News Update

News Update
Aug. 1, 2007

Japanese Ag Minister Resigns, Affects Beef Talks

Japanese Agriculture Minister Norihiko Akagi resigned today after coming under fire for questionable accounting of his political funds, according to The Japan Times.

Akagi said his resignation is meant to take responsibility for the Liberal Democratic Party’s defeat in the Japanese government. Environment Minister Masatoshi Wakabayashi will serve as Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries in the meantime.

As reported by Meatingplace.com, Akagi’s resignation will derail a meeting originally set for Thursday with Secretary of Agriculture Mike Johanns on beef exports to Japan. So far, the talks have not been rescheduled, the news site reported.

Cattle Industry to See Slow Growth

The midyear cattle inventory report issued by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) July 20 indicated that the total United States cattle herd had decreased slightly, including the beef cow herd specifically.

This report followed the mixed January report where all cattle numbers were up slightly, while the beef cow herd was down slightly.

“Also in the July inventory report,” said Derrell Peel, Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service livestock marketing specialist, “beef replacement heifers were down 6%. All of these numbers confirm that the industry is not growing, and the replacement numbers imply that we don’t have a lot of intention to grow, at least in the short run.”

Peel said there are two lines of reasoning as to why this is happening. First, there is no longer a cattle cycle, or it has changed fundamentally. Second, he explained, this could be a temporary disruption, “which is the idea that I subscribe to.”

The beef industry is unique among most markets and especially the agriculture markets because it has a definite cycle of inventories and prices. That’s because of the biology of the animal, Peel offered. “First, we’re tied to fixed forage bases and producers tend to respond when the market forces them to, not necessarily sooner than that.”

“Also, since cattle only produce single offspring (with rare exceptions), to grow the supply of animals, we have to hold back heifers for breeding. That creates a short-term shortage of supply,” he said. “At the other end, when there are too many animals, producers have to get rid of breeding animals to cut herd size, and that causes a temporary glut in meat supplies.”

Peel said that the July inventory numbers represent a temporary disruption rather than a change in the cattle cycle. “I think there’s an incentive for growth,” he said, “but the industry has been battered by a series of droughts throughout different parts of the country, there is uncertainty due to international trade issues and there are some health issues, so producers are cautious.

“The latest thing to hit them, of course, is the whole issue of feed costs and the uncertainty of the feed market due to the ethanol phenomenon, which has caused corn prices to rise significantly, bringing other feed costs up as well.”

For all of these reasons, Peel said that producers are moving very slowly and cautiously toward a modest expansion which he believes will stretch out over the next two to four years.

“I think we’ll continue to see strong farm and retail levels. We have strong supply fundamentals to support present cattle prices, and I don’t see any breaks coming from the relatively high retail prices of beef from the consumer standpoint,” Peel said.

“From another perspective,” Peel added, “these prices may also affect the recovery and re-establishment of our international trade market. With supplies tight and prices high, it’s a greater challenge to recapture those markets overseas.”

— Adapted from an Oklahoma State University Extension release.

Idaho Receives ‘Class Free’ Brucellosis Status

The USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is amending its brucellosis regulations concerning the interstate movement of cattle by changing Idaho’s classification from Class A to Class Free. APHIS has determined that Idaho has met the standards for Class Free status.

Class Free status is based on a state finding no brucellosis in cattle for the 12 months preceding designation as Class Free. Restrictions on the interstate movement of cattle become less stringent as a state approaches or achieves Class Free status. This action relieves certain restrictions on the interstate movement of cattle from Idaho, APHIS reports.

Human, Veterinary Medicine Adopt Closer Ties

The American Medical Association (AMA) has adopted a policy advocating for closer ties between human and veterinary medicine, commonly referred to as the “one-health movement.”

The one-health resolution, passed last week during the annual meeting of the AMA House of Delegates in Chicago, Ill., calls for more educational and research collaborations between the two professions to help with the assessment, treatment, and prevention of cross-species disease transmission.

Additionally, the resolution encourages the national association of physicians to dialogue with the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) to discuss strategies for enhancing collaboration between the medical and veterinary medical professions in medical education, clinical care, public health, and biomedical research.

According to AVMA, the one-health concept is not new. In the 1960s, veterinary epidemiologist and parasitologist Dr. Calvin Schwabe coined the phrase “one medicine” and called for a unified approach between veterinary and human medicine to combat zoonotic diseases.

The AMA resolution marks a growing trend among certain sectors in government, academia, and professional organizations promoting the public health role of veterinarians, AVMA reports.

— Information provided by AVMA.

Missouri Beef Industry Council Encourages Voters

The Missouri Beef Industry Council (MBIC) is encouraging all Missouri beef producers to vote in the MBIC board member elections during the month of August. According to the organization, the MBIC board administers the national $1-per-head beef checkoff on the state level and makes decisions regarding how the money is spent on behalf of producers.

Ballots will be mailed to all registered producers. Ballots should be returned by Aug. 27. Visit www.mobeef.org or a USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) office for more information.

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