BEEF_STOCKER TRENDS_ A Penton Media Property October 20, 2009 If you want to view this on the web go to: http://enews.penton.com/enews/beef/v/899 NEWS --Pandemic H1N1 Influenza Confirmed In Show Pig Pandemic H1N1 influenza in a show pig at the recent Minnesota State Fair was confirmed by USDA yesterday. USDA announced after the close of markets Friday that confirmatory testing was taking place. Samples from pigs were collected at the Minnesota State Fair between Aug. 26 and Sept. 1 as part of a University of Iowa and University of Minnesota cooperative agreement research project funded by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to document influenza viruses where humans and pigs interact, such as fairs. At the time of sampling, the pigs appeared healthy. "We have fully engaged our trading partners to remind them that several international organizations, including the World Organization for Animal Health, have advised that there is no scientific basis to restrict trade in pork and pork products," says USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack. "People cannot get this flu from eating pork or pork products. Pork is safe to eat." USDA stressed the confirmed infection does not suggest infection of commercial herds. USDA continues to remind U.S. swine producers about the need for good hygiene, biosecurity and other practices that will prevent the introduction and spread of influenza viruses in their herd and encourage them to participate in USDA's swine influenza virus surveillance program. More information about USDA's 2009 pandemic H1N1 efforts is available at www.usda.gov/H1N1flu (http://www.usda.gov/H1N1flu). For cattle, there's obviously no health concern; it's economic. Depending on domestic and international consumer reaction to the confirmation, there could be a backlog of pork competing with beef. Through futures trade Monday there was no negative impact on contracts associated with hogs or cattle. --Canada Files COOL Suit The Canadian government will proceed with a dispute settlement process through the World Trade Organization (WTO) stemming from mandatory Country of Origin Labeling (COOL). You can't blame them. The Mexican government will likely follow suit. You can't blame them either. To view the full article go to: http://beefmagazine.com/beefstockertrends/1020-canada-files-cool-suit STOCKER MANAGEMENT --Buying Added Stocker Value Depending on who's running the abacus, purchase price drives profit opportunity in the stocker business. But, the price paid is still relative to the health risk and gain potential. That's one reason last year's National Stocker Survey revealed that only 24% of stocker operators base their procurement strategy on buying cattle below market average in order to straighten out someone else's mistakes. Instead, 65% of those surveyed indicate they buy on average; 11% pay prices that tend to be above average. For instance, demand continues to increase for preconditioned calves, even as the volume of qualifying calves increases. To view the full article go to: http://beefmagazine.com/beefstockertrends/1020-buying-added-stocker-value --Stocker Best Practices Manual Available If you've wondered about aiming stockers at the Certified Angus Beef (CAB) program, specifically, or just want a handy reference guide that spurs you to question where quality components fit your operation, order a free copy of CAB's new Best Practices Manual (BPM) for stockers and backgrounders. "The stocker segment has historically been considered a low-cost, margin operator," says Mark McCully, CAB assistant vice president for supply. "The reality is it has a huge influence on end-product merit, and those best management practices need to be identified and kept in mind." The BPM highlights strategies that guide stockers to maximize profit and quality. "It covers everything from genetics to cattle procurement, from health and nutritional management to marketing. All of these areas are critical to the bottom line as well as product quality," McCully says. For instance, Greg Highfill, Oklahoma State University Extension beef cattle specialist, explains, "The BPM addresses the issues that reduce stress, while improving health and production efficiency. Those things come together to yield a higher-quality end product. "The manual does a nice job of addressing weaning and the stress that comes with putting cattle together from different backgrounds. It helps identify ways of treating them that will improve stocker health and addresses appropriate animal handling guidelines." To get your free copy of BPM, contact Marilyn Conley at 800-225-2333 or mconley@certifiedangusbeef.com (mailto:mconley@certifiedangusbeef.com). EVENTS --Calendar Of Events Oct. 29-30 -- HOLT CAT Symposium on Excellence in Ranch Management, King Ranch Institute for Ranch Management, Kingsville, TX; 361-593-5401 or krirm.tamuk.edu (http://krirm.tamuk.edu). Dec. 1-3 -- XXI Range Beef Cow Symposium, Casper Events Center, Casper, WY; 307-837-2000 or www.rangebeefcow.com (http://www.rangebeefcow.com). Dec. 4-5 -- Missouri Livestock Symposium, Kirksville Middle School, Kirksville; 660-341-6625 or www.missourilivestock.com (http://www.missourilivestock.com). Dec. 13-16 -- 4th National Conference on Grazing lands, Nugget Casino Resort, Sparks, NV; 303-986-3309 or www.glci.org/4NCGLindex.htm (http://www.glci.org/4NCGLindex.htm). Dec. 14-16 -- Lectureship on Managerial Accounting for Ranchers, King Ranch Institute for Ranch Management, Kingsville, TX; 361-593-5401 or krirm.tamuk.edu (http://krirm.tamuk.edu). Jan. 27-30 -- National Cattlemen's Beef Association Annual Convention, San Antonio, TX Feb. 23-24 -- 2010 Mid-South Stocker Conference, Montgomery Bell State Park, Dickson, TN; contact Jim Neel at 865-974-7294 (jneel@utk.edu (mailto:(jneel@utk.edu)), or Jeff Lehmkuhler at 859-257-2853. CONTACT --Send Questions & Comments To... Wes Ishmael, Contributing Editor, BEEF Stocker Trends, at wesleysink@aol.com (mailto:wesleysink@aol.com) Joe Roybal, Editor, BEEF magazine, at jroybal@beef-mag.com (mailto:jroybal@beef-mag.com) MORE ABOUT THIS NEWSLETTER You are subscribed to this newsletter as #email# To subscribe to this newsletter go to: http://http://subscribe.beefmagazine.com/?tc=NLSUB To unsubscribe from this newsletter go to: http://http://subscribe.beefmagazine.com/?tc=NLSUB&cid=#message_id#&lid=#list_id#&email=#email# For questions concerning delivery of this newsletter, please contact our Customer Service Department at: US Toll Free: (866) 505-7173 International: (402) 505-7173 or mailto:beefmagazine@pbinews.com To get this newsletter in a different format (Text or HTML), or to change your e-mail address, please go to your profile page here: http://subscribe.beefmagazine.com/?tc=NLSUB&email=#email# Penton Media | 249 W. 17th Street | New York, NY 10011 Copyright 2009, Penton Media. All rights reserved. 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