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I received an email this week from a cattleman who wasn’t feeling
particularly optimistic about profitability in his cow-calf program over
the next couple of years. He asked how someone could effectively market
cattle in a down-trending market where the cow-calf side of the business
was losing leverage?
-- Click on headline to
read the rest of this story by Troy Marshall
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Even though ethanol has been the primary driver in our industry the
last couple of years, the beef industry has always been on the outside
looking in on the debate. It makes issues like BSE, country-of-origin
labeling, industry consolidation and international trade seem trivial by
comparison.
-- Click on headline to read the rest of this
story by Troy Marshall
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Penton Media’s Ag Group, of which BEEF is a member, has
launched a new targeted online career center. Agribizjobs.com (www.agribizjobs.com) offers
industry employers a growing, qualified audience of ag professionals,
and industry jobseekers with agribusiness-specific, categorized job
listings. It’s a joint effort by BEEF and its sister
publications, Corn and Soybean Digest™, Farm Industry News®, Farm
Press®, Hay and Forage Grower® and National Hog Farmer®.
At www.agribizjobs.com,
employers can view complete but anonymous resumes for free, and pay only
to connect with a jobseeker. Jobseekers can post resumes in ag-specific
employment categories and sign up to receive email alerts when new
positions are posted that match their search criteria.
The site’s Anonymous Resume Bank enables both active and passive
jobseekers to list their experience and qualifications in a protected
environment, allowing them to stay connected to the employment market
while maintaining full control of their confidential info.
-- Penton Media release
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Corn & Soybean Digest’s Brazil columnist, Tyler Bruch, 28, will be
featured in a special CNBC business news program Sunday, May 4 at 9 p.m.
CST. His company, Global Ag Investments, will be profiled. Also, Bruch
will explain how he transitioned from being a young, Emmetsburg, IA,
farmer to a 50,000-acre farmer in Bahia, Brazil. The program will also
be featured, in part, on NBC’s TODAY show May 5. For more details,
check out www.cornandsoybeandigest.com.
-- Greg Lamp
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The American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) sent a letter to the
nation’s governors reminding them that if ethanol weren’t available,
retail gasoline prices would be higher.
The letter said, “Record-high energy costs and rising food prices are
taking a painful toll on consumer pocketbooks, and this demands
thoughtful discussion and attention. Unfortunately, these matters have
been exploited by some to pressure federal and state governments to undo
policies designed to support ethanol.”
ACE notes that, according to Merrill Lynch analysts, “oil and gas
prices would be 15% higher if it was not for the availability of
ethanol.”
-- P. Scott Shearer, Washington, D.C.
correspondent
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Veterinary students are the primary audience for a brochure produced
by the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) titled “Animal
Welfare: Seeing the Forest and the Trees,” but anybody who deals with
animals may find the info useful.
According to the brochure, science and ethics should be the basis of
decisions about animal welfare, as well as a whole-system approach and
careful consideration of the consequences of decisions, such as how
changes to improve the behavioral aspects of animal welfare may result
in detriments to the health aspects.
To see the brochure, log on to www.avma.org/issues.
-- AVMA release
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Over the coming months, the Cattlemen’s Beef Board (CBB) will
request suggested improvements to the $1/head beef checkoff from more
than 100 national industry organizations, state beef councils, certified
nominating organizations and national breed associations. The effort is
a response to a recent meeting between USDA and CBB, where USDA
officials spoke with CBB officers about their responsibility to develop
and recommend changes to the Beef Promotion and Research Act and
Order.
That legislation established the industry’s current $1/head checkoff,
and established CBB to administer the program, subject to USDA
approval.
“As the program administrator, CBB is authorized by USDA to provide
information to the USDA Secretary that could be used to improve the
program after 20 years of operation,” says Dave Bateman, CBB chairman.
“So the board is asking industry organizations for their suggestions
before it completes its report.” The recommendation process is to be
completed by Nov. 30.
Within many organizations, that process has already begun. A number of
state cattlemen’s associations, as well as the National Cattlemen’s
Beef Association, have debated their positions on a possible proposal to
increase the beef checkoff assessment from the current $1. Should
producers make any significant changes to the law, such as agreeing to
an increase, producers would have to vote on the change, Bateman
says.
-- Beef Board release
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Charolais Advantage. We just made it easier to make money with
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Participants may enroll by contacting Marilou Wegner,
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Coming soon – a series of special cattle industry events designed
for anyone in the cattle marketing trade. Cattle Buyers Summits are set
for May 15 in Billings, MT; May 22 in Chattanooga, TN; and July 11 in
Kearney, NE. The events are designed to introduce the new initiatives of
Beef Quality Assurance (BQA) programming.
“These programs are intended for anyone who trades feeder cattle, fed
cattle and non-fed beef animals,” says Clint Peck, Montana director of
BQA. “Cattle buyers are a very important segment of our industry and
it’s our responsibility to keep them in the loop as to what we’re
doing in BQA programming.”
Participants will also assess BQA programming and provide input into
initializing BQA to better fit the needs of the industry’s cattle
marketing segment. Cattle buyers from across the country are being sent
special invitations to attend the summits. The speakers
include:- Jim Warren, 101 Livestock, Aromas, CA
- Emmitt Rawls, University of Tennessee
- Kristen Larson, Prewitt & Co., Sidney, MT
- Gary Smith, Colorado State University
- Jim Robb, Livestock Marketing Info Center, Lakewood, CO
- Andy Kellom, Verified Beef, Bozeman, MT
- John Paterson, Montana State University
- Eric Moore, DVM, Schering-Plough Animal Health (SPAH).
SPAH is
the marquee sponsor of the meetings, for which there is no registration
fee but seating is limited. RSVP by calling 406-994-4323 or emailing
mharbac@montana.edu. For
more info, visit www.mtbqa.org.
-- Clint Peck
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Texas A&M’s Ag and Food Policy Center conducted a study on the
effects of higher corn prices on food costs. The study indicates that
corn prices have little effect on retail food prices. Among the findings
are:- Higher corn prices do have a small effect on some food
items.
- Important food items like bread, eggs, and milk have high prices
largely unrelated to ethanol or corn prices, but correspond to
fundamental supply/demand relationships in the world.
- The livestock industry has borne the costs of higher corn prices,
with structure of the industry unable to pass costs on, either up or
down the supply chain.
- The livestock industry is in the middle of this transition, and
prices don’t yet reflect the impact of higher costs.
- Relaxing the renewable fuel standard (RFS) doesn’t result in
significantly lower corn prices. This is due to the ethanol
infrastructure already in place and the generally positive economics for
the industry. The ethanol industry has grown in excess of the RFS,
indicating that relaxing the standard wouldn’t cause a contraction in
the industry.
-- P. Scott Shearer, Washington, D.C.
correspondent
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The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has proposed to Congress
programs that provide funding for the review of “pioneer and generic
animal drugs.” The Animal Drug User Fee Act (ADUFA) reauthorization
would provide funding for the review of new animal drug applications for
the next five years.
FDA is also proposing the first generic user fee program – the Animal
Generic Drug User Fee Act (AGDUFA). It would support the review of
generic animal drug applications and maintain current standards of
safety and effectiveness.
-- P. Scott Shearer, Washington, D.C.
correspondent
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Congress extended the farm bill for another two weeks until May 16,
but the House-Senate conference committee on Thursday night made huge
progress on a number of fronts. The conference completed the research,
rural development, conservation, energy, forestry, crop insurance and
livestock titles. The key items remaining to be finalized are the dairy
import assessment, payment limitations and adjusted gross income limits,
storage facility loans, and a few trade items.
The conference is expected to meet again early next week to complete the
bill. Next week’s column will include details of the various
provisions.
-- P. Scott Shearer, Washington, D.C.
correspondent
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Texas Tech University and Texas AgriLife Extension are teaming up to
conduct a Basic Horse Management 101 workshop May 21 at Texas Tech
University in Lubbock. Running from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., workshop
sessions include basic safety, pasture and hay selection, basic
nutrition, general health care and dentistry, body condition scoring,
and basic hoof care, among others.
Cost is $40 by May 16 and $50 thereafter. For more info, contact Robert
Scott at 806-775-1680 or rj-scott@tamu.edu; or log on to
lubbock-co.tamu.edu.
-- Texas AgriLife Extension release
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Rep. Jeff Flake (R-AZ) and Rep. John Culberson (R-TX) have
introduced separate legislation to eliminate the current ethanol
program. Flake’s legislation, H.R. 5911, “Remove Incentives to
Produce Ethanol Act of 2008,” would repeal the renewable fuel standard
(RFS), tax credits for ethanol producers, and tariffs on importing
ethanol. Culberson’s legislation would eliminate income and excise tax
credits for corn-based ethanol.
-- P. Scott Shearer, Washington, D.C.
correspondent
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The $12-million large animal hospital and diagnostic imaging
expansion at Oregon State University (OSU) is nearly complete, reports
Media-Newswire.com. Expected to significantly increase the
ability of OSU’s College of Veterinary Medicine to serve the needs of
Oregon’s large animal owners and industries, dedication is set for May
3, at 10 a.m., with a free public open house from 10 a.m.-4 p.m.
The new Lois Bates Acheson Veterinary Teaching Hospital and Large Animal
Clinic boasts an intensive-care unit and isolation facilities for
cattle, horses and other large animals; a multi-purpose, all-weather
arena for assessing lameness; a nuclear medicine suite for assessing
muscle and tissue damage; teaching and research space for students and
faculty; and a new imaging wing that will include the most sophisticated
CT scanner in Oregon.
By this summer, the newly expanded facility also will have in place a
high-speed treadmill designed to evaluate racehorses and equestrian
animals in motion.
For more info, visit oregonstate.edu/vetmed/new/news.htm.
-- Joe Roybal
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During Thursday night’s House-Senate farm bill conference
committee deliberations, the packer ban provision was defeated. A number
of members talked about how this proposal would hurt their region of the
country and had unintended consequences.
- P. Scott Shearer, Washington, D.C.
correspondent
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According to various press reports, the latest proposal for payment
limitations would be for the Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) cap to be set
at $750,000 for non-farmers in 2009 and lowered to $650,000 in 2010 and
$500,000 in 2011. The AGI cap for farmers would be set at $950,000 in
2009, but for every $100,000 over the limit, growers would lose 10% of
their farm program payments. Current law is $2.5 million AGI cap. This
is a major issue for the administration, which continues to argue for
much lower AGI cap.
-- P. Scott Shearer, Washington, D.C.
correspondent
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The current “industrial farm animal production” system often
poses unacceptable risks to public health, the environment and the
welfare of the animals themselves, concludes a 2½-year examination
conducted by the Pew Commission on Industrial Farm Animal Production in
a study released this week (www.ncifap.org).
The researchers called for immediate and significant changes:- Ban
the non-therapeutic use of antimicrobials in food-animal production.
- Implement a disease-monitoring program to allow 48-hour trace-back
in a fully integrated and robust national database.
- Implement a new system to deal with farm waste as an industrial
operation.
- Phase out within 10 years the use of such practices as gestation
crates and battery cages.
- Amend and enforce laws to provide a level playing field for
producers when entering contracts with integrators.
- Increase funding for, expand and reform, animal-ag research.
Meanwhile, the Animal Agriculture Alliance (AAA), a broad-based
coalition of producers, suppliers, packer-processors, private industry
and retailers, expressed dismay at the study and its conduct.
“Despite our best efforts, we were not a meaningful part of the
commission's activities. Much of the info and many of the experts
offered to the commission were apparently either ignored or not used by
the commission when formulating these recommendations. Highly respected
experts from major land-grant universities who either made presentations
to the commission or conducted research at its request stated that they
felt the commissioners had pre-conceived notions about the U.S.
livestock industry,” AAA said. View the response at www.animalagalliance.org/email/statement_043008.cfm.
-- Joe Roybal
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Trust For America’s Health (TFAH) released a report this week
claiming the U.S. food safety system is: “way past due for a smart and
strategic upgrade.” See the full report at www.healthyamericans.org.
TFAH’s report, entitled “Fixing Food Safety: Protecting America’s
food from Farm-to-Fork,” claims strategic inspection practices and
state-of-the-art surveillance are needed to help modernize the
nation’s food safety system. And fixing the system will require
collaborative efforts by producers, processors, distributors, retailers
and consumers, combined with strong leadership from the federal state,
and local government. The recommendations include:- Repeal
outdated end-product and processing plant inspection mandates; shift the
emphasis of inspection practices to the prevention of outbreaks and
illnesses through the entire food production process and supply chain;
- Create mechanisms that allow inspection practices to keep pace with
changes in the industry;
- Establish uniform performance standards and best practices that are
enforceable through actions including detention and recall authority and
civil penalty authority;
- Require food safety education for commercial food handlers;
- Improve monitoring of foreign imports and international practices;
and
- Strengthen the Food & Drug Administration with increased funding and
aligning resources with high-risk threats, with the long-term goal of
realigning all federal food-safety functions.
-- Joe Roybal
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Texas Gov. Rick Perry issued a call to the federal government last
week for a 50% waiver from the federal renewable fuel standard (RFS) for
ethanol produced from grain. A few others quickly sided with the idea,
among them execs from Tyson and the Texas Cattle Feeders Association
(TCFA).
-- Click on headline to read the rest of this
story by Joe Roybal
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With record-high prices on new vehicles, $4/gal. fuel, and the
limited maintenance and repairs that can be performed at the ranch on
newer model vehicles, how much does it cost per mile to operate your
one-ton diesel ranch/town truck? Extension specialists Ron Torell
(Nevada), Willie Riggs (Oregon) and Duane Griffith (Montana) have an
answer for you.
-- Click on headline to read the rest of this
story by Ron Torell, Willie Riggs and Duane Griffith
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Mature weight and milk production of many commercial beef cows are
both greater than they were 30-40 years ago, says Glen Selk, Oklahoma
State University Extension beef cow specialist. "Many ranchers haven’t
recently weighed the adult cows in their herd to know what average
mature weight to expect. Therefore, most commercial ranchers would
underestimate the mature size of their cows. To expect large,
heavy-milking cows to be in moderate body condition at calving and
maintain condition through breeding, they must receive more feed than
smaller, lighter-milking cows."
A larger, heavier-milking cow requires about 34% more energy on the
average for an entire year, he says. Consequently, an operation that was
carrying 100 of the smaller cows must carry only 66 of the larger cows
in order to utilize the same quantity of forage from that farm or ranch.
She also will need 34% more winter hay and supplement to maintain body
condition.
"Because we have very high feed and fertilizer prices, this is a time to
reconsider herd size to better fit the stocking rates required. Reduced
stocking rates will be necessary on improved pastures if lower amounts
of fertilizer are applied. The larger mature cow size also impacts the
principle of percent body weight needed for heifers to reach puberty.
Many ranchers underestimate the target weight for replacement heifers.
If the cow eventually will be 1,000 lbs., the target for heifers is 650
lbs.; if she’s going to be the 1,250-lb. cow, then she needs to weigh
812 lbs. going into her first breeding season to expect a high cycling
and pregnancy rate," Selk says.
-- Ron Hays, Radio Oklahoma Network
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It was eight years ago on May 16 that irradiated ground beef first
became commercially available in the U.S. That was the day that frozen
ground beef patties in two-lb. boxes from Huisken’s Meats of Chandler,
MN went on sale in 84 grocery stores in the Minneapolis-St. Paul metro
area.
-- Click on headline to read the rest of this
story by Joe Roybal
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