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If you’ve attended just about any industry meeting the last couple
of years, likely someone talked about the value of building
relationships and collecting and using information. The trouble is that
while we all appreciate the wisdom in that advice, the marketplace made
it easy to ignore.
-- Click on headline to read the rest of this
story by Troy Marshall
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To never count on Congress to accomplish anything substantive has
almost became a political axiom. With many years of experience and
dashed hopes, ag can attest to that truism.
The 2007 farm bill continues to bog down, and issues such as mandatory
country-of-origin labeling (mCOOL) remain un-finalized and a threat to
the industry. Everyone in the cattle industry assumed that mCOOL was
taken care of, what with the compromise announced earlier.
But while there seems to be little opposition to the proposed mCOOL
program, it is currently just that – a proposed solution. If the new
farm bill isn’t passed, or if the fixes aren’t enacted in a separate
bill, then the industry is back to square-one where mCOOL is concerned.
The industry and USDA have been waiting for the fixes to be put into
effect. Increasingly, however, the industry is being forced to consider
the prospect of having to deal with the original legislation, which was
so problematic that the debate divided the industry for several years.
Sept. 30 is the implementation date, and it’s drawing nearer with
every day.
-- Troy Marshall
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It isn’t the prison terms or the meat recall that’s the big news
for the industry in the aftermath of the story of Hallmark/Westland
employees caught on tape abusing downer cows. It’s the microscope that
the industry has been placed under regarding animal welfare.
It’s tempting to say all the coverage will ultimately be good for the
industry, but that’s both overly optimistic and naïve. This issue has
given a forum and an opportunity for the anti-livestock groups and their
agenda.
The challenge for our industry is not just to prevent these types of
incidents from occurring (they’re already extremely rare), the
challenge is to rebuild and resurrect an image that’s severely
tarnished. It’s never fair when the actions of a few are ascribed to a
larger group, but the beef industry’s greatest asset is people’s
perception of who we are and what we do.
The activist groups aligned against us will always outspend us and
outnumber us. But we must at all costs and industry effort prevent these
types of hits to our perception with the general public.
-- Troy Marshall
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“Quality – A Solution To Rising Costs” is the theme of
BEEF magazine’s 2008 BEEF Quality Summit. The third
annual meeting is set for Nov. 6-7 at the Antlers Hilton in Colorado
Springs, CO.
The two-day agenda, which will focus on the long-term effects of rising
costs on industry profit and beef demand, will look at the impact of
rising costs on retail outlets, producers and the global beef industry.
Two-dozen speakers, including producers, consultants and industry
experts, will also address how the beef industry can utilize
quality-production concepts to mitigate the effect of rising input costs
and successfully meet the demand for quality beef in today’s
marketplace. In addition, experts will discuss the results and
beef-industry ramifications of the national elections held earlier in
the week.
The conference will also feature a trade show where producers can view
new industry products and tools while speaking with vendors in a
one-on-one environment.
To learn more, visit beefconference.com/. To see
video summaries of the 2007 BEEF Quality Summit, which focused on
ethanol’s effect on beef quality, visit beefmagazine.com/beeftv/.
-- Joe Roybal
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The American Beefalo International (ABI) spring seedstock sale is
April 19 at Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro. The
annual event begins at 1 p.m. (CDT), and all beef producers, hobby
farmers and interested parties are invited. Beefalo is a cross between
Bison (American Buffalo) and domestic cattle. For more info, visit www.ababeefalo.org, or call
Kyle Skidmore at 502-641-7878.
– ABI news release -- NIAA
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For the first time since Feb. 11, the U.S. average retail price for
regular gasoline fell for the week, slipping 2.5¢ to $3.259/gal.
Meanwhile, diesel continued to rise for the sixth-straight week and
another all-time high, but the U.S. average price grew by only 1.5¢ to
$3.989, which is $1.313 more than the price last year.
For the week ending March 24, a gallon of regular gasoline fell in every
region but the Rocky Mountains, where it added 2¢ to $3.198. The East
Coast dropped 1.2¢ to $3.241, the Midwest shaved 6¢ to $3.192, the
Gulf Coast slipped by 1.1¢ to $3.166, and the West Coast remained the
highest at $3.517. California remained at $3.60/gal.
Meanwhile, diesel remained at all-time highs in all regions. The East
Coast was up 1¢ to $4.045, or $1.388 higher than last year, while the
Midwest hit $3.964, the Gulf Coast $3.928, the Rocky Mountains $3.953,
and the West Coast $4.056. California logged in at $4.119/gal., $1.25
above last year’s price.
-- Energy Information Administration
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USDA Secretary Ed Schafer announces a sign-up for the Conservation
Security Program (CSP) that will be available starting on April 18 to
64,000 eligible farms in 51 watersheds covering more than 23.7 million
acres.
CSP is a voluntary conservation program that supports ongoing
stewardship of private, ag working lands and rewards producers who are
meeting the highest standards of conservation and environmental
management on their operations. Payments can include three
components:- An annual stewardship component for the base level of
conservation treatment,
- An annual component for maintenance of existing conservation
practices, and
- An enhancement component for exceptional conservation
effort.
Enhancement activities could include limited pesticide
applications, renewable energy generation, and widening existing
riparian forest buffers for restoring critical stream habitat. More info
on CSP, including eligible watersheds and a CSP self-assessment workbook
is available at www.nrcs.usda.gov/programs/csp.
-- P. Scott Shearer, Washington, D.C.
correspondent
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According to USDA’s Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion
(CNOPP) report, middle-income families with a child born in 2007 will
spend $204,060 for providing food, shelter, clothing and other
necessities by the child’s 18th birthday.
According to the annual study, the cost of feeding a child is less
expensive than it once was, while childcare and education costs rose
considerably. USDA says that, since 1960, the cost of providing food
decreased from 24% to 17% of total child-rearing costs, while child care
and education expenses increased from 2% to 12%. Housing is 33% of total
costs.
-- P. Scott Shearer, Washington, D.C.
correspondent
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The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released a supplemental
proposed rulemaking for its no-match rule that was put on hold by a
federal court in California last October.
-- Click on headline to read the rest of this
story by Burt Rutherford
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With People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) leading the
way at 17%, charitable donations to animal-rights groups rose 5% in
2006, the latest period available, reports the Animal Agriculture
Alliance (AAA). Total donations to animal-rights groups reached $295.8
million.
The findings come from the “2007 Animal People Watchdog Report on 150
Animal Charities,” an annual review of animal-charity budgets based
upon the IRS Form 990 filings the groups are required to file. The
report is published by the newspaper, Animal People.
The report also revealed that the largest animal-rights activist group
in the USA, Humane Society of the U.S. (HSUS), increased donations by
9%, including its subsidiary organizations the Fund for Animals, Doris
Day Animal League and Doris Day Animal Foundation. Importantly, this
increase builds on the striking 62% increase in donations the
organization garnered in 2005.
All numbers for HSUS exclude Humane Society International, the
international branch of HSUS, which was estimated to have revenues of $3
million, the AAA release notes.
Other groups mentioned and their support include:- The moderate
vegan group Friends of Animals (FoA) boosted donations 12%, after a 27%
increase in 2005 that boosted its coffers to $5 million.
- The British group, Compassion in World Farming, more than doubled
its donations, exploding 114%.
-- Animal Agriculture Alliance
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Spring may not seem the right time to be thinking about the virtues
of fall calving, but if you live in the tall-fescue zone of the U.S.,
you should be thinking about it right now. Spring and early summer is
when endophyte-infected fescue is at its most toxic level, and when your
cows are most likely bred for spring calving.
-- Click on headline to read the rest of this
story by Jim Gerrish – www.americangrazinglands.com
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The United Nation’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has
indicated that worldwide food reserves were at their lowest level in 30
years, providing for only 53 days of food, compared with 169 days in
2007.
-- P. Scott Shearer, Washington, D.C.
correspondent
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A slaughterhouse worker caught on video abusing downer dairy in a
Chino, CA Hallmark/Westland facility was sentenced to six months in jail
this week. His former supervisor, Daniel Ugarte Navarro, 49, has pleaded
not guilty to eight counts of animal abuse – five of them felony
counts – and is set to appear in court April 17.
The convicted worker, Rafael Sanchez Herrera, 34, pleaded guilty to
three misdemeanor counts, and will be deported to his native Mexico
after serving his jail time.
-- Media reports
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Kansas State University’s Ag Research Center in Hays will hold its
annual Beef Roundup on April 17. Registration is at 11:30 a.m. with
lunch at noon in the Hays Arena. The event is free.
Among the presentations are:- Preconditioning and weaning
management;
- Comparison of stocking strategies for western Kansas rangelands;
- Sensors to monitor illness in cattle;
- Effect of marbling and backfat on cow productivity;
- Walking tour of the feedlot;
- Effects of dietary vitamin A level and weaning age on beef carcass
quality;
- Comparison of placing stockers on grass or directly on feed;
- Effects of implanting and feeding zilpaterol on performance,
carcass characteristics and subprimal meat yields on fed cull cows;
- Effect of feeding rumen-protected choline to cows during late
gestation and early lactation;
- Preconditioning management of early- and traditionally-weaned
calves; and
- A summary on studies examining the use of distiller´s
byproducts.
For more info, call 785-625-3425.
-- KSU release
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Mexico has agreed to allow importation of U.S. and Canadian breeding
cattle effective today (March 28), USDA Secretary Edward Schafer says.
Mexico had denied access to U.S. breeding stock since Dec. 23, 2003,
when the U.S., discovered its first case of BSE. Since that time, Mexico
allowed only importation of registered U.S. dairy heifers under 24
months, despite in-depth international negotiations to include breeding
stock. Traditionally, the U.S. has shipped approximately $125 million
annually in live cattle breeding stock to Mexico.
“This is a big win for U.S. cattle producers - and in particular -
those in the seedstock community,” says National Cattlemen’s Beef
Association (NCBA) chief economist Gregg Doud. “Mexico is currently
working to expand its herds, so this decision comes at a critical
time.”
Earlier this month, Canadian and Mexican officials had agreed to trade
in dairy and beef cattle less than 30 months of age - including breeding
stock. Meanwhile, the U.S. was prohibited from exporting live cattle to
Mexico with the exception of dairy heifers under the age of 24 months.
In response, California joined Texas, New Mexico and Arizona in seeking
a halt to the exportation of Canadian cattle through U.S. export
facilities into Mexico until a resolution was reached based upon
acceptable international trade standards.
The next step is to get Mexico to accept the importation of beef and
beef products from animals over 30 months of age.
-- NCBA release with added BEEF staff
reporting
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Intense rainfall that swept across much of the southern and eastern
Corn Belt last week significantly reduces the odds that corn growers
will be able to plant early in 2008, says Mike Palecki, regional
climatologist at the Midwestern Regional Climate Center.
-- Click on headline to read the rest of this
story by John Pocock, Corn e-Digest newsletter
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San Antonio, TX will be the host city for the “Effective Employee
Management for Agribusiness” seminar, April 16-17. The program will
include presentations on personnel-management principles, non-citizen
worker-compliance issues, creating a successful work environment,
effective training, evaluating employee performance and labor law, among
others.
Registration is $150 until April 5, and $175 after. For more info,
contact Joe Pena at 830-278-9151 or jg-pena@tamu.edu, or log on to
mastermarketer.tamu.edu.
-- Texas A&M University release
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Rye, wheat and triticale are about ready to graze, and such fields
can be a great resource. But they can cause health problems in cattle,
among them grass tetany, says Bruce Anderson, University of
Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL) Extension forage specialist, in his recent “Hay
& Forage Minute.”
-- Click on headline to read the rest of this
story by Bruce Anderson, UNL Extension forage specialist
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In commemoration of National Ag Week, which was celebrated across
the U.S. last week, here are some interesting statistics about U.S. ag
today:- The top-five U.S. ag products are cattle and calves, dairy
products, broilers, corn and soybeans. The U.S. produces 46% of the
world’s soybeans, 41% of the world’s corn, 20% of the world’s
cotton and 13% of the world’s wheat.
- It takes the average American about 35 days to earn enough
disposable income to pay for all the food that is consumed at home and
away from home during the entire year. By comparison, it takes consumers
more than 100 days of earned income to pay all federal, state and local
taxes each year.
- About 19¢ of every consumer dollar spent on food actually goes to
the farmer. The other 81¢ is spent on processing, packaging, marketing,
transportation, distribution and retail costs.
- The average U.S. farmer produces enough food and fiber for about 150
people. This number was 19 people in 1940, 46 people in 1960 and 115
people in 1980.
- 99% of all U.S. farms are family farm businesses owned by
individuals, partnerships and family corporations. These family-based
farm enterprises account for about 94% of all the U.S. ag products that
are sold each year.
For more from Corn & Soybean Digest columnist Kent Thiesse,
visit: cornandsoybeandigest.com/ag-issues/news/0319-national-ag-week/.
-- Corn & Soybean Digest
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With today’s higher input costs and the potential of lower calf
prices over the next few years, ranchers need to fine-tune their
production and financial efficiency. And Texas AgriLife Extension is
offering three Beef Cow-Calf Standardized Performance Analysis (SPA)
Workshops to help ranchers in this effort.
SPA allows operators to analyze their ranch operation from both a
production and financial side, and facilitates the comparison of an
operation's performance between years, producers, production regions and
production systems. It’s intended to be used as an annual tool by the
cow-calf producer.
The workshops are set for:- April 22 in Graham’s Young County
Arena.
- April 30 in San Angelo’s Management, Instruction and Research
Center.
- May 7 at the Texas AgriLife Research and Extension Center south of
Vernon.
Each workshop begins at 8:30 a.m., and the meetings are working
workshops where ranchers will be assisted in completing their own
analysis for their 2007 calf crop. Each ranch will be provided an
assistant and a computer, and it’s important to register early in
order to organize the necessary data for the SPA analysis.
Registration is $50/ranch and includes the software, materials, lunch
and refreshments. Learn more by contacting Stan Bevers in Vernon at
940-552-9941, Ext. 231; or Bill Thompson in San Angelo at 325-653-4576.
-- Texas AgriLife Extension
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The deadline for submission of Ag Census forms has been extended to
June 1. Due to a low level of participation, Carol House, National Ag
Statistics Service (NASS) deputy administrator, says further mailings
are being done, followed by phone calls to non-responders.
Responding to the census, which is conducted every five years, is
required by law. Any producer with questions regarding the survey can
contact NASS toll-free at 888-424-7828. The census also can be submitted
online at www.agcensus.usda.gov.
-- USDA
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USDA has earmarked funds for several important animal-health
programs, allocating an additional $5.2 million for the battle against
fever ticks and $4.8 million in renewed funding to the Johne’s Disease
Integrated Program.
Fever ticks can carry and transmit a tiny parasite that causes “cattle
tick fever,” a disease that can kill up to 90% of infected cattle,
according to the Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association. The
ticks once extended across the Southeast from the Atlantic Coast around
to the Gulf Coast and into Texas and Oklahoma.
Meanwhile, the renewed funding for Johne’s disease efforts will focus
on developing new diagnostic tests, vaccines and strategies to help
producers manage, control and prevent the disease. Johne’s is an
intestinal infection caused by bacteria that results in decreased milk
production and reduced fertility.
-- Burt Rutherford
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Rural residents have long had to deal with folks from the city
dumping their unwanted dogs. Now you can add horses to the mix.
“The forced closure of the last horse killing facilities in the U.S.,
done at the urging of animal rights activists, has caused a herd of
unwanted horses in animal shelters nationwide, according to breeders,
ranchers and horse rescuers.”
That’s the lead sentence in an article from a recent USA Today
that looks at the consequences of legislative and legal maneuverings
that have made horse slaughter illegal in the U.S. What’s more, the
article warns, “Although it remains legal to ship horses to Mexico or
Canada for slaughter…there is a move in Congress to close that off as
well.”
Speaking on behalf of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association,
Paxton Ramsey, an East Texas cattleman and horse breeder, says the
shutdown of slaughterhouses has led to stray horses showing up in higher
numbers on public land and private property. If that continues, he told
the paper, it won’t be long before the public has to foot the bill for
a half-million horses at $2,400/horse/year.
Meanwhile, neglected horses are showing up in shelters across the
nation. While some shelters say they have room for more horses, shelters
in Virginia, Tennessee and Illinois are full, according to the article.
Donna Ewing, founder of Hoofed Animal Rescue and Protection Society in
Barrington Hills, IL, told the paper, “I’ve seen a tremendous
increase in the number of people pleading with us to take their horses
and we absolutely cannot.”
-- Burt Rutherford
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Washington State University (WSU) received a $25-million grant from
the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to help construct a $35-million
building that is to become the centerpiece of WSU’s new School for
Global Animal Health. Research at the school will focus on discovering
new vaccines, diagnostics and other strategies to control global
infectious diseases that affect both animals and humans.
“WSU’s College of Veterinary Medicine is a worldwide leader in
research on animal health and its link to human health,” says WSU
President Elson S. Floyd. “The generous support of the Gates
Foundation is truly transformational. The work of WSU researchers will
be dramatically enhanced, and the results of their work could impact
countless lives in this country and around the globe.”
The school will focus on three interrelated approaches to global animal
and public health, including: vaccine development and deployment,
emerging pathogen and disease detection, and control of disease
transmission from animals to humans.
To learn more, visit: www.globalhealth.wsu.edu.
-- WSU news release
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