News Update

News Update
Aug. 30, 2006

U.S. beef exports to Japan this year will total $400 million

The Agriculture Department projects that beef exports worth almost $400 million will be sold to Japan in fiscal year 2007, according to Meatingplace.com.

That’s about one-third the amount the U.S. beef industry shipped to Tokyo prior to December 2003, when Japan banned the product on fears of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE).

U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) says the amount still accounts for about 20% of the Japanese market.

Key agreements advance National Animal Movement Database

The board of directors of the U.S. Animal Identification Organization Inc. (USAIO) announced Aug. 23 that it has completed agreements with two leading manufacturers of ISO radio frequency identification (RIFD) devices in the United States — Allflex USA of Dallas, Texas, and Destron Fearing (Digital Angel) of Minneapolis, Minn., according to drovers.com.

The agreements advance USAIO’s objective of funding a National Animal Movement Database in a manner that will minimize cost to industry participants. Under this funding plan, producers’ share of the system costs will be rolled into the purchase price of the ear tag. The tag creates a lifetime record on the animal, with the ability to add information to this record at no additional cost.

“USAIO is committed to funding the system in such a way as to spread the cost across all segments of the industry,” Charles Miller, USAIO board chairman, says. “We continue to work on funding mechanisms that will draw support for the animal movement database from every sector that will benefit from it.

“Our goal is to deliver a national system that meets the needs of animal health officials for disease surveillance, addresses producer concerns of confidentiality and cost, and is responsive to changing demands and evolution in the arena of animal identification,” Miller says. “We anticipate announcements of strategic partnerships with additional industry participants in the coming days.”

Niels Fogt, director of sales and marketing with Destron Fearing, the company now known as Digital Angel, said, “USAIO provides a foundation for collecting animal movement information that is critical to protecting our livestock industry against devastating and catastrophic animal health issues. Digital Angel supports USAIO and any endeavor that can assist in protecting an agricultural lifestyle that is important to all of us and the consumer.”

“I am delighted that Allflex is able to provide products and services to the USAIO that will assist in achieving a long-term funding mechanism,” said Brian Bolton, president and chief executive officer of Allflex USA. “The tags will be distinguishable by bearing the USAIO logo, and they will carry a levy that will be returned in whole to the USAIO, a nonprofit organization. The packaging of these tags will clearly state that these are USAIO levy-paid tags, allowing any owner of cattle bearing this logo to enter data into the USAIO data repository for free, for the lifetime of that animal.”

The USAIO database has completed beta testing and is now being ramped up in the first of three implementation phases.

Johanns pledges $50 million to drought-stricken ranchers

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Mike Johanns, speaking in Hayes, S.D., promised $780 million in assistance to drought-stricken states, including a new $50 million grant program to benefit livestock producers, according to Meatingplace.com.

Most of the rest of the funding comes in the form of accelerated payments already scheduled.

The $50 million Livestock Assistance Grant Program will award states block grants that they can distribute to ranchers in counties that have been designated D3 or D4 on the Drought Monitor any time between March 7 and Aug. 31 of this year.

— compiled by Micky Wilson, assistant editor, Angus Productions Inc.