RALGRO* Implant (Growth Hormone Implants) advertising 28dec03

For use in increasing the rate of weight gain and improving feed conversion in weaned beef calves, growing beef cattle, feedlot steers and feedlot heifers. For increased rate of weight gain in suckling beef calves (including replacement heifers between one month of age and weaning).

The dose for all classes of beef cattle is 36 mg (three 12 mg pellets per dose). The implant site is subcutaneous, between the skin and cartilage on the back side of the ear and below the midline of the ear. The implant must not be placed closer to the head than the edge of the auricular cartilage ring furthest from the head. The location for insertion of the needle is a point toward the tip of the ear and at least a needle length away from the intended deposition site. Care should be taken to avoid injuring the major blood vessels or cartilage of the ear. Squeeze the trigger of the RALOGUN [below] to deliver a full dose of RALGRO. Keep the trigger depressed while withdrawing the needle to be sure that the RALGRO implants stay in place.

Zeranol is an anabolic agent that has a positive influence on the dynamic state of protein metabolism in the animal. Studies indicate that one mode of action of zeranol is stimulation of the pituitary gland to produce increased amounts of somatotropin.

Implanted animals can be expected to gain 10% faster and improved feed conversion 8% over nonimplanted animals. Maximum response will be attained with good quality stock, free from parasites, disease and on a good plane of nutrition.

Implanting guns for RALGRO are available where eve7r RALGRO* is sold. They are free in return for a $5 donation to 4-H Canada collected by the retailer and forwarded to 4-H Canada by the retailer and Schering-Plough Animal Health.

If you have any difficulty finding a RALGRO implanting gun call us at 1-800-605-2584 Ext 7348

The implant site is under the skin on the back side of the ear.

Insert full length of the needle under the skin toward the intended site of the implant. Squeeze the trigger to deliver a full dose of RALGRO and withdraw the needle as the trigger is being depressed.

Do implants before weaning make a difference to performance?

Implant manufacturers, universities, state and provincial departments of agriculture have all conducted an army of studies, and they all agree, implanting
cattle at any age increases feed efficiency and weight gain. Because implants are inexpensive and easy to use they are almost always cost effective. Most
researchers agree that implanting suckling calves can return from $10 to $34 per head at weaning depending on the implant program and the price of calves
Since the cost of implanting young calves is about $1.70 per head (including labour), the return on investment can range from 600 to 2000 percent.

http://www.ralgrocanada.com/en/questions/ques1.html

Will the value of the additional gain be lost to the discount for a heavier calf?

Implants can potentially increase the weaning weight of a calf by 3 to 8 percent. This is not usually enough to trigger a significant discount. A slight
discount on the price per cwt. is made up for by the extra weight of the calf. To maximize the price you receive for your calves you should always try to
market uniform groups of calves.

http://www.ralgrocanada.com/en/questions/ques2.html

Do implants given in the suckling period reduce the response to implants used in the feedlot?

Analysis of a large data base by the North Dakota State University Extension Service showed that the implant programs used in feedlots were equally effective
whether or not incoming calves had received implants as suckling calves.

http://www.ralgrocanada.com/en/questions/ques3.html

Does it make sense to implant suckling calves when I plan to background them in the fall?

Implants increase feed efficiency: they help calves convert more milk or grass into pounds of gain, which means they make more efficient use of pasture.
Producers who background their calves should plan their implant program to include both the pre and post weaning periods in order to deliver feeder cattle to
feedlots as cost effectively as possible. Some investigators suggest steers and heifers intended for slaughter should be implanted every 90 to100 days from
birth to slaughter, with more potent implants being used toward the end of the feedlot phase.

http://www.ralgrocanada.com/en/questions/ques4.html

What about food safety? Do implants have any effect on the beef I produce?

Many consumers ask about the hormone content of beef and may suspect there is some danger in implanted beef. As beef producers, we need to know the facts
about hormones in foods and how implanting affects the production of beef. Both the USDA and WHO/FAO of the United Nations have declared beef from implanted
animals to be safe. Researchers continue to study and monitor the effects of all the various types of estrogen-like compounds from plants and animal sources.
To date no evidence of any appreciable risk has been found.

Steak Dinner
Estrogen from 8 oz steak 2 to 3 nanograms

Estrogen production in humans

All humans produce estrogens continuously and secrete them into the bloodstream.

Man 136,000 nanograms per day

Woman (not pregnant) 480,000 nanograms per day

Pregnant woman 20,000,000 nanograms per day

For more information on estrogens in food

U.S National Food Safety Database http://foodsafety.ifas.ufl.edu/sf/sf084.htm BROKEN LINK 28dec03

But try http://foodsafety.ifas.ufl.edu/indexNFSDB.htm

http://www.ralgrocanada.com/en/questions/ques5.html

How is RALGRO* different from other implants and how does that help in my feedlot?

Consumers today are concerned about growth promoting implants in beef production and so are we. We want Canadian beef producers to know more about how RALGRO works and why it is different from all other implants. One common way to improve weight gain and feed efficiency in beef cattle is by stimulating the natural growth system of the animal. This results in the deposition of more protein and less fat and the production of a quality carcass at a lower cost. There are several types of implant that can be used to do this. Some of the first ones approved for use in Canada contained estrogen and progesterone, which occur normally in cattle. Later zeranol, the active ingredient in RALGRO, was isolated from a corn mold and found to have similar abilities to stimulate the animal's natural growth system. Because zeranol has 1/350th the estrogenic potency of estradiol, it reduces the occurrence of undesirable side effects, like bullers, associated with other implants while increasing the rate of gain and improving feed efficiency.

http://www.ralgrocanada.com/en/questions/ques6.html

IMPLANTING SUCKLING CALVES
Which calves should I implant and when?
All steers and heifers intended for eventual slaughter should be implanted.
Bulls intended for breeding should not be implanted.
Heifers may be implanted with RALGRO after they reach 30 days of age but before weaning with no effect on later reproductive performance.
Steer calves can be implanted at birth and every 90 to 100 days thereafter.
Heifers destined for slaughter can be implanted at 30 days of age and every 90 to 100 days thereafter.
What about heifers?
There is no long term advantage to implanting heifers intended for breeding, so if you know a particular calf will be a replacement you can pass her over at implant time. On the other hand if you do implant a heifer as a young calf and later decide she will be a replacement, there is no problem, just don't implant her a second time.

In the example above, calves are implanted in spring and again in the late summer. In spring, all the animals except the heifers definitely identified as replacements are implanted. In late summer 10 more heifers have been earmarked as replacements so they don't receive the second implant. The total cost of implanting these animals is $306 including labour. Total increased weight of 85 feeders sold is 2550 lbs. This is based on implanting costs of $1.20 for Ralgro and $.50 for labour.

http://www.ralgrocanada.com/en/strategies/stratcalf.html

Art. No. R 3301

INTENDED USE

Competitive enzyme immunoassay for the quantitative analysis of zeranol in urine (an additional sample preparation method for tissue samples - muscle, liver and kidney is available on request).

GENERAL

The estrogenic anabolic agent zeranol (a-zearalanol) is derived from the mycotoxin zearalenone. It is used to increase the average daily liveweight gain in ruminants and to improve the food conversion efficiency. However, this compound has not been authorized as fattening adjuvant in the EU.

The synthetic compound zeranol possesses about three times the estrogenic activity of zearalenone. Besides its anabolic effects, zeranol causes the clinical signs of hyperestrogenism, particulary reduced fertility and disorders in development. It is thus not impossible that zeranol residues in edible tissue, after illegal use, may lead to a risk for consumers.
Using the RIDASCREEN® Zeranol assay, it is possible to detect this estrogenic anabolic agent in urine both rapidly and with accuracy.

SPECIFICATIONS

Microtiterplate format:
96 well

Detection limit:
220 ng/kg (ppt) for urine samples

Incubation time:
2 h 30 min

Sample preparation:
hydrolysis, chromatographic prepurification by means of RIDA© C18 columns (R 2002)

Recovery rate:
urine 67 %

Cross reaction:
Zeranol 100 %
a-Zearalenol 21.1 %
ß-Zearalenol 2.5 %
Zearalanone 2.4 %
all other cross reactions are < 0.02 %

Samples per kit:
up to 42 in duplicate

Standards:
0 / 31.25 / 125 / 500 / 2,000 / 8,000 ppt

Measurement:
microtiter plate reader (450 nm)

Sensitive and quantitative determination of Zeranol
> Fast and Easy extraction