News Update

News Update
Feb. 1, 2006

Sign-Up Announced for 2006 Conservation Security Program

Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns has announced that the 2006 Conservation Security Program (CSP) sign-up will be from Feb. 13 to March 31 in 60 watersheds nationwide.

USDA announced preliminary selection of 110 watersheds for fiscal year (FY) 2006 based on the President’s budget request. Based on available funding, CSP will be offered in 60 watersheds across all 50 states, the Caribbean and Guam. The sign-up will only include those producers who do not have an existing CSP contract.

To be eligible for CSP, most of a producer’s agricultural operation must fall within the boundaries of a selected watershed. Applications that meet CSP’s minimum requirements will be placed in enrollment categories. Categories will be funded in alphabetical order until funds are exhausted.

Producers begin the application process by filling out a self-assessment to determine if they meet the basic qualifications for CSP. Self-assessment workbooks are available in hard copy at USDA Service Centers within the watersheds, and electronically at www.nrcs.usda.gov/programs/csp/. After completing the self-assessment, producers should schedule an appointment to discuss their application with the NRCS local staff to determine if they meet specific CSP eligibility requirements.

La Niña No Concern – Yet – for Central U.S.

Central U.S. residents have no reason to worry yet, even though the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) confirmed in January that a La Niña weather pattern is affecting U.S. weather.

Mary Knapp, Kansas climatologist based with Kansas State University (K-State) Research and Extension, said the weather systems can bring droughts and floods, depending on whether you live in the southern or northern United States. La Niñas also can shift the year’s odds for tornadoes toward Kansas, she said. Research at Colorado State University suggests the pattern increases the odds for Caribbean and Atlantic hurricane activity, too.

However, NOAA announced the current La Niña is weak and late in forming. As a result, NOAA’s scientists declined to predict whether the conditions will affect U.S. spring and summer weather.

“So far, the correlations to a La Niña winter in Kansas aren’t particularly strong. A lot of other factors, such as blocking high-pressure systems, are also playing a role,” Knapp said. “We should worry if the La Niña remains or increases by March. If so, then the concern will be La Niñas’ tendency to create hot, dry Kansas summers — hotter and drier than normal.”

In general, La Niña weather simply enhances what’s “average,” she explained. In contrast, the more frequent El Niño pattern causes changes from the norm.

La Niñas and El Niños both emerge from an ocean-atmosphere system in the tropical Pacific. For some reason, a “pool” of ocean water in that area periodically cools (La Niña) and warms (El Niño). Trade winds spread the temperature change to the east, where it affects the position and intensity of the air’s jet streams. In turn, this impact on the atmosphere affects the movement and intensity of storms.

El Niños are currently the bigger concern in climate circles.

“Most of the time, our weather is neutral, but the number of El Niños has been abnormally high since 1990,” Knapp said. “So, what scientists are trying to figure out is global warming’s connection – if any – to the El Niño system in the Pacific. The debate sounds a little like ‘Which came first — the chicken or the egg?’”

Kansas experienced a strong La Niña in 1988-89, but the last strong La Niña to affect the state’s weather appeared in 1998 and extended into the year 2000, she said. It created a memorable drought, the effects of which were still being felt two years ago.

El Niños, on the other hand, affected U.S. weather in 1986-87, 1991-92, 1993, 1994, 1997. 2002-03, and 2004-05. If a La Niña or El Niño pattern is strong enough, its effects can be worldwide.

“In the United States, a La Niña usually means wetter than normal conditions in the north and drier than normal conditions in the south. An El Niño mostly brings the reverse,” Knapp said. “In either case, however, the further you get from the West Coast, the less direct and less consistent the impacts are likely to be.”

— by Kathleen Ward of K-State Research and Extension News, which supplied this article.

Allflex USA to Sponsor NACC

Now in its fourth year, the 2006 National Angus Carcass Challenge (NACC) has grown to 200 pens of cattle from across the U.S. Corporate sponsors make it all possible, and the addition of Allflex USA, Inc., this year gives individual identification (ID) a higher profile in the contest.

“To enroll in the NACC, you must have at least 38 steer or heifer calves and they must have individual ID of some kind,” says contest coordinator Mark McCully, Certified Angus Beef LLC (CAB) supply development director. “They don’t have to be Allflex® brand, but it’s probably your best option now.”

That’s because Allflex, in addition to contributing cash to fund the contest, has teamed with fellow sponsor American Angus Association to bring you free AngusSource^SM tags for up to 50 head per entry.

Radio frequency ID (RFID) will be introduced as a demonstration, part of the Allflex NACC sponsorship. Allflex has supplied matched-pair sets of visual ear tags and RFID buttons to owners of all 2005 winning pens. These state-of-the-art ID tools also go to the first 20 participants who sign up in the 2006 contest.

Allflex, based in Dallas, Texas, is the world’s largest manufacturer of livestock ID products, and actively involved in national and global ID programs, with electronic ID since 1992.

For more information on entering the 2006 NACC, visit www.cabpartners.com, or contact McCully at (330) 345-2333 or mmccully@certifiedangusbeef.com.

— CAB provided this article.