News Update

News Update
Sept. 19, 2006

USDA Extends Emergency Grazing in 30 States

Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns has extended the window for emergency livestock grazing on Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) acres for farmers and ranchers who have been affected by drought in 30 states. The traditional deadline for emergency grazing on CRP acres is Sept. 30.

“Extremely dry weather conditions have created real hardships for farmers and ranchers in many parts of the country this year,” Johanns said. “This emergency relief measure will provide feed and forage to producers who have lost hay stocks and grazing lands because of drought.”

The 30 eligible states are Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Wisconsin and Wyoming.

State Farm Service Agency (FSA) committees and USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) state technical committees must agree on the need for the emergency grazing extensions before they are finalized. Once approved, producers in the 30 states may graze on CRP land until the following dates:

Oct. 20 — Idaho, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wisconsin;
Nov. 10 — Colorado, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Nebraska, Missouri, Nevada, Utah and Wyoming; and
Nov. 30 — Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas.

Emergency haying of CRP acreage in these states ends Sept. 30.

In mid-July, USDA announced the expansion of eligible CRP acreage for emergency grazing and haying in Alabama, Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas and Wyoming. The expanded area radiates 150 miles out from any county approved for emergency haying and grazing in any above-mentioned state.

Additionally, USDA announced that CRP rental payments will be reduced by only 10% instead of the standard 25% on CRP lands that are grazed in 2006.

For more information about emergency grazing or USDA disaster assistance, visit your local USDA Service Center or go online at http://disaster.fsa.usda.gov.

Smithfield Purchases Premium Standard Farms

Smithfield Foods is paying a 13% premium to purchase Kansas City, Mo.-based Premium Standard Farms for about $810 million in cash, stock and $117 million of assumed debt, according to Meatingplace.com.

The deal is expected to close in early 2007, and, according to the article, Smithfield doesn’t expect to close any Premium Standard plants or to significantly reduce workforces.

Beef Board Approves Checkoff Initiatives

Beef promotion and nutrition will be the primary focus of checkoff programs in 2007, according to decisions made by the Cattlemen’s Beef Board (CBB) Beef Promotion Operating Committee (BPOC).

According to a CBB release, the committee approved a comprehensive beef checkoff plan that will fund promotion, research and information programs in fiscal year (FY) 2007, which begins Oct. 1, 2006.

The plan still must be approved by USDA before any funds can be expended.

The approved checkoff plan of work approved for FY 2007 includes:

Nearly $28 million for promotion. Promotion efforts include newly developed consumer advertising, increased support for retail marketing; the National Beef Cook-Off (managed by ANCW); foodservice marketing; new product and culinary initiatives and veal promotion.
About $7.15 million for research projects focused on a variety of critical issues, including an increased investment in nutrition research, as well as product enhancement and beef safety research, and market research.
A total of $6.66 million for consumer information programs, including educating the public about beef’s nutrition and safety, and educating youth about beef’s place in a healthy diet.
More than $1.5 million for industry information projects, including beef, veal and dairy-beef quality assurance programs, the National Beef Ambassador program, and dissemination of accurate information about the beef industry to counter misinformation from anti-beef groups.
$4.8 million for foreign marketing efforts managed by the U.S. Meat Export Federation, including education programs and marketing of U.S. beef in the Caribbean, Central/South America, Greater China, Europe, Japan, Mexico, Korea, Middle East, Russia, and Taiwan.
More than $2.5 million for producer communications, which includes checkoff communications to importers through the Meat Importers Council of America and continued funding for the “Beefmobile,” a project managed by the National Livestock Producers Association. Other efforts include checkoff education and communications with beef, dairy and veal producers through CBB, NCBA and state beef council coordination efforts.

A separate $11.76 million in allocations from the Federation of State Beef Councils will further increase checkoff funding of national promotion programs by $3.79 million, research by $1.2 million, consumer information by $1.1 million, industry information by $928,000, foreign marketing efforts by $2.19 million and producer communications programs by $627,000.

ERS Releases Meat Price, Feedlot Outlooks

USDA’s Economic Research Service (ERS) has released data showing meat price spreads as well as its regularly scheduled feed outlook.

The meat price spread data set provides monthly average price values, and the differences among those values, at the farm, wholesale, and retail stages of the production and marketing chain for selected cuts of beef, pork and broilers. In addition, retail prices are provided for beef and pork cuts, turkey, whole chickens, eggs, and dairy products.

Visit www.ers.usda.gov/Data/MeatPriceSpreads/ to view the report.

ERS also released its feed outlook, examining supply, use, prices and trade for feed grains, including supply and demand prospects in major importing and exporting countries. The feed outlook focuses on corn but also contains information on sorghum, barley, oats and hay.

Visit http://usda.mannlib.cornell.edu/MannUsda/viewDocumentInfo.do?documentID=1273 for more information.

— compiled by Crystal Albers, associate editor, Angus Productions Inc.