February is not your typical “discuss silage safety month.” However, in light of recent silage-related injuries and fatalities with pile management, this month’s safety article is focused on hazards associated with managing silage in bunker silos and drive-over piles. Silage injury or fatality statistics are not easily collected; however, silage-related fatalities continue to be reported in local media outlets.

California Dairies Inc. (CDI) welcomes David Camp to its executive team as senior vice president and CFO. Camp, a certified public accountant, will be responsible for the financial, accounting, treasury, information technology and risk management functions within CDI.

The USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) updated its online geospatial exploring tool, CropScape, adding Cropland Data Layers from crop year 2013. This tool gives public an easy access to interactive visualization, geospatial queries and dissemination without the need to download specialized software.

A downturn in large farm equipment has sparked the layoff of 120 workers at the East Moline, Illinois, plant of Deere & Co. The layoffs will be effective March 31.

According to a report by Chicago Tribune reporter Alejandra Cancino, Deere reported an increase in first-quarter income, but expects overall sales this year to drop, due in large part to decreased sales of ag equipment.

Vote for the 2014 Cattle Feeders Hall of Fame inductees now on the Cattle Feeders Hall of Fame website. In the sixth year of nominations, this group of nominees showcases five unique pioneers and visionaries for the cattle-feeding industry. From the five nominees, two inductees will be announced during the Cattle Feeders Hall of Fame banquet this summer in Denver, Colorado.

Merck Animal Health has introduced Once PMH IN, the only intranasal vaccine to deliver dual bacterial pneumonia protection in healthy beef and dairy cattle, including calves as young as 1 week of age. Once PMH IN aids in the control of respiratory disease caused by Mannheimia haemolytica and in the prevention of disease caused by Pasteurella multocida – the leading causes of early-onset Bovine Respiratory Disease (BRD).

According to a recent poll, nearly half of Progressive Forage Grower readers (39.8 percent) do not plan to buy any used or new equipment this year.

Norbrook Laboratories Ltd. announced that following the FDA’s denial of a Citizen Petition filed by Bayer Animal Health, the FDA has re-instated in full its prior approval of the sale and use of Norbrook’s new Enroflox 100 (enrofloxacin)in cattle and non-lactating dairy heifers less than 20 months of age.

ABS Global Inc. announces the 2014 photo contest, open to all photographers. The company is searching for outstanding photos to use in its promotional materials, including but not limited to the yearly calendar, posters, brochures and company website.