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In the past, if you asked me which factor is the most important in
determining profitability in the cow/calf sector, I would have said
supply and demand. If asked the question today, I would probably answer
it the same way, but with hesitation. I certainly wouldn't call it a
positive development, but the role of government is becoming
increasingly important.
-- Click on headline to read the rest of this
story by
Troy Marshall
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Scours weather happens. Are you ready?
A recent survey
of 50 veterinarians and 151 producers in the Great Plains showed:
- A greater incidence of scours last season, mostly due to severe
weather in this hard-hit area
- 97 percent of vets who used Scour Bos reported that it met or
exceeded their expectations despite the weather challenge
- 99 percent of producers said they would use a scours vaccine for
pregnant cows prior to the upcoming calving season
- 47 percent of vets said they would use Scour Bos in 2008 season vs.
37 percent using ScourGuard and 8 percent using Guardian
Click
here for more details. Call your veterinarian to set up your
preg-check appointment and ask for Scour Bos 9.
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Have you ever dreamed of having 20 order buyers lined up at the
ranch gate to buy your calves, each wanting to pay you a hefty premium
for superior genetics and management? You're not alone. Naturally, it
seems everyone wants lots of potential customers to recognize the value
in the product they are producing.
I do a lot of consulting on advertising and marketing for seedstock
producers. Without question, the hardest concepts to internalize is
this: We can't be all things to all people. And that profits are most
closely linked to providing a truly exceptional and well-defined product
to a subset of customers that recognize the value of what you are
producing and capitalize on it.
Those who consistently top the market tend to sell calves to a very
select group of buyers -- Ones they have built a relationship with,
demonstrated value to, and mutually benefit. They do not achieve
market-topping prices by exposing their product to the most potential
buyers, but instead build a close relationship with the most
important/beneficial buyers.
Perhaps it means adjusting our mindset a little. The odds are, if 30
order buyers are waiting around the load-out chute, they are going to be
largely indifferent with an "I can take-them-or-leave-them" attitude.
The ideal picture may be just one or two buyers who have been virtually
committed to purchasing those calves since they hit the ground.
-- Troy Marshall
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If you ever needed proof of the public relations campaign being
waged over global warming and the environment, all you have to do is
look at the recent list of awards garnered by Al Gore.
-- Click on headline to read the rest of this
story by
Troy Marshall
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Innovation in the
Barrel
How could proven CRYSTALYX® performance get any better?
By getting easier. The BioBarrel™ Single Trip Container™
degrades naturally as the supplement is consumed. And just like our
original black steel barrel option, you can count on profitable results.
Learn more at www.crystalyx.com.
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Here is a list of 14 tactics provided by the Texas and Southwestern
Cattle Raisers Association (TSCRA) to prevent theft on your
property:
- Display TSCRA member sign (or the member sign from your state
cattlemen's association) on gates and entrances. It's an excellent
deterrent.
- Lock gates.
- Brand cattle and horses -- make sure the brand is recorded.
- Put your driver's license number on all saddles, tack and equipment.
- Video horses and tack. Keep complete and accurate descriptions on
file. Establish an organized, easy-to-find, proof of ownership file to
save valuable time in the recovery process.
- Count cattle regularly.
- Don't establish a routine when feeding. Vary the time when you feed.
- Be cautious of who you give keys and combinations to.
- If possible, park trailers and equipment out of view from the road.
- Keep tack rooms and saddle compartments on trailers locked.
- Don't feed in pens.
- Participate in neighborhood Crime Watch programs.
- Don't build pens too close to the roadway.
- Never leave keys in tractors or other equipment.
-- Burt Rutherford
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The first step in a value-added food chain. Rely on the power of
Angus data, industry leading technology, continuing research and
unmatched value-added marketing opportunities. Angus, the power of
people and progress.
www.angus.org
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The House of Representatives passed a resolution expressing the
sense of Congress that by the year 2025 at least 25% of the total energy
consumed in the United States should come from homegrown renewable
sources. Today, renewable energy sources provide approximately 6% of
total U.S. energy needs. The resolution was introduced by Congressmen
Collin Peterson (D-MN), chairman of the House Agriculture Committee, and
Bob Goodlatte (R-VA), ranking member of the House Agriculture Committee.
-- P. Scott Shearer, Washington, D.C.
correspondent
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Herefords - The Efficiency Experts
Adding Hereford genetics to your herd makes perfect business sense in a
cost-driven economy. Excellent conversion, hardiness, fertility,
longevity and even disposition can help reduce input costs. These
Hereford efficiencies are ideal for your herd, your business and your
plans for the future. Low-maintenance cattle, long-term profit. Now
that's power.
www.hereford.org
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A coalition of meat and poultry groups have written Congressional
leaders urging them to oppose any increase in the Renewable Fuel
Standard (RFS) for grain-based ethanol in the energy bill. The coalition
reminded the leadership that an expansion in the RFS as contained in the
Senate-passed energy bill would result in higher production costs,
impair international competitiveness, and risk driving some production
off-shore.
The letter stated, "We strongly support efforts to encourage the
commercialization of ethanol from cellulosic biomass and similar
sources. Nevertheless, we note that by all accounts, this
commercialization is still some years away. If Congress chooses to
increase the RFS for cellulosic ethanol, the law should be clear that
this portion of the mandate is to be met only with non-grains based
fuels."
Those signing the letter were American Meat Institute, National
Cattlemen's Beef Association, National Chicken Council, National Meat
Association, National Turkey Federation, United Egg Association, and
United Egg Producers.
-- P. Scott Shearer, Washington, D.C.
correspondent
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Angus registrations totaled 347,755 in fiscal 2007, up from the
previous year, according to the American Angus Association. Transfers,
which represent sales of cattle to new owners, remained steady compared
with previous years, with nearly 205,000 processed.
AngusSource®, a USDA Process Verified Program (PVP) that
documents age, source and genetics, enrolled more than 90,000 head. And
a record-high 13.5 million cattle were identified for the Certified
Angus Beef® (CAB) program, which sold more than 583
million lbs. of CAB brand products this year, the highest figure since
2003.
-- American Angus Association release
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Your Traceability Solution Starts Here
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the industry's most innovative producers and organizations.
From data collection to secure data sharing and reporting to
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Web: www.aginfolink.com
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One of the first questions Harlan Hughes asks producers is: Are you
collecting data or information? Hughes is a farm business management
guru and monthly "Market Advisor" columnist for BEEF.
"Data are just raw numbers collected in some fashion. Information,
on the other hand, is data that is used to make management decisions,"
he says.
-- Click on headline to read the rest of
this story by
Alaina Burt
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Exports of U.S. beef showed an increase in both value and volume
through August, according to the U.S. Meat Export Federation
(USMEF).
The value of U.S. beef exports increased 28% to $1.67 million, compared
with the same period last year. U.S. beef and variety meat exports were
up 16% in volume to 495,829 metric tons (mt) or 1.09 billion lbs.
According to USMEF, notable gains were made in Central and South America
as export volume increased 68% to 5,986 mt or 13.2 million lbs. and
value increased 64% to $10.9 million. This growth was driven by liver
exports to Peru and frozen beef exports to Guatemala.
Larger markets such as Canada also showed gains with a 31% increase in
volume to 81,380 mt or 179.4 million lbs. and a 34% jump in value to
$372.1 million. Mexico remained the No. 1 market for U.S. beef and beef
variety meat exports with a volume of 235,471 mt or 519 million lbs.,
valued at $781.5 million.
USMEF expects beef prices to remain strong domestically through the rest
of the year due to relatively tight cattle supplies. However, U.S. beef
will remain a good value internationally due to weakness in the U.S.
dollar. For more, go to usmef.org/TradeLibrary/Statistics.asp.
-- USMEF release
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EPA announced the establishment of a Farm, Ranch and Rural
Communities Federal Advisory Committee to advise the EPA administrator
on environmental policy issues affecting farms, ranches, and rural
communities. The committee's membership will include large and small
farmers, ranchers, and rural communities; rural suppliers, marketers and
processors; academics and researchers who study environmental issues
impacting ag; tribal ag groups; and environmental and conservation
groups. In the beginning, EPA will ask the committee to focus on three
issues:
- "How EPA's policies and regulations on climate change and
renewable energy will affect the ag community. The ag industry --
through the development of renewable energy sources -- can play a
significant role in the nation's ability to reduce its dependence on oil
imports, as well as be a source and repository of greenhouse gas
emissions.
- An environmental strategy for livestock operations that considers
regulatory and voluntary approaches and provides tools for producers to
attain superior environmental performance.
- Development of a constructive approach to advancing sustainable ag
and protection of the environment, addressing communication between
environmental and ag interests and urban encroachment in rural
areas."
-- P. Scott Shearer, Washington, D.C.
correspondent
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A lawsuit was filed Oct. 1 against Topps Meat Co., the largest U.S.
manufacturer of frozen ground beef until a 21.7-million-lb. recall due
to potential contamination with E.coli O157:H7 forced it to close
its doors recently. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of Albany County, NY
residents Robert and Catherine McDonald and their young daughter, who
became ill with an E. coli O157:H7 infection and was hospitalized
after eating a burger made of Topps Meats ground beef on Aug. 17. The
McDonald family is represented by the Seattle law firm, Marler Clark,
and the upstate New York law firm Underberg & Kessler.
William Marler, attorney for the McDonald family, stated that "aside
from sporadic cases, outbreaks traced back to meat products have been
largely absent in the last five years. 2007 has been an anomaly in the
meat industry, but now that outbreaks are happening, the industry needs
to once again step up to the plate and compensate consumers for their
injuries," according to a report from the Associated Press.
Another lawsuit was filed in the U.S District Court in New York, seeking
compensation from Topps and a number of stores that stock its frozen
meat, including Wal-Mart, ShopRite and Pathmark. The suit names four
plaintiffs, according to Robert K. Jenner, a Baltimore lawyer.
-- National Meat Association "Lean Trimmings"
newsletter
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Four former Secretaries of Agriculture have written Congress in
support of the Peru Trade Promotion Agreement stating the agreement
"will achieve a more balanced bilateral relationship in the agricultural
sector." The former Secretaries -- Bob Bergland, John Block, Dan
Glickman, and Clayton Yeutter -- also reminded Congress of the gains ag
has made because of previous trade agreements. "Our food and
agricultural exports have grown to all-time records, due, almost
entirely, to prior trade agreements. Indeed, it is difficult to name an
agricultural product our farmers sell in the world market that has not
benefited from earlier trade agreements. The U.S. cannot stand by
complacently, however, while our competitors are negotiating
preferential trade deals around the globe, or we will soon see an
erosion of our hard-won access to key markets."
-- P. Scott Shearer, Washington, D.C.
correspondent
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USDA's Agriculture Marketing Service (AMS) finalized a voluntary
standard for a grass fed livestock marketing claim. The grass fed
standard will be for a ruminant animal that grass and/or forage was the
feed source consumed for the lifetime of the ruminant animal, with the
exception of milk consumed prior to weaning. The diet is to be solely
from forage and animals cannot be fed grain or grain by-products. The
standard will go into effect on November 15.
To view the complete report, visit www.ams.usda.gov/lsg/stand/grassclaim.htm
-- P. Scott Shearer, Washington, D.C.
correspondent
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An article in the September BEEF titled "Are You Vaccinating
Calves... Or Shooting Blanks" raised a few questions and a few eyebrows.
Some readers were offended that their vaccine protocols should be called
into question, while others appreciated the advice. However, one reader
raised a question that wasn't addressed in the article -- how to
properly clean a syringe gun.
-- Click on headline to read the rest of this
story by
Burt Rutherford
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On Wednesday, Japan suspended beef imports from the Cargill plant in
Dodge City, KS. A recent 9-ton shipment from the plant had 225 boxes
containing tendons not properly identified on paperwork issued by USDA.
Tendons are not specified risk materials for BSE the Associated
Press reports, and Cargill acknowledged that boxes may have been
erroneously sent to Japan. Japan's Agriculture Ministry issued a
statement banning shipments from the Dodge City plant until they receive
a detailed report on the mix-up.
-- Alaina Burt
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This week, the 14th member of the House of Representatives announced
he would not run for re-election next year. So far there are 12
Republicans and two Democrats that have announced they are either
retiring or plan to run for the U.S. Senate. There are expected to be
additional announcements this year. Only one member of the House
Agriculture Committee, Congressman Terry Everett (R-AL), has announced
retirement. There have been five Republican Senators who have announced
they will not be running for re-election.
-- P. Scott Shearer, Washington, D.C.
correspondent
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No progress was made on reopening Korea's market for U.S. beef after
two days of meetings between Korea, USDA, and U.S. trade
representatives. The U.S. continues to press Korea to follow OIE
standards by reopening its market for all beef products from all ages of
cattle.
-- P. Scott Shearer, Washington, D.C.
correspondent
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The torrential rains that ravaged Oklahoma this spring, summer and
early fall generated an estimated $30 million in damages to conservation
practices throughout Oklahoma, according to early numbers compiled by
conservation districts and the Oklahoma Conservation Commission.
"The system that we have built over the last 70 years suffered extensive
damage," Mike Thralls, executive director of the Oklahoma Conservation
Commission, told Ron Hays with Radio Oklahoma Network. "The work that
has been done since the dust bowl to protect our natural resources and
to control flooding in our state was really knocked for a loop. We have
never seen this level of damage."
Information released by the Conservation Commission showed the need for
more than $8.8 million additional dollars to rehabilitate several high
hazard dams. This figure was on top of the estimated $7.1 million for
operation and maintenance of these and other flood control structures.
The Commission also proposed that an additional $8 million should be
made available to landowners on a cost-share basis to repair damaged
conservation practices such as terraces, waterways, farm ponds and other
erosion control measures with another $3 million needed to restore
riparian systems in Caddo County. Additional funds are also required to
address roadside erosion and to purchase equipment. While all of these
numbers are subject to change as assessment of the damage continues, one
thing, according to the Conservation Commission, is clear. A majority,
if not all of these funds, will have to come from the state.
Conservation leaders met with Gov. Brad Henry this week to talk about
this need. According to Pope, discussions are already underway with
lawmakers about possibly dipping into the state's rainy-day fund to help
address what these conservation leaders are calling a pressing need for
conservation infrastructure in the state.
-- Ron Hays, Radio Oklahoma Network
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Almost overnight, the ethanol juggernaut has reworked the U.S.
agricultural landscape. Driven by ever-increasing, government-mandated
production levels, almost 5 billion gals. of ethanol were produced in
2006, and Congress this fall will consider a Renewable Fuels Standard
that could require as much as 36 billion gals. of renewable fuels be
produced in the U.S. by 2012.
-- Click on headline to read the rest of this
story by
Bill Zimmerman
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Hay & Forage Grower magazine, a sister publication to
BEEF, has redesigned its Web site. The site, hayandforage.com, offers the
latest in forage-related info in an easy-to-find, one-stop format for
hay, silage, grazing, forage testing, forage equipment, marketing and
other forage-related topics. Click through the various categories listed
across the top of the site and you get lists of stories related to those
categories.
-- Hay & Forage Grower magazine
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The Senate Agriculture Committee plans to markup the farm bill next
Wednesday after an agreement was reached between Sens. Tom Harkin
(D-IA), chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee, Saxby Chambliss
(R-GA), ranking member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, and Kent
Conrad (D-ND), chairman of the Senate Budget Committee. Details of the
agreement are expected later this week. However, indications are farmers
will be given an option to choose between the current farm program or a
state-based revenue insurance program. Also, mandatory country-of-origin
labeling for meat is expected to be in the compromise.
-- P. Scott Shearer, Washington, D.C.
correspondent
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A law boosting tax deductions for landowners who enroll land in a
conservation easement is set to expire Dec. 31. Any landowner wishing to
take advantage of the tax deduction that increased from 30% to 50% of a
qualified donor's yearly income needs to act fast. For qualified working
ranches and farms, the deduction is 100%.
The law tripled the carry-forward for deductions from five to 15 years,
but the enhancements apply only to transactions made in 2006 and 2007.
Talk with your tax or estate-planning consultant, or log on to www.lta.org/farmersandranchers.
-- Burt Rutherford
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According to a USDA survey, U.S. corn production is forecast at 13.3
billion bu., up slightly from last month and 26% above 2006. Based on
conditions as of Oct. 1, yields are expected to average 154.7 bu./acre,
down 1.1 bu. from September but 5.6 bu. above last year. If realized,
this would be the second-highest yield on record, behind the 160.4-bu.
yield in 2004.
Production would be the largest on record as growers expect to harvest
the most corn acres for grain since 1933.
Forecast yields are higher than last year across the Great Plains,
central Corn Belt and Delta where adequate rainfall during much of the
season provided favorable growing conditions.
Expected yields across the Ohio and Tennessee Valleys, Northeast, and
Mid-Atlantic States are down from last year, as drought conditions
during much of the growing season reduced soil moisture levels and
stressed the crop.
Meanwhile, soybean production is forecast at 2.60 billion bu., down less
than 1% from the September forecast, and down 19% from last year's
record high. Based on Oct. 1 conditions, yields are expected to average
41.4 bu./acre, unchanged from last month, but down 1.3 bu. from last
year. Compared with last month, yields are forecast lower in Illinois,
Kentucky, Tennessee, Wisconsin and most of the Atlantic Coast
states.
Hot, dry conditions continued to cause most of the decline, especially
in Delaware, Illinois, Kentucky, Virginia, and the Carolinas, all down
at least 2 bu. from last month.
Yields increased from the Sept. 1 forecast in Iowa, Ohio, New York, the
Dakotas, and most of the Gulf Coast states.
-- Southeast Farm Press
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