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The U.S. beef market has always been dominated by domestic consumer
demand. Exports, however, stopped the decline of our industry some
years back and actually helped to lead the resurgence in demand and
arrest the downward spiral in beef demand and market share. Then along
came BSE with its ensuing loss of market share and the surprisingly
long, tedious process of trying to regain market access and market
share.
Exports are improving but have been hampered by our inability to trace
our product at a time when the global market is demanding it. But the
problems go beyond traceability, market access, a damaged brand
worldwide, and a global economic quagmire. We have also found ourselves
in a global market that is at the same time more competitive and more
protectionist.
Anyone who reads anything about global economic trends has been
inundated with the BRIC term. It stands for the four countries of
Brazil, Russia, India and China and what many believe is the beginning
of their rise to prominence. India is expected to rival the U.S.
economy in size in very short order, while Brazil and Russia are
expected to see growth rates far exceeding non-BRIC countries.
Of course, China is the country that generates the most discussion, as
many are projecting that they will ascend and pass up the U.S. economy
that has been the driver of the world economy for so long. While China
has significant structural problems and impediments to growth, the
latest global crisis may actually turn out to be beneficial to them. It
has taught them not to rely as heavily on exports, and while the decline
of the dollar is a negative for exports, many are expecting that a 6%
growth rate in GDP coupled with the declining dollar will allow them to
achieve a growth rate in dollar terms around 10%.
All of this, while not necessarily good for the U.S. economy in general,
is great for U.S. exports. Exploding demand and a product that is at
the same time getting cheaper in relation to its competitors, means that
the U.S. beef industry, if it can deal with its traceability, market
access and tarnished image issues, is looking at a rapidly expanding
export market that could fuel tremendous growth for our products.
-- Troy Marshall
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I'm betting that many of you are like me; you consider yourself an
environmentalist and animal welfarist. But have someone mention these
movements and the little hairs on the back of your neck begin to stand
up and you are predisposed to dismiss much if not all of what they are
saying.
In part, this is justified. After all, many in the environmental and
animal rights camps have selected our demise as their primary goal and
they have shown that they are willing to do anything, including using
outright lies, to advance their agenda. Still, we can't dismiss them,
and we can't ignore that they are making significant inroads in the
minds of the average consumer.
This week, Sarah Palin's book received almost non-stop media coverage.
What has not been discussed much is the anger she generated by talking
about her support of eating meat, and a hunting lifestyle. On Monday, a
history professor at Texas State University and the author of "Just
Food," James McWilliams, had an opinion piece published in the The
Washington Post that declared consumers should apologize for eating
meat. The facts quoted are largely old claims that have been rejected
by any unbiased source, but they still seem to find their way into
mainstream media outlets, when such falsehoods would never see the light
of day.
The reality is that the environment and animal welfare movements have
been elevated into the upper realm of political correctness where all
opinions are to be accepted and pro-environment, pro-vegetarian, or
pro-animal welfare opinions do not have to be scientific or factual,
because their general position is deemed desirable.
It is a religion and it is a cause, and we are their targets. And it is
a serious mistake to believe that it is simply people like McWilliams,
or organizations like PETA who trivialize themselves so much that they
will never be taken seriously. There was an article in Forbes
profiling the biotech whiz Pat Brown, who in scientific circles is
considered to be extremely accomplished, and a person whose words do and
will carry weight. His stated goal is to change the way the world farms
and eats; his primary goal is to put an end to animal farming.
It is no longer simply the radicals but the intellectuals who are
targeting our livelihood. He is taking time off from his area of
expertise to work with other likeminded colleagues to construct economic
models that would make or demonstrate that animal agriculture is simply
too expensive to continue.
I love Baxter Black and I fully support engaging him in the promotion of
beef. But at the same time we have to understand that is going to take
an army of Baxter Blacks to address the attacks. It was enlightening at
the American Angus Association convention, which usually is 100% focused
on Angus issues and Angus competitiveness, that there was recognition
that bigger macro issues will have a major impact on their
sustainability, and I see people coming to that realization more and
more every day.
-- Troy Marshall
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Superior Livestock was taken over by Farm Credit West. Initially,
industry reaction was surprise and concern given the volume and
importance of Superior Livestock in merchandising the country's feeder
cattle. However, it appears that Superior is actually quite profitable
and will continue to operate with no disruptions. It simply was a
successful enterprise that was used as collateral for what turned out to
be not-so-successful ventures.
Tyson names Donnie Smith as the company's new president and chief
executive officer and Jim Lochner as chief operating officer. The
names are quite familiar to most as Smith was senior group V.P of
Tyson's Poultry and Prepared Foods, and Lochner was senior group V.P. of
Tyson's Fresh Meats Division. This clears up the leadership structure
after Richard Bond resigned in January.
Desperate state and local governments are looking for tax revenues that
are politically acceptable and that has led many to advance the idea of
taxing sodas, snacks and food that is considered to be unhealthy. While
none of these initiatives have included meat, the slippery slope is hard
to ignore.
-- Troy Marshall
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CRYSTALYX® is the original low-moisture block supplement program
designed to get results AND save you time and money. For better
performance out of your cattle and better use of pasture grasses, hay
and other forages, the choice is clear. CRYSTALYX.
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September beef plus beef variety meat exports were down 25% in
volume and 34% in value from September 2008, bringing the cumulative
total for the year to 660,459 mt (1.46 billion lbs.) valued at $2.28
billion. This is 12% below last year’s pace in volume and 17% lower in
value.
Much of the decline is attributable to the weak global market for beef
variety meat, as January-September variety meat exports of 214,717 mt
(473.4 million lbs.) valued at $378 million trail last year’s totals
by 22% in volume and 39% in value. Muscle cut exports fared better, but
still trail 2008 by 6% in volume and 11% in value.
Beef exports to Japan (69,945 mt or 154.2 million lbs. valued at nearly
$360 million) are 22% higher in volume and 21% higher in value than last
year. September exports continued to outperform 2008, but at a slightly
slower pace due to the seasonal decline in availability of
slaughter-ready cattle under 21 months of age.
Taiwan, where U.S. beef exports slumped early in the year, continued to
rebound in September by exceeding September 2008 by 26% in volume and
63% in value. These results pulled Taiwan to within 1% of the export
value achieved in the first three quarters of 2008.
Hong Kong continued its remarkable surge in U.S. beef imports,
surpassing the September 2008 total by 88% in volume and 74% in value.
Through September, exports to Hong Kong are up 110% in volume and 78% in
value. September exports to Vietnam were down compared to September
2008, but up 23% in volume and 30% in value for the year.
These encouraging performances offset declines in Mexico, Canada and
Russia. Exports to Mexico are down 28% in volume and 36% in value
compared with the first three quarters of 2008, and exports to Canada
are down 10% and 15%, respectively. Exports to Russia declined 47% in
volume and 69% in value, with muscle cut exports plummeting nearly 80%.
Visit www.usmef.org/TradeLibrary/Statistics.asp
for complete statistics.
-- U.S. Meat Export Federation
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A total of 24 speakers will appear in eight simultaneous sections
running from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. during the annual Missouri Livestock
Symposium set for Dec. 4-5 at Kirksville Middle School in Kirksville.
This year’s sections include beef, sheep, stock dogs, meat goats,
forages, around the home and farm, and renewable resources.
The topics will range from “Top Profit Tips” by Colorado rancher Lee
Leachman to “Control of Nuisance Wildlife” by Bob Pierce, University
of Missouri Extension wildlife specialist. Among other headliners are
Colorado State University’s Temple Grandin, who will also discuss
animal behavior; and Mike Adams, host of “Agri-Talk” daily radio
show.
The program also includes a trade show and concert. For a complete
program, go to www.missourilivestock.com.
-- University of Missouri release
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 Fresh water on demand, 24 hours
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stainless steel, heavy-duty polyethylene or a combination of both and a
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you, contact Ritchie Industries at 800-747-0222 or visit www.ritchiefount.com
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Angus Genetics Inc.® (AGI) is now accepting DNA samples for
analysis with the industry’s first breed-specific DNA profile from
IGENITY®.
Bill Bowman, COO for AGI, says the combination of DNA technology from
IGENITY with the Angus National Cattle Evaluation (NCE) “results in
more predictable EPDs, which Angus breeders and their commercial
customers can use to help make more confident decisions and faster
genetic progress.” Producers will receive genomic-enhanced EPDs as
well as scores from IGENITY for 14 economically important traits,
including: Residual feed intake, average daily gain, tenderness,
marbling, percent Choice, yield grade, fat thickness, ribeye area,
carcass weight, yearling weight, heifer pregnancy rate, stayability,
maternal calving ease and docility.
“The ability to evaluate cattle using EPDs with improved accuracies
helps producers minimize some of the risk that comes with using young
sires or selecting replacement heifers,” Bowman says.
Stewart Bauck, executive director of research and development, IGENITY,
says IGENITY offers analyses for multiple economically important traits;
however, not all of those traits are currently available as EPDs.
“Therefore, in addition to genomic-enhanced EPDs, producers will
receive scores from IGENITY,” he says. “Producers also will have the
option to evaluate cattle for genetic abnormalities and test for
persistent infections (PI) of the bovine viral diarrhea (BVD) virus –
all from a single DNA sample.”
To get started, producers can order sample collection kits from AGI by
visiting www.angus.org. All
DNA sample types – blood, hair, tissue or semen –– will be
accepted; however, blood samples on FTA® cards are preferred. Samples
should be mailed to AGI and results will be returned via the customer
log-in function on www.angus.org.
“Genomic-enhanced EPDs will be returned to producers three to four
weeks after samples are received,” Bowman says. “This information
will be available in time for producers to make final replacement heifer
selection decisions and provide genomic-enhanced EPDs at spring
production sales.”
-- AGI news release
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For more than a quarter century, the Cattle Raisers Museum of the
Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association (TSCRA) has
entertained and educated visitors with the real story of the cattle and
ranching industries in the Southwest. Today, a new and larger museum,
housed within the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History, will be
opened.
The state-of-the-art, 10,000-sq.-ft. facility features many interactive
exhibits and a new theater. The museum takes visitors on a memorable
journey from the early days of ranching to the cattle industry of the
future. Visitors can operate a virtual ranch, go on a simulated cattle
drive, and learn from a steer that demonstrates the many cattle
by-products. History is highlighted by a wide range of artifacts from
branding irons to saddles, plus highlights from the museum’s rare
photography collection.
For more info, go to www.cattleraisersmuseum.org.
-- Cattle Raisers Museum release
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 SEEDSTOCK NEWSLETTER BARN –
Over 20 Genetic Newsletters – Under One Roof.
The Seedstock Barn is a multi-breed collection of breeder and
association newsletters assembled in one convenient location.
Newsletters provide valuable information into personal producer
philosophy and herd management tips. Producer and association
newsletters foster the sharing of educational and best practice
information vital to improving our most important product, BEEF, in an
effort to keep our most important customer, the CONSUMER.
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Despite weaker farm incomes and credit conditions, farmland values
held steady in the third quarter, according to the Federal Reserve Bank
of Kansas City’s Survey of Agricultural Credit Conditions.
Since falling in the fourth quarter of 2008, farmland values overall
appear to have reached a plateau in the seven-state district. Survey
respondents reported a limited number of sales during the quarter, and a
majority expected farmland values to hold steady over the next three
months.
More district bankers reported weaker farm incomes due to sagging
protein demand and a summer decline in crop prices. With shrinking
margins, livestock producers have been cutting supplies by culling herds
and consolidating feedlots. Bankers on average estimated that livestock
incomes would decline roughly 10% below year-ago levels, and that annual
crop incomes would decline roughly 15% below year-ago levels due to
lower pre-harvest crop prices.
With lower incomes, farm credit conditions eroded during the third
quarter. More bankers reported lower loan repayment rates and rise in
loan renewals and extensions, trends bankers expect to continue through
the end of the year. More bankers reported rising farm loan demand, and
many indicated having ample funds for creditworthy borrowers.
Go to www.KansasCityFed.org/agcrsurv/agcrmain.htm
for the complete survey.
-- Kansas City Fed release
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Who could have imagined 20 years ago how the beef industry would be
so under attack? The past two decades have seen the industry transform
itself into a consumer-driven business that has taken extraordinary
steps to make its products even safer, more nutritious and convenient
for Americans. Try telling that story though to the food elitists and
animal rights zealots who seem determined to make the beef industry and
U.S. agriculture the whipping boy for their prejudices.
-- Click on headline to read the rest of this
article by Steve Kay
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 Social Networking For Beef Industry
Professionals
BEEF content is available on Facebook, a social networking tool
increasingly used by beef industry professionals. Interact with readers
and editors, participate in discussions and keep up-to-date with
industry happenings. Become a
fan of BEEF!
BEEF is also on Twitter, a micro-blogging site that provides
brief status updates on people, groups or organizations. Users can
"follow" people or groups, including news organizations that they want
to keep up-to-date with. Follow BEEF on
Twitter!!
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The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and USDA will hold four joint
public workshops in 2010 aimed at exploring competition and regulatory
issues in agriculture. The goals of the workshops are to promote
dialogue among interested parties and foster learning with respect to
the appropriate legal and economic analyses of these issues, as well as
to listen to and learn from parties with experience in the agriculture
sector, the agencies say.
DOJ and USDA are also asking for comments in advance of the workshops.
Submit written comments in both paper and electronic form to DOJ no
later than Dec. 31, 2009. Two paper copies should be addressed to the
Legal Policy Section, Antitrust Division, U.S. Department of Justice,
450 5th Street, NW, Suite 11700, Washington, D.C. 20001. Electronic
versions should be submitted to agriculturalworkshops@usdoj.gov
.
The workshop schedule includes:
- March 12 – Enrichment Center, Ankeny, IA; this “Issues of
Concern to Farmers” workshop will serve as an introduction to the
series of workshops, with specific focus on issues facing crop farmers.
- May 21 – Alabama A&M University, Normal, AL. Poultry industry
workshop will focus on production contracts, concentration and buyer
power.
- June 7 – University of Wisconsin Memorial Union, Madison, WI.
Focused on dairy, specific areas of focus are concentration, marketplace
transparency and vertical integration.
- Aug. 26 – Colorado State University, Ft. Collins. Livestock
industry workshop will focus on beef, hog and other animal sectors,
concentration and enforcement of the Packers and Stockyards Act.
- Dec. 8 – USDA Jefferson Auditorium, Washington, D.C. Wrap-up
workshop will look at producer-consumer price discrepancies. Discussions
from previous workshops will be incorporated into the analysis of ag
markets nationally.
Each workshop may feature keynote speakers, general expert panels, and
break-out panels that will address more narrowly-focused issues. At each
workshop, the public will have an opportunity to ask questions and
provide comments.
Additional updates and information, including agendas and speakers, will
be posted on the Antitrust Division's events website at
www.usdoj.gov/atr/events.htm.
-- USDA press release
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Only eight or nine months ago, the spring-calving cows were calving,
the temperature was cold and the calving pastures were muddy. Experience
would say you don’t want to ask cow-calf operators how "calving" is
then, because the response would be less than objective, reflecting
bone-chilling cold and not enough sleep. However, if you want to reduce
some of last spring’s headaches, perhaps this fall is the best time to
make a few notes on what to change for next spring.
The first step is to list the dead calves. Hopefully, your cattle are in
a record system that will provide that information. Your calving
notebook should have the dead calves checked off and a brief notation on
what happened to each. Until all the calves are listed, the shock of
lost opportunities hasn’t had its full impact, according to Glen Selk,
Oklahoma State University Extension cattle reproduction specialist.
Can you identify a pattern of problems?
Was most of the death loss right at delivery and involved two-year-old
heifers? This could indicate that more careful sire selection is needed,
with more attention being paid to low birth weight EPD sires for
heifers.
Perhaps the heifers were underdeveloped, which could contribute to more
calving difficulty than necessary. Do you provide assistance to heifers
after they’ve been in stage II of labor for one hour? Longer
deliveries result in stress on both calf and cow.
Was the death loss more prevalent after the calves reached 10-14 days of
age? This, of course, often means calf diarrhea (or scours) is a major
concern. Calf scours are more likely to occur in calves from first-calf
heifers. Calves receiving inadequate amounts of colostrum within the
first six hours of life are five to six times more likely to die from
calf scours.
Calves born to thin heifers are weakened at birth and receive less
colostrum, which compounds their likelihood of scours. Often, these same
calves underwent difficult deliveries, which add to the odds of sickness
and death. All this means we need to reassess the bred-heifer growing
program to ensure that heifers are in a body condition score of 6
(moderate flesh) at calving time.
Do you use the same trap or pasture each year for calving? A buildup of
bacteria or viruses in that pasture can contribute to calf diarrhea.
Such calving pastures may need a rest for the upcoming calving season.
Plus, it’s always a good idea to get new calves and their mothers out
of the calving pasture as soon as they can be moved comfortably to a new
pasture to get them away from other potential calf scour organisms.
Visit with your veterinarian about last spring’s calf health problems.
Pre-calving scours vaccines (to the cows) may be recommended by your
veterinarian for this winter and spring. This decision must be made
soon, so that the vaccine is given soon enough to provide the best
possible passive immunity to the newborn calf. This should be considered
an important short-term plan to reduce the incidence of calf diarrhea.
We must however, enlist the other management suggestions as more
long-term solutions to the problem.
-- OSU Cow-Calf Corner
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The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), in a George Orwellian
move, has just announced that it has suddenly decided to put the
herbicide atrazine through yet another regulatory wringer, despite
having just completed a comprehensive, multi-year regulatory review of
the safety of atrazine begun in 1994.
-- Click on headline to read the rest of this
story by Dennis T. Avery and Alex Avery, Hudson Institute, cgfi@hughes.net
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The Philippines has lifted its temporary ban on meat and bone meal
imports from the U.S. Philippine Ag Secretary Arthur Yap said the move
was merited following the World Animal Health Organization’s (OIE)
recognition of the U.S. as a “controlled risk" for BSE.
The Philippines ag department has "confirmed that meat and bone meal
(MBM) and other animal protein products are regulated and verified by
the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for compliance with BSE-related
regulations and chemical residue tolerances," in addition to its feed
ban on mammalian protein, Yap said in a statement.
-- Xinhua news agency
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Texas and New Mexico Extension will host its sixth annual Southwest
Beef Symposium, Jan. 20-21 at the Tucumcari Convention Center in
Tucumcari, NM.
Bruce Carpenter, Texas AgriLife Extension Service livestock specialist,
says the symposium will center around four educational sessions and a
trade show. Among the highlights are presentations by Jason Henderson,
Kansas City Federal Reserve Bank executive vice president, on the
economy; and Josh Weingarner, Texas Cattle Feeders Association director
of government relations, on policy issues.
“The Cattlemen’s Tool Box,” in which Extension specialists will
discuss technologies in nutrition, genetics, health, risk management and
livestock water, will headline the second day. In addition, Kansas State
University’s Dale Blasi will present a stocker cattle session, and
futurist Lowell Catlett of New Mexico State University (NMSU) will speak
during lunch.
The 2010 symposium will end with an afternoon session on “Stockmanship
and Stewardship” conducted by Curt Pate, a rancher and professional
horseman from Newell, SD; and Ron Gill, rancher and Texas A&M University
livestock specialist. Their presentation will cover facility design,
stockmanship skills and demonstrations in live cattle handling
techniques.
Preregistration ($50/person) ends Jan. 13 and includes a steak dinner,
lunch, refreshments and proceedings. For more info or to pre-register,
call Bruce Carpenter at 432-336-8585, NMSU’s Clay Mathis at
505-646-8022 or visit cahe.nmsu.edu/ces/swbeef.
-- Texas AgriLife Extension Service
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U.S. Meat Animal Research Center (USMARC) scientists in Clay Center,
NE, are investigating the effects of feeding wet distiller’s grains
with solubles (WDGS) to cattle. The scientists conducted a comprehensive
study on the influence of diets including WDGS in four areas: feedlot
performance, energy utilization efficiency, postharvest meat
characteristics, and cattle manure emissions.
Cattle were fed diets containing zero, 20%, 40%, or 60% WDGS. Cattle
performance and meat quality in the finishing phase, 120-140 days
leading up to slaughter, was monitored for growth rate, feed intake and
feed efficiency. Researchers found performance of steers fed diets of
20% or 40% WDGS was equal to or better than that of the control group.
However, cattle fed a diet of 60% WDGS had lower feed intake and average
daily gain.
The study found lower energy utilization efficiency (a factor that could
reduce feedlot performance) in cattle fed WDGS diets. The decreased
efficiency was noticeable in the 60% diet.
The changes in cattle performance were similar to those observed in meat
quality. The heaviest carcasses were from the cattle fed a diet of 20%
WDGS. Cattle on the 40% diet also performed better than the control
group, but the 60% diet registered the lowest performance. They were
lighter, leaner, less marbled and had higher yield grades than cattle in
the other groups.
Another part of the study examined how WDGS diets affected persistence
of generic E. coli in cattle feces. Early results showed an
inverse relationship between the amount of WDGS in a diet and the amount
of L-lactate in cattle manure. Manure with more L-lactate had lower pH,
resulting in less microbial fermentation, methane, and E. coli.
This suggests that feeding WDGS to cattle can lead to manure with less
L-lactate, which can cause a greater potential for odor emissions and
more persistent E. coli.
Further studies are needed to determine whether WDGS feeds raise the
likelihood of pathogenic E. coli persisting in cattle manure.
USMARC studies indicate a cattle diet of 20% to 40% WDGS may offer the
most economic benefits with the fewest disadvantages.
-- National Meat Association Lean Trimmings
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While U.S. producers fretted over the progress of their crops this
summer, 60 million people – young kids to metropolitan sophisticates
and senior citizens – spent hours daily tending crops, livestock and
other of the myriad of enterprises, events, crop failures and disasters
in the virtual world of FarmVille.
From the dawn of the computer age, games have been a staple of the
programmer geeks who make computers run. In the process a lot of geeks
founded software companies to make millions off the games. But given the
propensity of game developers toward rock ’em, sock ’em adventure,
the mind boggles that in the four months since its introduction the most
popular online computer game on the entire planet has been
FarmVille.
And the game’s owners, a San Francisco startup company called Zynga,
were raking in millions from advertising on the site and sales (for real
money) of digital tractors, farmland, crops, livestock, and other
assets. A 30-person staff is busily working to expand the game’s
capabilities (and presumably, its profitability).
In a nutshell, FarmVille players are given a piece of land to farm as
they wish. Money they earn from crops and livestock can be used to buy
inputs, equipment and other assets.
FarmVille is linked to the wildly popular social networking site
Facebook, which makes it possible to work with (or compete against)
friends. Players can also send each other “gifts” of trees, animals
and other assets.
The more people farming, the more bucks for Zynga. Although one can play
the game for free, one can also spend hard cash to buy more equipment or
inputs. “One recent success,” notes BusinessWeek, “was
digital sweet potato seeds that cost $5 a packet (and) … pulled in
more than $400,000 in three days.”
While one could quibble that real sweet potatoes aren’t grown from
seeds, one can’t argue that $400 thousand from imaginary yams sure
beats four ways to Sunday growing the real thing.
The world’s media have been awash with stories about the addictive
nature of the game. Articles have suggested, noted an LA Times
piece, that FarmVille “is roughly as enslaving as heroin. Users report
missing work, abandoning friends and setting their alarms to wake up
several times during the night so they can make the moves necessary to
advance in the game.”
And this in a New York Times article: “I can’t hang out with
my friends without talk of apple fields and rice paddies,” said (a
University of California student). “I have to wait for my friends’
soybeans to grow, because we can’t chill until they’ve been
harvested.”
In FAQs about the game, we are told a day in FarmVille “is currently
23 hours long” – just 1 hour shy of a real farmer’s workday.
-- Hembree Brandon, Farm Press Editorial Staff
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