaths. "Accelerated lambing" is the practice of lambing more than once a year, typically every 6 to 8 months. The advantages of accelerated lambing include increased lamb production, having lambs available for slaughter at different seasons, year-round use of labor and facilities, and increased income per ewe. It requires intensive management, early weaning, exogenous hormones, and artificial impregnation. It

864-452: The office became a separate USDA agency. In 1922, the Bureau of Agricultural Economics ( BAE ), the ERS's immediate predecessor, was established by the merger of the Office of Farm Management and Farm Economics and the Bureau of Markets and Crop Estimates, bringing together responsibility for data collection and economic research/analysis in a single agency. This new agency brought together for

896-401: The office of Trump's Agriculture Secretary , Sonny Perdue , also issued a directive to ERS and other research components of USDA, ordering them to include a disclaimer on peer-reviewed research in scientific journals stating that findings and conclusions were "preliminary" and "should not be construed to represent any agency determination or policy." Susan Offutt, the ERS administrator under

928-443: The same time, which involves cutting off the skin around their buttocks and the base of their tail with metal shears. If the lambs are younger than 6 months, it is legal to do this in Australia without any pain relief. Male lambs are typically castrated . Castration is performed on ram lambs not intended for breeding, although some shepherds choose to omit this for ethical, economic or practical reasons. A common castration technique

960-414: The shepherds from their own fields. Sheep not meant to be eaten are typically shorn annually in a shearing shed . Ewes tend to be shorn immediately prior to lambing. Shearing can be done with either manual blades or machine shears. In Australia, sheep shearers are paid by the number of sheep shorn, not by the hour, and there are no requirements for formal training or accreditation. Because of this, it

992-603: Was established by Secretary of Agriculture Memorandum 1446, supp. 1, of April 3, 1961. It was subsequently consolidated with other USDA units (including the Economic Development Service, established in 1969, and the Economic Management Support Center, established 1974) into the Economics, Statistics, and Cooperatives Service by Secretary's Memorandum 1927, effective December 23, 1977. The agency

Kolar Plateau - Misplaced Pages Continue

1024-589: Was redesignated as the Economic Research Service by secretarial order of October 1, 1981. Under the Trump administration , the ERS and another USDA agency, the National Institute of Food and Agriculture were directed to move from the USDA's headquarters in Washington, D.C. to the Kansas City metropolitan area . Two-thirds of the USDA employees reassigned chose to quit rather than accept relocation. In 2018,

#150849