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Menu items for the traditional Thanksgiving dinner with turkey,
stuffing, cranberries, pumpkin pie and all the trimmings will cost more
this year, but remain affordable, according to the American Farm Bureau
Federation (AFBF).
AFBF's 22nd annual informal survey of the prices of basic items found on
the Thanksgiving Day dinner table found the average cost of this year's
dinner for 10 is $42.26, a $4.16 increase over last year's $38.10. The
survey shopping list includes turkey, stuffing, sweet potatoes, rolls
with butter, peas, cranberries, a relish tray of carrots and celery,
pumpkin pie with whipped cream, and beverages of coffee and milk, all in
quantities sufficient to serve a family of 10.
The cost of a 16-lb. turkey, at $17.63 or roughly $1.10/lb., reflects an
increase of 12¢/lb., or a total of $1.93/turkey compared to 2006.
This is the largest contributor to the overall increase in the cost of
the 2007 Thanksgiving dinner.
Other items increasing this year included: a gallon of whole milk,
$3.88; a 30-oz. can of pumpkin pie mix, $2.13; 3 lbs. of sweet potatoes,
$3.08; two, 9-in. pie shells, $2.08; a 12-oz. package of brown-n-serve
rolls, $1.89; a 1/2-pint of whipping cream, $1.56; and 12-oz. of fresh
cranberries, $2.20.
"Consumers can enjoy a wholesome, home-cooked turkey dinner for just
over $4/person -- less than a typical fast-food meal. That's an amazing
deal, any way you slice it," AFBF economist Jim Sartwelle says.
First conducted in 1986, AFBF volunteers look for the best possible
prices, without taking advantage of special promotional coupons or
purchase deals. This year's average cost of $42.26 is equivalent to
$20.46 in inflation-adjusted dollars, which has roughly remained
constant over the past 17 years.
-- AFBF news release
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Researchers at Adelaide University in Australia have identified a
gene that explains a large increase in retail beef yield. While the
gene, called myostatin F94L, isn't the only gene that influences retail
beef yield, it has a large effect. Homozygous animals have 13% larger
ribeye areas and 4% more total retail yield, according to the
research.
The gene is most commonly found in Limousin cattle, researchers say.
According to the North American Limousin Foundation (NALF), the gene's
high-yielding form occurs in 83% of the Limousin breed, meaning 68% of
Limousin animals are homozygous for the trait and 28% are
heterozygous.
"This gene appears to explain a much larger proportion of the genetic
variation of the (retail yield) trait than any of the currently
available gene markers for marbling, tenderness or feed efficiency,"
says Alex McDonald, general manager of the Limousin Society in
Australia. "The discovery of what appears to be a major gene, which can
be used to increase retail beef yield in all breeds of cattle throughout
the world, is an exciting breakthrough."
Negotiations are underway with an Australian laboratory to provide a
commercial gene test for the F94L modification.
-- NALF release
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Almost as predictable as the coming of the winter season is the
horror story of the death of several cows from a herd fed "the good hay"
for the first time after a snowstorm. Ranchers who have harvested and
stored potentially high nitrate forages such as forage sorghums,
millets, sudangrass hybrids, and/or Johnsongrass, need to be aware (not
fearful) of the increased possibility of nitrate toxicity, says Glen
Selk, Oklahoma State University Extension cattle specialist.
-- Click on headline to read the rest of this
story by Cow-Calf Corner Newsletter
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The Certified Angus Beef® (CAB) brand recorded sales
of more than 584 million lbs., the highest mark in its 29-year history,
and annual brand sales topped $2.5 billion, for the fiscal year ended
Sept. 30, CAB reports. That's the eighth consecutive year of annual
sales volumes greater than 500-million lbs.
A record 13.5 million identified Angus-influenced cattle saw an
acceptance rate of 16%, for a net 2.15 million certified cattle with an
average carcass weight of 808 lbs. The enhanced CAB specifications,
implemented in January, improved product consistency by eliminating
outliers -- extremely fat or heavy carcasses and the largest and
smallest ribeyes.
In addition:- CAB Natural increased 180%, with sales at 7.7
million lbs.
- CAB Prime garnered a 23% increase at 6.4 million lbs.
- Food service recorded a third-consecutive record sales year, with
12% growth, moving past the 200-million-lb. mark.
- International sales increased nearly 40% to 51 million lbs.
For more info, visit CABpartners.com or certifiedangusbeef.com.
-- Certified Angus Beef news release
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Samples from cattle in Virginia's Orange County have tested positive
for Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease (EHD), according to the Virginia
Department of Ag and Consumer Services.
The agency's Office of Veterinary Services had received reports of
cattle with ulcers, sore mouths, reluctance to eat and lameness, all of
which indicate the possibility of EHD. Samples sent to the National
Veterinary Services Lab in Ames, IA, confirmed the cattle had been
exposed to the virus.
EHD, a disease common in white-tailed deer, comes from a virus carried
by biting gnats and it typically occurs in warm, dry conditions.
EHD-infected cattle may experience weight loss or decreased milk
production while symptoms are present. The disease is rarely fatal in
cattle and poses no known threat to humans, according to Virginia ag
officials.
To be on the safe side, Virginia animal health officials are advising
cattle owners to report symptoms that may appear to be EHD to their
local veterinarians to reduce the possibility of overlooking more
serious diseases. The gnats usually die with the first hard frost. Until
then, producers can use external parasite control and keep cattle away
from deer, officials say.
-- Virginia Department of Ag and Consumer
Services release
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Recent declines in ethanol prices have sharply reduced profitability
for ethanol producers, USDA's chief economist Keith Collins recently
told the House Ag Committee.
-- Click on headline to read the rest of this
story by
Elton Robinson, Farm Press
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Action on the U.S. Senate's $288-billion farm bill has likely been
postponed until 2008. That after a move to cut off debate this week fell
five votes short.
Both parties blamed the other for the delay in action on the Food and
Energy Security Act of 2007. Democrats claimed the opposition party was
out to deliberately derail the measure, while Republicans derided
Democratic efforts to limit the number of amendments to the
legislation.
-- Joe Roybal
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Farmland values continued to climb in the third quarter and bankers
think that farmland values haven't yet peaked, according to the Third
Quarter Ag Credit Survey by the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City.
In the survey of 273 banks in the 10-state Tenth Federal Reserve
District, the farm income index surpassed the record high set in 2004.
Nebraska posted the largest income gains with abundant yields and high
crop prices boosting receipts.
According to the survey, bankers feel land values will continue to
appreciate after harvest is complete. For more info, go to www.KansasCityFed.org/agcrsurv/agcrmain.htm.
-- Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City news
release
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Years ago, Conoco advertised its gasoline to consumers by urging
them to "put a tiger in your tank." With its introduction of motor oil
made from beef tallow, a firm called Green Earth Technologies could
consider marketing its product with a tagline such as "beef up your
engine."
Called G-Oil, it's the first bio-based, high-endurance motor oil to
provide superior performance at competitive prices, reports Doane's
Ag Report. While it takes nearly three barrels of crude oil to make
one barrel of motor oil, Green Earth says it gets a full barrel of
quality motor oil from a barrel of animal fat.
-- Joe Roybal
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Invasive plant species such as spotted knapweed aren't only taking a
toll on native plant species, but have a detrimental effect on the
biodiversity of microbes in the soil, says a new Colorado State
University study to be published in the journal International Society
for Microbial Ecology.
"Spotted knapweed originated in Eurasia where it's held in check by
pathogens, herbivores and other plant competitors that evolved along
side of it," says Amanda Broz, a graduate student in Colorado State's
Center for Rhizosphere Biology, who conducted the research. "When
knapweed was introduced to the American West, it escaped these natural
enemies, allowing it to spread and take over many of our native
grasslands."
Spotted knapweed arrived on both coasts of North America in the late
1800s as a contaminant of alfalfa seed. In addition to displacing native
plant species, the weed increases water runoff leading to erosion and
reduces forage for livestock and wildlife.
Researchers collected soil samples from areas near Missoula, MT, where
spotted knapweed is particularly problematic, infesting more than 4.7
million acres in the state. In areas with very high-densities of spotted
knapweed, there was 80% less DNA of fungi than areas with low-densities
of spotted knapweed. Even areas with a low-density of spotted knapweed
showed changes in the amount and types of soil microbes naturally found
in the area.
Soil microbes can have a profound influence on molecular and biochemical
processes in individual plants, plant community and ultimately the
entire ecosystem. The disruption of the balance between native plants
and microbial communities in the soil can have a negative effect on
native plants while benefiting invasive species.
"A better understanding of the interactions between native plants,
invasive species and the native soil community will help in developing
more effective strategies in managing invasive species and restoring the
landscape to its natural state," Broz says.
-- Colorado State University release
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Your field of dreams may be for the public to come to your ranch or
farm to enjoy a hayride, cut a Christmas tree, watch birds or partake in
any number of outdoor activities. But improper planning could make it
your nightmare, says Miles Phillips, a Texas Cooperative Extension
recreation, parks and tourism specialist.
-- Click on headline to read the rest of this
Texas A&M University release
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Two University of Nebraska-Lincoln studies have found that a vaccine
product containing type III secreted proteins of Escherichia coli
O157:H7 effectively reduces the probability for cattle to shed E.
coli O157:H7 while also reducing E. Coli colonization of the
terminal rectum under conditions of natural exposure. This is the first
step in its evaluation as an effective intervention for food and
environmental safety.
David R. Smith, DVM, PhD, one of the authors of the studies, says:
"Together these studies provide important information about whether and
how this vaccine works in field conditions. We gain confidence that the
vaccine is effective by seeing that it reduces fecal shedding and
colonization of cattle with E. coli O157:H7, observing the
phenomenon of herd immunity, and noticing that greater numbers of doses
increases the effect."
In the first study, 480 of 608 same-source steers were randomly assigned
to 60 pens (eight head/pen) and one of four vaccination treatments (120
cattle/treatment, two head/pen). The four treatments were: no
vaccination; one dose, vaccinated on arrival day; two doses, vaccinated
on arrival day and again on day 42; and three doses, on arrival day, day
21 and day 42. The remaining 128 steers were assigned randomly to 12
pens within the same feedlot to serve as unvaccinated external controls.
The study found vaccine efficacy of receiving one, two and three doses
of vaccine was 68, 66 and 73%, respectively, compared with cattle in
pens not receiving the vaccine. In addition, this study found that
vaccinating a majority of cattle within a pen offered a significant
protective effect (herd immunity) to unvaccinated cattle within the same
pen.
In the second study, a blinded clinical trial was conducted on 288
steers randomly assigned to 36 pens (eight head/pen), and pens were
randomized to vaccination treatment in a balanced fashion within six
dietary treatments of an unrelated nutrition study. Treatments included
vaccination or placebo. Fecal samples were collected and terminal rectum
mucosal (TRM) cells were collected for culture. Researchers found
vaccinated cattle were 98.3% less likely to be colonized by E.
coli O157 in TRM cells.
Both studies can be found in the Journal of Food Protection,
Volume, 70, No.11, pages 2561 and 2568.
www.meatami.com
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The Pennsylvania ag department will stop dairies from labeling milk
containers with hormone-free labels in a precedent-setting decision
being closely watched by not only the dairy industry, but beef as
well.
The order, effective Jan. 1, stops dairies selling milk in Pennsylvania
from advertising that their product comes from cows that have never been
treated with rBST, or recombinant bovine somatrotropin. The product has
been used in dairy cows for more than a decade and since it can't be
detected in milk, there's no way to test for its use, the Associated
Press reports. State ag secretary Dennis C. Wolff said advertising
one brand of milk as free from artificial hormones implies that
competitors' milk is not safe, and often comes with what he said is an
unjustified higher price.
The order also bars other kinds of "absence labeling," including claims
that milk is free of pesticides or antibiotics, which all milk normally
is.
-- Burt Rutherford
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The Philippines have fully opened its market to U.S. beef and beef
products of all ages. Previously, imports of U.S. beef and beef products
were restricted to boneless beef and offals from cattle less than 30
months of age.
Acting USDA Secretary Chuck Conner applauded the move and said: "The
Philippines has set the standard for other Asian nations, and we will
continue to press for full market access throughout the Pacific Rim."
In May 2007, the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) formally
classified the U.S. as a controlled-risk country for BSE. The
designation confirms that U.S. BSE regulatory controls are effective and
that U.S. beef and beef products of all ages can be safely traded.
The U.S. exported $4.9 million of beef and beef products to the
Philippines in 2003. U.S. beef exports to the Philippines reached $6.3
million in 2006 when partial market access was achieved. Under this new
agreement, USDA estimates that U.S. beef exports to the Philippines
could potentially double in 2008.
More than 100 countries now allow the entry of at least some U.S. beef
and beef products.
-- USDA news release
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In testimony last week in Washington, D.C., Nevada rancher Dean
Rhoads described the devastating effects of the federal estate tax.
Dean and wife Sharon own and live on a ranch established by her parents
in 1943. "My mother-in-law died in 1976. My father-in-law paid a total
estate tax of over $300,000. To do this, he could not afford to keep the
ranch where my wife and I and our two daughters lived. Losing this
ranch and our home was not only a personal blow, but it was devastating
to our operation," Rhoads told the Senators.
When his father-in-law died in 1995, there was no more land left to sell
to pay the Death Tax of more than $340,000. So they borrowed the money
and are paying more than $18,000 a year to the IRS.
"It's difficult, but we can deal with the variables of weather, drought,
labor shortage, market conditions and day-to-day business expenses such
as the increasing price of fuel," Rhoads said. "But if you continue to
add the specter of the burden of this unfair tax -- if we have to pay
this much a third time as a family for one ranch -- I don't have much
optimism for our future."
-- NCBA Cattlemen's Capitol Concerns
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The 20th edition of the biennial Range Beef Cow Symposium, a
cooperative program produced by the Extension and animal science faculty
of South Dakota, Wyoming, Nebraska and Colorado, is set for Dec. 11-13
in Fort Collins, CO. If you're a cow-calf producer interested in
practical production and management info, this is one educational
meeting that is a must.
Set for The Ranch in the Larimer County Fairgrounds and Events Complex,
the meeting offers info in the categories of: industry issues;
consumers, products and markets; cow-calf nutrition; management
practices; reproductive management; animal health; cattle selection and
genetics; range and forage management; and markets and marketing. A
highlight of each symposium is the Bull Pen Sessions, which are held
each evening of the meeting and offer participants the ability to meet
with presenters in small-group sessions.
For a detailed look at the program or to register, visit: www.rangebeefcow.com or ansci.colostate.edu/.
-- Joe Roybal
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Schering-Plough Corp. (www.schering-plough.com)
announced Monday the completion of its acquisition of Organon
BioSciences N.V. from Akzo Nobel N.V. for more than $16 billion in cash.
Organon BioSciences is comprised primarily of Organon, a human health
business, and Intervet, an animal health business.
The transaction makes Schering-Plough a global leader in animal health,
a news release says. "We increase our science strength, and we increase
our scale in animal health," says Fred Hassan, Schering-Plough chairman
and CEO. "This greatly increases the value we will bring to customers.
We see this strong combined animal health unit as a key strategic part
of our integrated business that will contribute to long-term high
performance."
Schering-Plough's agreement to acquire Organon BioSciences was announced
on March 12.
-- Schering-Plough news release
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With the devastating drought in the Southeast forcing herd
reductions and herd liquidations, many cattle producers have questions
about the tax implications of the sales.
For producers in Tennessee, an IRS provision kicks in that will help,
Jerri Lynn Sims, farm management specialist with the Tennessee Extension
Service, told the Tennessean newspaper. With all 95 Tennessee
counties declared a federal disaster area, Code Section 1033(e) offers
the likelihood of relief.
"This code allows for the deferral of gains realized from involuntary
conversion, including sales due to weather-related conditions of
livestock held for breeding, dairy or draft purposes," Sims says.
Gain is deferred by purchasing replacement livestock of the same kind
within four years. "This only applies to sales in excess of what you
normally would cull," Sims said. "This code doesn't apply to market
animals -- calves -- that were sold early, only breeding animals."
For more info, talk with your tax advisor.
-- Burt Rutherford
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The Texas Farm Bureau (TFB) Resolutions Committee voted last week to
pursue an increase the Beef Promotion and Research Checkoff from $1 to
$2/head to offset the effects of inflation since the program started in
1985. Voting delegates will take action at the TFB state convention in
Waco, Dec. 1-3.
Noting that funding commodity promotion programs is important to Farm
Bureau members, TFB vice president Bobby Nedbalek said: "We've seen the
benefits we've received from the checkoff as it has been and feel
justified to increase the checkoff contribution to do more promotion of
beef."
Among a host of other resolutions set for consideration in Waco
are:- Request immediate funding to eliminate fever ticks from the
temporary preventive quarantine areas in Texas and to prevent their
spread throughout the U.S.
- Address right-to-farm laws, noting anyone moving into a farming area
shouldn't have the right to sue an ag producer because of dust, noise,
odors or drift so long as the property had been in operation before the
new resident moved in.
-- Southwest Farm Press
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If you believe in omens, 2008 may be the wrong year to grow dryland
corn in the Midwest, says Elwynn Taylor, Iowa State University Extension
climatologist. He cites three indicators:
-- Click on headline to read the rest of this
story by
John Pocock, Corn eDigest.
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