News Update

News Update
Feb. 7, 2008

Cattle Industry Convention Online

To stay abreast of news from the 2008 Cattle Industry Annual Convention and National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) Trade Show, cattle producers and industry members can turn their web browsers to www.4cattlemen.com.

For the sixth straight year, Angus Productions Inc. (API) is providing online coverage of the event, going on this week at the Reno-Sparks Convention Center in Reno, Nev.

Salt Creek Ranch of Memphis, Texas, is sponsoring the event coverage, which features a more dynamic home page highlighting the latest news from the convention and trade show, as well as video news clips and photo galleries.

Throughout the convention, speakers, boards and working groups are scheduled to address issues ranging from cattle handling to political lobbying, from public lands to tax regulations, from market outlooks to advertising schedules and checkoff spending. Export regulations and cattle tracking systems are sure to be essential talking points.

The “Newsroom” at www.4cattlemen.com will feature comprehensive coverage of the convention, including coverage of policy development, general sessions, the Cattlemen’s College,® Issues Forums and committee highlights.

The “Trade Show” page will highlight products and services premiered at the largest-ever trade show, along with company news. Visit the “Award Winners” page for announcements of Environmental Stewardship Award Program (ESAP) results, Vision Award recipients, National Beef Ambassadors, Beef Backer awards and others.

Attended by more than 5,000 cattlemen each year, the convention is the largest meeting of its kind in the United States. Five industry organizations, including the NCBA, the Cattlemen’s Beef Promotion and Research Board (CBB), the American National CattleWomen (ANCW), Cattle-Fax and the National Cattlemen’s Foundation (NCF) convene at the event, themed this year as “Rush to Reno.”

Schafer outlines Bush’s FY 2009 ag budget

Agriculture Secretary Ed Schafer Feb. 4 released details of President Bush’s FY 2009 U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) budget, which, he said, advances the President’s goals of building a strong agricultural economy, improving the quality of life in rural America, increasing energy security, conserving our natural resources, and improving the nation’s nutrition and health.

“The President’s agriculture budget supports his commitment to increase the competitiveness of agriculture, ensure the safety of the food supply, and provide nutrition and housing assistance to those most in need,” said Schafer. “This budget aims to enhance those programs with a proven track record for achieving results and reflects the President’s goal to keep spending under control to reduce the deficit.”

Total USDA expenditures are estimated at $95 billion in FY 2009, which is approximately the same level as FY 2008. Roughly 76% of expenditures, or $72 billion in 2009, will be for mandatory programs that provide services required by law, which include many of the nutrition assistance, commodity, export promotion and conservation programs.

According to Schafer, USDA’s discretionary programs account for the remaining 24% of expenditures, or $23 billion, in 2009. Discretionary programs include the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) Program; rural development loans and grants; research and education; soil and water conservation technical assistance; management of National Forests and domestic marketing assistance.

The President’s 2009 budget is based on the provisions of the 2002 Farm Bill and reflects the Administration’s proposals for changes to the bill. Enactment of a Farm Bill will affect some of the estimates in the 2009 budget.

Highlights of the FY 2009 budget are available in further detail at www.usda.gov.

FCS Financial to return $3.7M to members

FCS Financial’s board of directors announced Jan. 31 that it will return $3.7 million to their member-owners in cash patronage for the 2007 calendar year.

Patronage payments will be based on a member’s loan business activity with the association. All eligible members will receive a minimum of $20. Each eligible member’s patronage check was to become available at his or her local FCS Financial office beginning Feb. 25.

For more information, contact a local FCS Financial office at 1-800-444-3276 or visit www.myfcsfinancial.com, where you will find a link to the 2007 Patronage Program under Information. FCS Financial is a member of the Farm Credit System.

R-CALF Motion Denied

A motion filed by Ranchers-Cattlemen Action Legal Fund United Stockgrowers of America (R-CALF USA) to block the import of older cattle into the United States from Canada has been denied by a federal judge, the American Meat Institute (AMI) reported.

According to AMI, the judge found the request moot.

R-CALF filed a lawsuit last November seeking to enjoin a rule published by the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) allowing older cattle from Canada to enter the United States. The rule, however, went into effect Nov. 19, 2007, and older cattle have been coming into the country, AMI reports.

In addition to denying the temporary restraining order request, the court set a hearing date of Feb. 19, 2008, for argument on R-CALF’s motion for a preliminary injunction.

Former Ag Secretary Earl Butz Dies

Secretary Schafer announced Feb. 4 the death of former Secretary of Agriculture Earl Butz.

Schafer said Butz championed the cause of the farmer and was an optimist about American agriculture and the power of the marketplace.

“He was also a pioneer who foresaw the opportunities that global markets could offer to America’s farmers long before they became a reality,” Schafer said.

As Secretary of Agriculture, Butz insisted on giving farmers more freedom to manage their own businesses and more incentives to produce. He oversaw changes to government support programs that helped create today’s robust agricultural economy. And by approving the sale of more than $1 billion of grain to the former Soviet Union in 1972, he raised farm incomes and set American farmers on the path to developing a stronger presence in export markets around the world.

Butz served as Secretary of Agriculture from 1971 to 1976 under Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford. He also served as Assistant Secretary for Marketing and Foreign Agriculture from 1954 to 1957 under President Dwight Eisenhower.

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