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March reversed the traditional descriptive phrase this year, coming
in like a lamb and going out like a lion. Texas was a great example this
week of the ferociousness of Mother Nature with parts of North Texas
being evacuated because of flooding, while devastating wildfires hit
South Texas. More than 133,000 acres were burnt last week in Texas.
Parts of Arkansas, Missouri and Illinois all received up to 13 in. of
rainfall. But the same storm brought much-needed rains to wide portions
of the Southeast.
The next 45-80 days are always a critical time from a weather standpoint
both for summer-grazing and planting prospects. With the volatility
we’ve been experiencing in the grain markets, we could see some pretty
major moves as we head into planting time.
-- Troy Marshall
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The seedstock industry has been looking at DNA and marker-assisted
selection as being a major contributor to animal selection for quite
some time. It’s exciting to contemplate buying yearling bulls with
accuracy levels approaching that of proven sires.
Not only are DNA technologies expected to improve the accuracy of
current national genetic-evaluation programs, but to provide insight
into traits that are extremely difficult to otherwise measure. This
includes traits like feed efficiency.
While most of us find ourselves over our head when talking about
molecular genetics, current tests for single-gene traits, such as horned
or polled, red or black, etc., have opened all our eyes to the
possibilities. More quantitative traits like marbling, feed efficiency,
and tenderness are still in their infancy with little or no real-world
value, but they are the first tiny steps in what promises to be a
quantum leap at some point.
The announcement this week that Pfizer was purchasing Bovigen and its
Australian/New Zealand-based parent company, Catapult Genetics, was
another sign that the real value in DNA and molecular genetics may come
on the animal health side of things. Two of the leading DNA companies
are now owned by pharmaceutical giants (Pfizer and Merial).
Such an infusion of capital should be good for the technology as so much
research and development needs to take place. After all, the Wright
brothers’ first plane was not too impressive by today’s standards,
but the analogy is a good one.
The future for DNA technology looks bright, and some of the nation’s
best-capitalized pharmaceutical companies feel it will play a major role
in the future. Genetic marker technology has struggled to live up to the
initial hype, but most everyone agrees its role will be major someday.
And new technology promises to revolutionize the genetic industry in the
future.
-- Troy Marshall
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The beef industry has long understood that from a demand standpoint
the mission is quite simple. We need to increase the number of
customers, increase the average value of a typical transaction, and
increase the frequency of beef purchases.
-- Click on headline to read the rest of this
story by Troy Marshall
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Rod Preston’s 2008 Feed Composition Tables are now available
online at beefmagazine.com,
along with all the other content of the March issue of BEEF. The
tables offer feed values for more than 300 feedstuffs typically fed to
cattle and sheep. Find them at: beefmagazine.com/nutrition/typical-composition-feeds-cattle-sheep/.
In addition, the issue contains a special section on the latest fencing
products, an in-depth explanation of buy/sell margins, the latest report
on private grazing rates, and much more.
-- Joe Roybal
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As snow cover begins to recede and the tractor no longer needs to be
plugged in to feed hay, you might be wondering if there’s an easier
way. One solution is to bring your cows to forage resources by swath
grazing.
-- Click on headline to read the rest of this
story by Alaina Burt
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The American Bakers Association (ABA) members came to Washington,
D.C. to ask Congress and the administration to “provide meaningful
relief” to alleviate the “growing wheat crisis.”
ABA is asking USDA to “curtail” wheat exports and allow for
early-out of non-environmentally-sensitive acreage from the Conservation
Reserve Program (CRP). Congress is being asked to reassess the recent
“infatuation” with ethanol production.
In a letter to USDA Secretary Ed Schafer, the National Association of
Wheat Growers and U.S. Wheat Associates said, “…the U.S. wheat
industry has earned a valuable reputation as the world’s most reliable
supplier. Responding to a short-term supply crunch by restricting
exports would be ill-advised, counter to U.S. policy precedent and would
undermine the reputation of our industry after years of investment in
market development. We must give all our customers access to U.S. wheat,
regardless of where they reside.”
-- P. Scott Shearer, Washington, D.C.
correspondent
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Congress is on a two-week recess. Upon its return, Congress will
focus on fiscal year 2009 appropriations bills. In addition, Senate
Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) has indicated he’d like for the
Senate to address food safety this spring. No details on what
direction.
-- P. Scott Shearer, Washington, D.C.
correspondent
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The beef cattle industry has been using Expected Progeny Differences
(EPDs) as a selection tool in improving calf productivity for nearly two
decades. An EPD is the difference in performance (measured in pounds,
percent, inches, etc.) expected in progeny, or offspring, of individual
sires.
-- Click on headline to read the rest
of this story by Clint Peck, director, Beef Quality Assurance, Montana
State University
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Ever since they were introduced in the 1950s, cattlemen have reaped
the economic rewards that growth promotants offer in terms reduced costs
and greater efficiency. Recent research by the Hudson Institute for
Global Food Issues not only confirms that cost benefit, but concludes
that growth promotants used in feedyard cattle reduces greenhouse gas
emissions compared with a grass-based finishing system.
“Eco-benefits wise, we can produce basically three times as much beef
per given unit of land with grain finishing with the aid of growth
promotants,” says Alex Avery of the Hudson Institute. And
grain-finished, implanted cattle produce around 40% less greenhouse gas,
he says.
That’s because feeding implanted, or even non-implanted cattle,
reduces the amount of time it takes to get the beef to market.
“If we look at the land-use equation from the amount of acre-days that
are needed to produce one pound of beef, an organic grass-fed system
required just over 5 acre-days of land to produce a pound of beef,”
Avery says. “Just about 2 acre-days (were required) for a pound of
beef produced with grain finishing without the help of growth promotants
and only 1 2/3 acre-days for a pound of beef produced with grain
finishing with growth promotants.”
Cattle finished on a grass-based system produced about twice as much
enteric methane during the finishing phase, he says, compared with
grain-fed animals with growth promotants. “And that is because, when
an animal digests grass, it’s harder to digest than grain.”
To see the entire report, go to www.cgfi.org/pdfs/nofollow/beef-eco-benefits-paper.pdf.
-- Burt Rutherford
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A study by Tom Elam, president of Farm Econ, U.S. ethanol policy is
continuing to drive meat and poultry prices higher.
Elam said, “You cannot use the combined grain crops of Australia and
Indonesia for U.S. fuel and not have impact on corn, soybean and foods
prices.”
Elam expects price inflation to rise 5-6% in 2009. In the study, Elam
compared what would have happened without the federal biofuels program
with what has happened.
According to his findings, farm level corn prices in 2008 would have
averaged about $2.77/bu. without the program. Ethanol-tax credits have
added $1.33/bu., and may drive corn more than $5 a bushel in 2009. Also,
he said the biofuels program has increased this year’s input costs for
the broiler industry – $3.4 billion, and turkey – $646 million;
swine – $2.9 billion; cattle – $2.24 billion; and dairy – $2.7
billion.
-- P. Scott Shearer, Washington, D.C.
correspondent
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Outbreaks of food-borne illness linked to pathogens on leafy
vegetables have increased faster than rates of consumption, indicating
that contamination during production and processing is on the increase,
reports FoodNavigator.com.
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) analyzed 10,000 food-borne
diseases reported between 1973 and 2006, and found the proportion of
outbreaks from leafy greens increased 60% in the U.S. between 1996 and
2005, but consumption of these products increased only 9%. Similarly,
between 1986 and 1995, occurrence of illness increased 60%, while
consumption went up only 17%, CDC said.
"The proportion of outbreaks due to leafy greens has increased beyond
what can be explained by increased consumption," CDC spokesperson
Michael Lynch says in the article. He adds that 60% of the cases were
linked to norovirus, a form of gastroenteritis, while 10% were linked to
salmonella and 9% to E. coli.
Lynch urged manufacturers to be more vigilant in their health and safety
procedures. An E. coli outbreak in California spinach two years
ago killed three people and sickened more than 200. Since 1990, over 400
produce-related outbreaks have occurred across North America.
-- FoodNavigator.com
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The price of regular gasoline and diesel continued to rise for the
week ending March 17. The average retail price increased by 5.9¢ to a
new national high of $3.284/gal., 70.7¢ higher than last year. And
diesel logged a record for the fourth-consecutive week, adding 15.5¢ to
$3.974, or $1.293 over a year ago.
Gasoline was up in all regions, increasing 5.9¢ to a new East Coast
high of $3.253, while the Lower Atlantic hit a high of its own at
$3.271. The Midwest added 6.1¢ to $3.252, the Gulf Coast set a high of
$3.177, and the Rocky Mountains logged $3.178. The West Coast remained
the highest at $3.523, with California at $3.604, or 48.3¢ above the
year-ago price.
Meanwhile, diesel set all-time highs in all regions, with the East Coast
surging 16.5¢ to $4.035, the Midwest jumping 17.4¢ to $3.958, and the
Gulf Coast adding 11.6¢ to $3.914. The Rocky Mountains registered
$3.892, the West Coast $4.018, and California $4.083.
-- Energy Information Administration
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Members of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA)
honored Paul Hitch, a cattleman and longtime livestock industry leader
from Guymon, OK, for his industry service during the recent convention
in Reno, NE. Set to become president of NCBA this year, Hitch stepped
down due to health problems.
Addressing the cattle-industry audience, Hitch invoked New York Yankee
legend Lou Gehrig. Diagnosed with the fatal disease that would later
bear his name, Gehrig gave an emotional farewell speech to a Yankee
Stadium crowd, saying, “Today I consider myself the luckiest man on
the face of the earth.”
“I always thought that was odd – I thought Lou Gehrig was insane,”
Hitch told the crowd. “But today, I know that Paul Hitch Lou Gehrig
was the luckiest man in the world. Because today I am the luckiest man
in the world, because I have you. You make me the luckiest man in the
world, and I thank you for it.”
Hitch passed away March 14. He was 64. To read more about the man, read
“The Man Who Would Be President” at: beefmagazine.com.
-- Burt Rutherford
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Pfizer Animal Health this week made a major investment in livestock
genomics by announcing it will acquire Bovigen and Catapult Genetics,
Pty., Ltd. Terms of the agreement weren’t disclosed and the
acquisitions are expected to close by the end of the month.
Bovigen markets Catapult’s DNA tests and gene markers throughout the
Americas under the GeneSTAR®, SureTRAK® and SireTRACE®
product brands. Currently genetic tests focus on productivity and
carcass quality traits, says Juan Ramon Alaix, president of Pfizer
Animal Health, allowing cattlemen to select cattle with certain
high-value genetic traits. Future genetic tests may one day allow
producers to better predict disease in individual animals, thus helping
veterinarians and producers target medicines to livestock that need it
the most, he says.
-- Pfizer Animal Health release
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President George W. Bush signed the farm bill extension legislation.
In signing the bill, President Bush said, “This legislation to extend
current farm programs will provide more time for Congress to reach an
agreement. If a final agreement is not reached by April 18, I call on
Congress to extend current law for at least one year.
“While long-term extension of current law is not the desired outcome,
I believe the government has a responsibility to provide America's
farmers and ranchers with a timely and predictable farm program – not
multiple short-term extensions of current law. Without a predictable
policy, ag producers will be unable to make sound business decisions
with respect to this year's crop.
-- P. Scott Shearer, Washington, D.C.
correspondent
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"One of the big stories this year as we start 2008 is we're seeing
higher prices for consumer beef, whether it's at the grocery store or
restaurants," says David Anderson, AgriLife Extension Service livestock
marketing economist.
The annual average retail beef price for 2007 was $4.16/lb., which was
5% higher than 2006 and exceeded the previous 2005 record of $4.09,
according to USDA-Economic Research Service data. Factoring into the
high beef prices is record-priced crude oil, which is increasing
transportation costs for many beef suppliers, he says.
At the producer level, calf prices have been forced lower by rising feed
costs, which are tied to ethanol production. Lighter-weight calves are
getting the most discounts because they require more feed to add weight
before slaughter, Anderson says.
Anderson describes the current calf market as a "tug of war." USDA
inventory indicates 1% fewer beef cows, which will lead to a smaller
calf crop, he says.
"From a supply standpoint, that means fewer calves, and fewer calves
usually means better prices for calves," Anderson says. "I like to
describe it as a tug of war going on in the calf market this year. You
have feed on one side and high prices pressuring calf prices lower, then
tight supply of calves on the other side pushing them higher.
"Still for 2008, we should see calf prices where they were in 2007, but
a little bit lower due to the high feed costs. Given where we are in
inventory, we should expect to see fewer cows in 2009, so tighter
supplies keeping upward pressure on calf prices."
-- Texas A&M University release
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There are now 32 Congressmen (25 Republicans and seven Democrats)
who have announced their retirement at the end of this year, are running
for another office, or have been defeated in their primary
election.
Rep. Bud Cramer (D-AL) is the latest to announce his retirement. But the
biggest news thus far this round was the election of Bill Foster (D-IL)
in a special election for the seat held by former Speaker of the House
Dennis Hastert (R-IL). This has traditionally been a Republican district
that was easily carried by President Bush in 2004.
-- P. Scott Shearer, Washington, D.C.
correspondent
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USDA has lowered its 2008 U.S. beef-export forecast to 1.54 billion
lbs. compared to an earlier estimate of 1.71 billion lbs. The adjustment
was made based on slower exports so far this year. The U.S. exported an
estimated 1.43 billion lbs. of beef in 2007.
-- P. Scott Shearer, Washington, D.C.
correspondent
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For years, cattlemen have relied on temperature and humidity
predictions to gauge the potential for heat stress on both their cattle
and themselves. However, other factors play into that calculation and
the Ag Research Service has developed a heat stress model to help
cattlemen predict which days are apt to be most critical.
In addition to temperature and humidity, sun intensity and wind speed
are influential as well. The on-line model, developed by USDA
researchers at the Meat Animal Research Center at Clay Center, NE, is
updated twice daily and makes predictions for South Dakota, Nebraska,
Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma, eastern Colorado, eastern
New Mexico and northern Texas. It analyzes weather forecast info,
assesses the danger of incurring heat stress and displays that info as a
color-coded map. For more, go to www.ars.usda.gov/Main/docs.htm?docid=16750.
-- ARS News release
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