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This year Camp Cooley Ranch celebrates 20 years of
ultrasound performance in our Brangus herd. From this work results some
of the most powerful, performance proven Brangus, Angus and Charolais
bulls to ever sell at Camp Cooley. Your search for Quality in
Volume begins and ends at Camp Cooley Ranch. Give us a call or
stop by for a visit!
www.campcooley.com
1-800-251-0305
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Holy Toledo, Batman, this market has been hot! Fed cattle set all
kinds of post-BSE highs last week. Early trade was at $98 and late-week
trade hit $99, fully $4/cwt. higher than the week before.
Boxed beef moved dramatically higher, as well, with the Choice price
moving above $166 last week. And the long-awaited big move in the
Choice/Select spread apparently has started, as it moved to over
$11/cwt.
While the weather has improved dramatically the last several weeks, it
continues to play big in this rally. Carcass weights continue to run
10-12 lbs. below year-ago levels, and it will take some time to recover
that lost weight, especially considering $4/corn. The winter stress is
also expected to continue to drive the Choice/Select spread to record or
near-record levels this spring. In addition, the booming futures market
helped drive the feeder market significantly higher.
So the question is, "where do we go from here?" It's safe to say the
upside is somewhat limited. Consumer demand will be a key determinant
the next several weeks in whether the beef complex can continue to show
strength, thus returning some margin to the packing industry. Though the
market is still saddled with $4 corn, with continued light placements,
the supply and demand fundamentals remain in excellent condition.
-- Troy Marshall
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As expected, the World Organization for Animal Health's (OIE)
Scientific Commission cited the U.S. and Canada in the first group of
countries to be classified as "controlled risk" for BSE; a final ruling
from OIE is expected in May. This should help the two countries in their
efforts to regain lost export markets. It also should weaken the effort
of those hoping to bury USDA's plan on "over-30" cattle.
With so many significant factors impacting our market, all the attention
on the Canadian border issue is almost mind-boggling. Ethanol is just
one issue that, according to current projections, will cost the industry
tens of billions of dollars over time. Yet, it seems to inspire little
grassroots interest in how it all plays out.
Meanwhile, mention a USDA rule to reopen trade with Canada, which
follows international guidelines and would allow the U.S. to halt its
loss of slaughter-cow capacity, and it inspires a lot of passion on both
sides of the issue.
-- Troy Marshall
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Public interest in the 6-ft. snowstorm that hit Southeast Colorado
has melted away with the coming of warmer temps, but the difficulties
for area ranchers in many cases are just beginning. The calving stories
are almost too horrific to recount -- abortions, weak calves, older cows
calving early and/or not producing milk, and poor calving percentages. I
recently talked to a cattleman who said he'd consider a 50% calf crop at
this point a minor victory.
Click here to read more of this story by Troy
Marshall
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In a move seen as bolstering efforts to fully reopen Pacific Rim
markets for U.S. beef, the World Organization for Animal Health's (OIE)
Scientific Commission has endorsed the recommendation from an OIE expert
panel that the U.S. be classified as "controlled risk" for BSE. OIE's
General Assembly will vote on the recommendation in May.
Ron DeHaven, USDA administrator for the Animal and Plant Health
Inspection Service (APHIS), said, "The controlled risk classification
recognizes that OIE-recommended, science-based mitigation measures are
in place to effectively manage any possible risk of BSE in the cattle
population. This recommendation provides strong support that U.S.
regulatory controls are effective and that U.S cattle and products from
cattle of all ages can be safely traded in accordance with international
guidelines, due to our interlocking safeguards."
Meanwhile, the Kyodo News reported this week that Japan won't
immediately relax its import terms for U.S. beef despite the OIE
announcement. Japan currently only accepts beef products from cattle 20
months of age and younger.
The article quoted Yoshio Kobayashi, Japan's Agriculture, Forestry and
Fisheries vice minister, as saying that an examination of U.S. terms for
beef exports to Japan has yet to be completed.
''We are not at the stage of participating in negotiations to review the
terms of trade,'' he said.
-- P. Scott Shearer, Washington, D.C.,
correspondent
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An estimated 23.2 million acres out of 27.8 million acres of
eligible Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) contracts set to expire
between 2007 and 2010 are expected to be re-enrolled, says USDA
Secretary Mike Johanns. An estimated 4.6 million acres in CRP contracts
will exit CRP between 2007 and 2010. Of the 4.6 million acres, 1.4
million acres are located in major corn-producing states, USDA
says.
"The percentage of landowners choosing to remain in CRP is consistent
with what we've seen in the past, despite speculation that re-enrollment
would drop significantly due to high corn prices," Johanns says. "We are
closely monitoring interest in CRP re-enrollment, planting projections
and demand for commodities to determine the most appropriate future
actions in administering the CRP."
The 4.6 million-acre estimate includes all general sign-up expiring
contracts not extended or re-enrolled under last year's offer. It
doesn't include acres under expiring continuous sign-up contracts, which
will be eligible to be re-enrolled during the final contract year.
More than 36 million acres enrolled in CRP, under which landowners plant
grasses and trees in crop fields and along streams to protect the
environment and provide wildlife habitat.
-- USDA's Farm Service Agency release
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The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California on
Monday issued a preliminary injunction in a lawsuit currently pending
before the court on Roundup-Ready alfalfa. The suit, brought by an
activist group called Center for Food Safety, alleges USDA approved
Roundup-Ready alfalfa without sufficient environmental impact studies.
Oral arguments are set for April 27.
The preliminary injunction allows continued harvest, use and sale of
Roundup-Ready alfalfa but placed limits on the purchase and planting of
seed until further hearings are held. Growers who purchased seed before
March 12 can plant prior to March 30. After March 30, growers can only
plant non-genetically engineered alfalfa seed.
Roundup-Ready alfalfa is produced by Monsanto, which isn't named in the
suit. The company, along with several farmers, was granted intervenor
status in the suit last week.
-- Burt Rutherford
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The House Agriculture Subcommittee on Livestock, Dairy and Poultry
held a hearing to review the impact of feed costs on the livestock
industry. USDA says the U.S. produced an estimated 5 billion gals. of
ethanol through 2006, using about 20% of the 2006 corn harvest. By
2010-2011, USDA said 4 billion bu. of corn will be used to produce 11.5
billion gals. of ethanol, using 30% of U.S. corn production.
National Cattlemen's Beef Association members at their annual meeting in
February adopted policy calling for a transition to a market-based
approach for the production and usage of ethanol produced from
corn.
"We're calling for sunsetting the existing blender's tax credit
(51¢/gal.) and the ethanol import tariff (54¢/gal.) as
scheduled in 2010 and 2009 respectively," Ernie Morales, a Southwest
Texas cattle feeder and rancher, told committee members. "We believe
these credits have served a valuable purpose. But at a projected annual
production level of somewhere between 12 and 15 billion gals., it's
clear this is no longer a fledgling industry."
-- P. Scott Shearer, Washington, D.C.,
correspondent
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Cotton is one casualty of the growing U.S. emphasis on corn
production. John Anderson, Mississippi State University Extension
agricultural economist, says 25% of that state's cotton acres could go
into corn in 2007.
John Pocock writes on eCorn Digest that it's a similar story in
Texas. There, Brent Bean, Texas A&M University (TAMU) Extension
agronomist, says: "North of Lubbock, certainly 10% of the cotton acreage
could go to corn." That 10% figure is likely to hold true for East Texas
and the Gulf Coast areas of Texas as well, according to Steve
Livingston, TAMU Extension agronomist, Corpus Christi.
"In heavy corn areas south of Houston, seed dealers have doubled their
corn and sorghum sales," he says. "So, if you consider corn and sorghum
together, about 30% of the cotton in this area could go away this year."
For more info on corn and cotton acreage, visit: www.nass.usda.gov/Charts_and_Maps/Field_Crops/index.asp.
-- eCorn Digest
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Micro Beef Technologies will acquire CattleLog Animal Information
Systems from eMerge Interactive. Terms of the sale weren't disclosed. In
February, eMerge declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy and put its two business
units, CattleLog and VerifEYE, on the block.
Micro Beef Technologies serves the cattle-feeding segment with a variety
of information and animal-management technologies. CattleLog serves the
non-confined segment with data collection and age and source
verification.
-- Micro Beef Release
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Gasoline prices were up for the sixth straight week, increasing
5.4¢ to $2.559/gal., as of March 12; 19.3¢/gal. higher than at
this time last year. All regions reported price increases.
East Coast prices were up 4.2¢ to $2.533/gal., while Midwest prices
rose 2.2¢ to $2.487. Prices for the Gulf Coast were up 3.5¢ to
$2.402, while Rocky Mountain prices increased 5.9¢ to $2.412. The
largest regional increase was in the West Coast at 15.5¢ to $2.92,
while California rose 17.1¢ to $3.068, 53.6¢/gal. over last
year.
Meanwhile, retail diesel prices jumped 5.9¢ to a national average
of $2.685/gal., 14.2¢ higher than at this time last year. All
regions reported price increases, with the East Coast jumping 6.5¢
to $2.669/gal., and the Midwest 6.7¢ to $2.673. Meanwhile, the Gulf
Coast saw an increase of 5.7¢ to $2.644, Rocky Mountain prices grew
7.8¢ to $2.736, and the West Coast saw an increase of 1.6¢ to
$2.811. California prices rose 0.2¢ to $2.899, 15.2¢/gal.
higher than at this time last year.
-- Energy Information Administration
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The field guide, "Common Wyoming Pest Grasshoppers," updated with
new photos and clarified text, is now available from the University of
Wyoming Cooperative Extension Service (UWCES). The free, pocketsize
booklet includes photos and info on the 17 most problematic grasshopper
species that cause economic injury to Wyoming and Western producers.
"The main purpose of the handbook is to help with the identification of
grasshoppers and management techniques to aid in control efforts," says
coauthor and UW CES entomologist Scott Schell.
Email bixbyd@uwyo.edu or
call 307-766-2115 for a copy.
-- University of Wyoming news release
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Applications are being accepted for the W.D. Farr scholarship
program, which honors W.D. Farr, 96, of Greeley, CO, a pioneer rancher,
statesman and banker. Presented by the National Cattlemen's Foundation
(NCF), $12,000 scholarships will be awarded to two outstanding students
pursuing graduate degrees in animal science, environmental science or
agriculture. Application deadline is April 4. Visit www.nationalcattlemensfoundation.org/scholarship.aspx
for more info, or call 303-850-3388.
-- National Cattlemen's Foundation news release
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Fresh water on demand, 24 hours a day.
Ritchie manufactures a complete line of livestock watering products with
the highest specifications in the industry. Ritchie fountains are
available in stainless steel, heavy-duty poly or both and backed by a 10
year limited warranty. Contact us at 800-747-0222. www.ritchiefount.com
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Sens. Pete Domenici (R-NM) and Blanche Lincoln (D-AR), and Reps.
Ralph Hall (R-TX) and Collin Peterson (D-MN), introduced the
"Agricultural Protection and Prosperity Act of 2007," which is intended
to clarify that livestock manure is not classified as a hazardous waste
under Superfund laws.
Lincoln said, "Farmers and ranchers have always been responsible
stewards of the land and make great strides to preserve a healthy
environment for food production as well as for their families and
communities. There's a growing understanding in this country, however,
that without the clarification provided by our legislation, requirements
and liability under the Comprehensive Environmental Response,
Compensation, and Liability Act could be unfairly applied to America's
farmers and ranchers both large and small."
Stacey Katseanes, National Cattlemen's Beef Association director of
legislative affairs, says manure management on U.S. farms and ranches is
already heavily regulated under the Clean Water Act, Clean Air Act and
countless state laws.
"Superfund is about toxic waste sites and chemical spills, not livestock
manure on farms and ranches," she says. "The Superfund laws were created
in the 1980s to provide for cleanup of toxic waste dumps and hazardous
chemical spills, to force reporting of releases of hazardous chemicals
and to enable emergency response."
-- P. Scott Shearer, Washington, D.C.,
correspondent
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Rep. Adrian Smith (R-NE) introduced H.R. 1217, which would provide
owners of Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFO) with tax
incentives for complying with new environmental regulations. Smith said,
"This legislation will provide some tax relief to producers who are
working to keep the environment clean."
-- P. Scott Shearer, Washington, D.C.,
correspondent
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The Senate Budget Committee began work this week on the budget
resolution. Sen. Kent Conrad (D-ND), chairman of the committee, proposes
$15 billion in new agricultural spending over five years, if offset.
With numerous requests for additional farm-bill spending for specialty
crops, conservation and environmental programs, cellulosic research,
energy, permanent disaster aid program, food and nutrition, etc., it
will be very difficult for the House and Senate Agriculture Committees
to determine what offsets will be used to be able to access the proposed
$15 billion in new spending.
-- P. Scott Shearer, Washington, D.C.,
correspondent
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Sens. Tom Harkin (D-IA) and Dick Lugar (R-IN) introduced legislation
to require a U.S. Department of Energy study on the feasibility of
transporting ethanol by pipeline from the Midwest to the East and West
coasts.
Harkin said, "The most promising liquid fuel alternative to conventional
gasoline today is ethanol. We must do all that we can to reduce our
dependence on oil using sources that will boost the rural economy and
improve environmental quality. As we promote these ideas, however, we
have to take into account the full range of infrastructure issues that
broader ethanol use entails. The rapid growth of ethanol production and
use necessitates the very near-term study of transporting ethanol by
pipeline."
-- P. Scott Shearer, Washington, D.C.,
correspondent
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The POWER of one BRAND can change your future in the beef
business.
Certified Angus Beef ®, the oldest, most successful branded
beef program in the industry returned more than $50 million in grid
premiums in 2003. The demand for CAB® brand products translates into
fed cattle premiums of $2-$5/cwt. Source-verified, high-percentage Angus
replacement females often top auctions by selling for $50-$100 per head
above cash market. Sale barn surveys conducted at nine auction markets
indicated premiums are paid, not for black-hided cattle, but for
high-percentage-Angus cattle.
One brand, one breed--the power of one can change your future in the
beef business.
www.angus.org
Certified Angus Beef® and CAB® are registered trademarks of
Certified Angus Beef, LLC
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Montana cattle ranchers still have time to screen their herds for
animals persistently infected (PI) with the bovine viral diarrhea (BVD)
virus. And the managers of the Montana BVD-PI Herd Screening Project
believe there may be added incentive beyond better herd health for
ranchers who identify PI-negative calves. They simply may be worth more
money come marketing time.
Click here to read more of this story by Joe
Roybal
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There's more than one way to turn a buck off the land, and the folks
with the Oklahoma Department of Tourism and Oklahoma Ag Department want
landowners to know how agritourism may fit their plans. A series of
workshops will explore tourism trends, landowner liability, funding
sources, marketing, pricing and more.
Dates and locations include: April 6 -- Vinita; April 13 -- Antlers;
April 26 -- Weatherford; May 4 -- Moore; May 10 -- Henryetta; May 15 --
Medicine Park; and May 18 -- Ardmore.
Early registration is $15, $25 at the door. For more info, visit www.oklahomaagritourism.com or call 405-522-5652.
-- Burt Rutherford
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They get it done with one
Click
here to learn how experts are getting it done with one -- one
vaccine that includes up to 13 disease-fighting antigens. New Vira
Shield® 6+VL5 HB is the first and only inactivated viral vaccine
with BVD, vibrio and Lepto hardjo-bovis, the leptospire that can clobber
conception rates. Click on the photos to hear more on this convenient
product.
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The 56th Montana Livestock Forum and Nutrition Conference in Bozeman
on April 10-11 features the theme "Energy Policy and the Cattle
Industry."
The program begins April 10 at 12:30 p.m. with presentations by national
experts on: The effects of energy demand on the cattle industry, the
cattle industry and Montana's response to higher-priced grains, and
boosting forage programs. The evening session features a discussion on
whether ethanol byproducts are responsible for decreasing quality grade.
The April 11 program begins at 8 a.m. with a presentation on cow-herd
improvement, followed by others on preventing disease introduction onto
your ranch, and an analysis of how the re-establishment of U.S. imports
of Canadian cull cows and processing beef will affect U.S. producers.
The conference winds up at noon.
Registration is $50, which includes a CD of the proceedings. For more
info, contact Anita Gray at 406-994-3414 or anitag@montana.edu.
-- MSU news release
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