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Certainly the Thanksgiving holiday doesn't have the significance of
Christmas or Easter, but in some ways it is my favorite holiday. In
comparison to the other holidays, Thanksgiving requires very little
intellectual effort. It is about family, abundant good food, and pausing
to count our blessings and give thanks – the latter of which we should
be doing every single day.
This year being thankful is maybe a little more difficult. Cattle prices
have taken a beating, input costs are rising, the global economy has
taken a hit and the stock market hovers around ten-year lows. And
whether it’s the EPA-proposed cow tax, or HSUS launching a full-scale
assault on livestock production, there are plenty of things to be
concerned about.
As I get older though, much of that becomes so trivial that it is almost
irrelevant from a long-term perspective. The world prefers our protein.
Besides, what’s better than turning sunlight into food for a hungry
world?
Economic downturns aside, the American work ethic and entrepreneurial
spirit continue to add mightily to the world's standard of living. The
number of people who can afford our product is on a long-term growth
trend that is so strong economists are tempted to use the word
exponential. The gap between the average consumer and their knowledge of
how food is produced is growing. But in the end if we tell our story
effectively we will persevere against the radical elements of the animal
welfare and environmental movements. Our story is not a good one to
tell, it is a great one.
So saddle up and take a ride with the kids over the holiday weekend.
Take in the beauty of rural America in a land that is increasingly
nature deprived. Say a prayer for our leaders. Take a few moments to
give thanks for being able to do what we love, in a country and industry
that rewards individual initiative and respects freedom. I know when I
sit down at the table with my family, much like you will do, I will shed
a tear of thanks for we are truly some of the most fortunate people in
the world.
If given the chance, I might reverse some decisions, treated others
better, and the like, but I wouldn't trade the opportunities I have with
anyone in the world. The truth be known, the "Masters of the Universe"
don't walk down Wall Street. In my estimation, they ride along the
pastures of America. Thanks for sharing your time with us throughout the
year; we are grateful.
-- Troy Marshall
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I asked my youngest what she was most thankful for and expected her
to mention friends, her favorite teacher, or maybe even her grandmother.
But instead she replied, “I'm most thankful that God let me be me.”
I had to think about that. At first I was a little concerned that it was
a little too "me" centric. But when I thought about it a little more,
she summed it up nicely. Of course, she softened me up by saying
“thank you” for being her dad. Those are two of the greatest words
in the English language. Being grateful for what we have and for who we
are has to be one of the unspoken keys to happiness that we so often
overlook.
We are better off than previous generations. I wouldn't trade living in
America with anyone. I'm not opposed to new trucks, flat screen TVs, a
couple of well bred horses hanging out in the barn, or even the
occasional $5 cup of coffee in an airport.
But my daughter was right: it isn't about the stuff we have. I'm
thankful she lives in a democracy where she has some degree of freedom
and choice. I'm thankful that she has all the opportunities that come
with affluence. And she lives in a society that understands women are at
least equal, if not superior, to men. I am thankful that she will have a
chance to acquire the best education in the world, and will look to the
future with knowledge. I can't express how thankful I am that she is
healthy.
But what I appreciate most is that she is happy being herself. We all
deserve happiness and that begins by being grateful for what we have,
not what we don't have.
I bet you know one of those people who always focus on what they don't
have and who they want to become instead of who they are. They have so
much to be grateful for and yet are the least appreciative, thus making
them some of the unhappiest people you will ever meet. I'm not saying
that we shouldn't strive to become better individuals, but it is a fact
that the more we want, the less we appreciate what we have. Giving
thanks isn't so much about being appreciative of our abundance as much
as it is about learning to embrace happiness.
-- Troy Marshall
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Perhaps it is too early to tell, but I’ve always known mandatory
country of origin labeling (COOL) is nothing more than a little more
bookkeeping at the production level.
-- Click on headline to read the rest of this
story by Troy Marshall
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The members of the 111th Congress will be sworn-in on Jan. 6, 2009.
The new Congress is expected to immediately begin work on an economic
stimulus package. The Senate will also work on confirming
President-elect Obama’s cabinet nominations so they can be in place on
Jan. 20.
-- P. Scott Shearer, Washington, D.C.
correspondent
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The Environmental Protection Agency has announced that the 2009
Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) will be 10.21% in 2009 to ensure that at
least 11.1 billion gals. of renewable fuels are utilized in gasoline. Of
the 11.1 billion gals., 10.5 billion will be from corn-based
ethanol.
-- P. Scott Shearer, Washington, D.C.
correspondent
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If there’s one thing for sure regarding the industry’s move into
mandatory country of origin labeling, it’s that nothing’s for sure.
And that, sources tell BEEF magazine, creates uncertainty that
has the marketing chain from retailers on down nervously waiting to see
what develops.
-- Click on headline to read the rest of this
story by Burt Rutherford
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Gayot.com recently provided its annual rundown of the best
beef restaurants. They include:
- Gruet Steakhouse, Albuquerque, NM.
- Kevin Rathbun Steak, Atlanta, GA.
- Finn & Porter, Austin, TX.
- The Prime Rib Restaurant, Baltimore, MD.
- Mastro’s Steakhouse, Beverly Hills, CA.
- Peter Luger, Brooklyn, NY.
- David Burke’s Primehouse, Chicago, IL.
- Elway’s Cherry Creek, Denver, CO.
- Doe’s Eat Place, Greenville, MS.
- SW Steakhouse, Las Vegas, NV.
See the full article at: cityguides.msn.com/citylife/cityarticle
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Congress plans to return the week of Dec. 8 to consider an economic
plan for the automobile industry. The executives of Chrysler, General
Motors and Ford have been given an ultimatum from Congressional leaders
to develop a proposal to show their long-term plan for the U.S. auto
industry. Negotiations continue on an auto-bailout plan.
-- P. Scott Shearer, Washington, D.C.
correspondent
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The Central Vermont Cow Power (CVCP) program is touted as the
nation's first manure-based, farm-to-consumer energy program. Begun in
2004, the program continues to grow. The most recently added membership
is the U.S. Forest Service's Rutland headquarters. Forest Service
Supervisor Meg Mitchell says enrolling in Cow Power had a great impact.
“We’re supporting a working landscape, helping to improve water
quality and removing methane from the atmosphere.”
The Cow Power process is simple: manure and other ag waste are held in
a sealed concrete tank at the same temperature as a cow's stomach,
101°F. Bacteria digest the volatile components, creating methane and
killing pathogens and weed seeds. The methane, which is roughly 20 times
more harmful than carbon dioxide in trapping heat in the atmosphere,
fuels an engine/generator.
CVCP customers can choose to receive all, half or a quarter of their
electrical energy through Cow Power, and pay a premium of 4¢/kilowatt
hour. That fee goes to participating farm-producers, to purchase
renewable energy credits when enough farm energy isn't available, or to
the CVPS Renewable Development Fund. That fund provides grants to farm
owners to develop on-farm generation. Farm-producers are also paid 95%
of the market price for all of the energy sold to CVPS.
-- Ron Hays, Radio Oklahoma Network
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The Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently released a study
titled “Effective Long-Term Options Needed to Manage Unadoptable Wild
Horses.” The Department of Interior's Bureau of Land Management (BLM)
manages about 33,100 wild horses and burros on 199 Herd Management Areas
in 10 western states. BLM is statutorily obligated to set appropriate
management levels (AML), maintain current inventory counts, and remove
excess animals to prevent overpopulation and rangeland damage.
The report examined: (1) BLM's progress in setting and meeting AML; (2)
BLM's management of animals off the range through adoptions, sales and
holding facilities; (3) BLM's controls to help ensure the humane
treatment of animals; and (4) what challenges, if any, BLM faces in
managing for the long-term sustainability of the program. The study
looked at documents from 26 of the 44 BLM offices that manage the wild
horses and burros.
In general, the report recommends that BLM establish a formal policy for
setting AML, develop alternatives for long-term holding facilities, and
initiate a discussion with Congress and other stakeholders on how best
to comply with the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act. More
specifically, the report points out that, if not controlled,
off-the-range holding costs will continue to overwhelm the program. From
2000 to 2007, the cost for holding animals off the range tripled, from
$7 million to $21 million. In 2008, these costs could account for as
much as 74% of the program's entire budget.
See the full report at: www.gao.gov/new.items/d0977.pdf.
-- Cattlemen’s Capitol Concerns
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South Korea's three major discount retailers – E-Mart, Home Plus
and Lotte Mart – say they will resume sales of U.S. beef on
Thanksgiving Day in Seoul, the U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF)
reports. The E-Mart, Home Plus and Lotte Mart chains consist of 119, 113
and 63 stores, respectively.
The retail chains issued a joint press release on Tuesday announcing the
decision and explained the move is due in part to the slow economy and
daily financial difficulties facing Koreans. The companies said their
sales of U.S. beef will provide value and convenience, as well as help
stabilize consumer prices, and added there is no longer any reason for
them not to carry price-competitive U.S. beef.
USMEF is providing promotional support to all the chains and believes
initial sales at these major retailers will prompt sales at other
outlets.
Phil Seng, USMEF president and CEO, says U.S. beef export numbers have
been strong since U.S. beef shipments commenced to South Korea in late
July, but sales in Korea have been limited to small outlets due to
reluctance by major retailers and foodservice operations to sell U.S.
beef because of lingering consumer anxiety and weak economic conditions.
USMEF has been actively promoting U.S. beef sales with Korean butcher
shops and neighborhood restaurants since early September, but
participation by large retailers is critical to jump-starting larger
volume sales across all market sectors, he says. The timing of this
week's large retailer re-launch is expected to lead other retail and
restaurant chains to feature U.S. beef before the lunar New Year peak
consumption period in late January.
Seoul-based USMEF Director Jihae Yang points that “the current
economic crunch, together with the fact that the Korean won has
depreciated almost 50% since the market reopened this past summer, will
make price the key factor in terms of how U.S. beef is received."
-- USMEF news release
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Health inspectors in Hong Kong raided 22 meat stalls following a
report of coloring being used on frozen meat to give it a colorful fresh
meat appearance. Government officials from Hong Kong’s Food and
Environment Hygiene Department collected samples of beef and sausage.
Testing found 15 of the 290 samples contained the banned substance.
The beef, which originated from the U.S., was purchased as “fatty
beef,” at low prices, and then resold as locally produced fatty beef,
officials say. The coloring in the meat is alleged to be toxic to humans
if taken in sufficient quantities.
It’s the latest in a string of food-safety incidents emanating out of
China these days, the most high-profile being the melamine contamination
of dairy products from the Chinese mainland.
-- Muriel Elizabeth Hayes,
Argentina
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President-elect Barack Obama grabbed his lunch to go last Friday in
Chicago and dodged a question about the auto industry by saying: “We
got the corned beef." Making his way around the counter of Manny’s
deli, Obama was asked by a reporter what he thought about the auto
industry’s financial woes. Obama responded with a smile: "I got the
corned beef."
"Rahm Emanuel sends his regards," Obama told deli workers, referring to
his chief of staff, an Illinois congressman. "I ordered him his corned
beef."
Manny's is a popular hangout and campaign stop for Chicago
politicians.
-- Associated Press
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President-elect Barack Obama named his economic team of Timothy
Geithner, Secretary of the Treasury; Lawrence Summers, Director of
National Economic Council (former Secretary of Treasury); Christina
Romer, Chair of the Council of Economic Advisors; and Melody Barnes,
Director of the Domestic Policy Council. These individuals are
considered experienced and initially well received by Congressional
leaders. Obama is expected to name his national security team in the
near future.
-- P. Scott Shearer, Washington, D.C.
correspondent
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While cellulosic biofuels derived from grasses, crop residues and
inedible plant parts have real potential to be more efficient and
environmentally friendlier than grain-based biofuels like corn ethanol,
more research and science-based policies are needed to reap these
benefits, says an international group of experts.
-- Click on headline to read the rest of this
Purdue University release
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Senators Max Baucus (D-MT) and Chuck Grassley (R-IA) wrote the
President of Taiwan to express their concerns with Taiwan’s barriers
to U.S. ag products. The letter stated that even though Taiwan has
resumed importing boneless beef from cattle under 30 months of age,
“it still has not complied with the World Organization of Animal
Health’s findings to accept all U.S. beef.”
The duo also raised concerns with the restrictions on U.S. pork due to
“non-scientific” concerns about ractopamine. Senators Baucus and
Grassley said, “We were proponents of Taiwan’s accession to the
World Trade Organization (WTO). It is troubling that Taiwan is engaging
in repeated abuses of food safety requirements designed to exclude U.S.
agricultural imports from your market – actions that may violate WTO
rules.”
-- P. Scott Shearer, Washington, D.C.
correspondent
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A University of Northern Colorado biologist will use a $98,000 USDA
grant to study whether fish oil improves fertility in cows. The two-year
research project may also have implications on human health, fertility
and treatment without side effects for conditions like arthritis.
Patrick Burns will examine the effects of omega-3 fatty acids in
blocking a hormone that regulates the heat cycle in reproductive tissues
of non-pregnant cows. The hormone prostaglandin must be blocked by the
embryo for a period of time for pregnancy to occur. Often, the embryo
fails to block the release, resulting in failed pregnancies.
The fatty acids in fish oil have been shown to block the hormone in
several non-reproductive tissues, Burns says.
Burns says fish oil potentially could work in the same way for human
reproduction. Also, because fish oil blocks prostaglandin in the same
way that prescription drugs do in treating conditions such as arthritis,
fish-oil supplements may be a treatment option without the side effects
that can lead to heart disease or stroke.
The study will be conducted in collaboration with Colorado State
University scientists Terry Engle and Shawn Archibeque at the
Agricultural Research, Development and Education Center in Fort Collins.
Sixteen cows will be fed fish meal, a rich source of fish oil, for 60
days to allow the oils to become incorporated into reproductive tissues.
The tissues will then be studied to examine the effects of fish oil on
key enzymes that regulate prostaglandin synthesis.
Improving reproductively efficiency by 10% with fish-oil supplementation
could save the U.S. beef and dairy industries millions of dollars in
lost meat and milk production, Burns says.
-- USDA Ag Research Service release
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The American Farm Bureau Federation’s (AFBF) 23rd annual informal
price survey of items found on the Thanksgiving dinner table indicates
the average cost this year to feed a family of 10 is $44.61. This is an
increase of $2.35 compared to last year’s cost of $42.26.
The AFBF shopping list includes turkey, bread 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.
AFBF says, “Food prices rode the energy price roller coaster up during
the first half of 2008, and as the year winds down, energy prices have
moderated somewhat but food prices have not come down. Despite that, the
components of this classic Thanksgiving dinner cost less compared to
1988 when the effects of inflation are removed. Even at these slightly
higher prices, the cost per person for this special meal remains lower
than what Americans pay for most ‘value meals’ at fast-food
outlets.”
-- P. Scott Shearer, Washington, D.C.
correspondent
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The current economic mess is evidence of a problem that government
officials were too slow to address, says Richard Fisher, president and
CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas. In describing the role of
the nation’s central bank, Fisher referred to a former Fed chairman
who said the Federal Reserve’s responsibility is to “take away the
punch bowl just as the party gets going.”
-- Click on headline to read the rest of this
Texas Cattle Feeders Association release
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If you want to get the most value from your winter-feeding program,
knowing what you’re feeding is the first place to start, says Bruce
Anderson, University of Nebraska Extension forage specialist.
-- Click on headline to read the rest of this
story by Bruce Anderson, University of Nebraska Extension forage
specialist
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Former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack, considered among the frontrunners –
and the favorite by some – for appointment to USDA Secretary under
Barack Obama, told the Des Moines Register on Sunday that he
won't be the next USDA Secretary.
In an email, Vilsack said he’d never been contacted by aides to
President-elect Barack Obama about that position or any other.
"I would have to speculate that I was in fact in the running and further
speculate as to why I was no longer. I do not think it prudent or
appropriate to speculate about either," Vilsack said.
Other names on the speculative short list include Tom Buis, president of
the National Farmers Union; Rep. Collin Peterson (D-MN); and former Rep.
Charles Stenholm (D-TX). Peterson told a group of Minnesota ag business
leaders in late October, however, that he didn’t want the job.
-- Joe Roybal
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Sixty percent of California voters responded to horrific photos of
animal abuse and believed the advertisements from major animal rights
organizations that showed cruel treatment of our livestock throughout
the state. We failed as an industry to educate the public about how we
care for our animals. We’ve also failed to produce sufficiently versed
Agriculture Ambassadors in our major universities that are capable of
telling our side of the story.
While it’s true that the Humane Society of the U.S. and People for the
Ethical Treatment of Animals have budgets in excess of $150 million/year
to spend, as ag educators we have the opportunity to educate the general
public about where they get their food and fiber from and the humane
care we demand and practice. With the passing of proposition 2,
California may lose its status as the No.-2 ag state in America. We’ll
do so only because we’ve given up trying to explain to “city folk”
our industry and its needs, and we’ve allowed our industry to be
“legislated out” of the state of California.
Oprah Winfrey should be invited to our farming operations. She should be
educated so that she understands what and why we house and manage our
animals in the manner best engineered for their health and safety. Oprah
and others reached out to millions of voters and we sat and did nothing
until it was too late. The voters were convinced, and still are, that we
do not care about our animals - we only care about profit.
Unless we spend some of our farm advertising budget on education we’ll
soon be producing in and importing from south of the border all of our
animal food products. I doubt Mexico has or embraces the humane
treatment practices we already have in place and there are no laws there
to force compliance.
Let’s increase our spending, research and promotion of our humane
practices and of our industry to the general consuming public. Let’s
send our brightest young educators to city schools to educate our
children and their parents about the truth of animal ag in California
(and throughout our nation).
Leland S. Shapiro, DVM
L.A. Pierce College
Woodland Hills, CA 91371
drcows@aol.com
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What on Earth is the thinking of some people (“Wild Horses Are A
Case Study For All We Face,” Nov. 21 BEEF Cow-Calf Weekly).
I’m a horse lover and have owned several. I also know that man has to
manage this resource just like he manages wildlife, forests, crops and
etc.
There are those who oppose hunting of wildlife. But the fact remains
that if hunting ceases to exist, the wildlife will cease to exist.
Open up the horse market for export and the horse problem will be
solved. It’s so simple!
Don Hansen
Aurora, NE
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