Industry News
Sept. 11, 2008

AgriLife Extension to Present Beef Production Program Sept. 23

Texas AgriLife Extension Service’s Nolan County office will conduct a beef production meeting from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Sept. 23 at the Texas State Technical College Library in Sweetwater.

“Super-inflated feed prices are forcing cattle producers to take a hard look at their feeding strategies for the coming winter feeding season,” said Zack Wilcox, AgriLife Extension agent in Nolan County. “The purpose of this program is to offer some viable options to producers now facing some tough financial times.”

Ronald Gill, AgriLife Extension livestock specialist at Stephenville, and Bill Thompson, AgriLife Extension economist at San Angelo, will be the speakers.

Gill will speak on managing a beef cattle operation with today’s high input costs, and Thompson will offer a market outlook for feeds and discuss stocker-cattle budgets. Gill will also give an update on the country-of-origin labeling (COOL) program.

Two Texas Department of Agriculture continuing education units will be available for persons with private applicator licenses.

Registration is $5 at the door.

For more information call Wilcox at 325-236-6912.

— Release provided by Texas AgriLife Extension Services.

AMI Launches New ‘Ask the Meat Science Guy’ Consumer Education Video Series

The American Meat Institute (AMI) today unveiled a new educational video series, “Ask the Meat Science Guy,” which will feature well-known meat expert Randy Huffman, president of the AMI Foundation.

The nine-part, short video series will provide answers to many of the questions consumers pose about meat and meat safety. The first three videos in the series, “Cooking Steaks and Burgers Safely,” “Cured Meats and Nitrite” and “Processed Meat and Pregnancy” are currently featured on AMI’s Meat News Network, www.youtube.com/meatnewsnetwork. Additional educational videos in the series will be added in the coming weeks.

In addition to the new video series, Food Safety Education Month is an excellent opportunity to stress the important steps that must be taken at home to ensure food safety all the way to the table. AMI has developed a new safe handling “B-roll” for use by broadcast media. The video depicts steps that can be taken at the grocery store, during transportation home and during preparation and cooking. The video is available in BETA format for broadcast media and viewable online at the Meat News Network.

“Whenever you are handling raw meat and poultry products, keep in mind four simple steps — clean, separate, cook, and chill — when preparing meals for the family,” Huffman noted. “Make sure that the surfaces and the hands are clean when preparing products; keep raw products separated from cooked products; cook the product to the proper temperature; and keep the product properly chilled.”

For more information on meat safety, visit www.meatsafety.org. To request a BETA version of the safe handling B-roll, e-mail AMI’s Director of Media Outreach Tom Super, tsuper@meatami.com.

— Release provided by American Meat Institute.

USMEF Officials Brief World Meat Congress on Exports, Global Trends

Meat industry leaders from across the world are gathered in Cape Town, South Africa, this week for the 2008 IMS World Meat Congress. Hosted biennially by the International Meat Secretariat (IMS), the World Meat Congress offers presentations and panel discussions on a wide range of meat industry issues — including livestock production and research, improving livestock health and meat safety, trends in consumption and consumer behavior, and issues affecting global meat trade.

The conference has featured two presentations by U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF) staff. On Monday, Joel Haggard, senior vice president for the Asia Pacific region, provided attendees with an update on pork trade in Asia, with specific focus on the factors driving the recent surge in pork exports to China. In the first half of 2008, U.S. pork and pork variety meat exports to Hong Kong/China increased 324% in volume and 415% in value during the same period last year. These 2008 exports were valued at nearly $440 million and accounted for about 6% of all U.S. pork production.

While Haggard expects China to continue to be a strong market for U.S. pork exports, he cautioned that China’s hog and sow inventories are increasing rapidly, due to both government and private investment in large-scale pork production facilities aimed at bolstering its domestic pork production.

“China’s interest in building new farms is also evidenced by a sharp increase in imports of breeding hogs,” Haggard said. “China is clearly hoping development of large-scale farms can help smooth out the country’s roller-coaster hog market.”

Today, USMEF Manager of Research and Analysis Erin Daley spoke on major global trends in beef and pork consumption, and the implications these trends will have on international trade. Daley said growth in personal income and purchasing power are helping drive demand for red-meat protein. “But,” she emphasized, “that a very high percentage of the growth in the world’s population and income is occurring in developing countries.

“Over the next 20 years, 80% of the world’s population growth will occur in those countries least capable of supporting it — politically, environmentally and economically,” she said. “Between 2005 and 2050, nine countries are expected to account for nearly half of the world’s population growth. Of these nine, the United States is the only developed country.”

Daley noted that while these trends could present tremendous opportunities for meat-exporting nations, trade barriers continue to be a major obstacle.

“With World Trade Organization talks stalled for now, we’ll continue to see high tariffs in many countries,” she said. “That can hinder growth in consumption in areas that are not self-sufficient in their meat production.”

Also in attendance at the World Meat Congress are USMEF Chairman Dan Halstrom, as well as USMEF President and CEO Philip Seng. The only American ever to serve as IMS president (four terms from 1997 to 2004), Seng will chair a session Wednesday that focuses on international trade. Seng currently serves on the IMS Executive Council and as chair of the IMS Animal Welfare Committee.

More information on the 2008 IMS World Meat Congress is available online.

— Release provided by U.S. Meat Export Federation.

USDA Awards More Than $2 million to Enhance International Science and Education

Agriculture Undersecretary Gale Buchanan announced today that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has awarded more than $2.2 million in grants to 23 institutions in 18 states to enhance their capabilities to conduct international collaborative research, extension and teaching.

“Agriculture is a global industry, and the science of agriculture depends on international partnerships to advance domestic priorities,” said Buchanan, undersecretary for Research, Education and Economics. “These grants will support influential innovations in agriculture-related programs that help prepare world class students, faculty, staff, community members and business people for the 21st century.”

USDA’s Cooperative State Research, Education and Economics Service (CSREES) administers the funds through the competitively awarded International Science and Education Grants program. The projects will enhance the international content of curricula, provide faculty with the opportunity to work outside the United States to bring lessons learned back to the classroom, promote international research partnerships, enhance the use and application of foreign technologies in the United States and strengthen the role that colleges and universities play in maintaining U.S. competitiveness.

The overarching goal of the grant program is to strengthen the global competitiveness of students, faculty and staff in agriculture and related areas and enhance business performance in international agriculture. The fiscal year 2008 grants recipients are:

Tuskegee University, Alabama, $100,000
University of Delaware, $100,000
Florida International University, $99,911
University of Florida, $100,000
University of Georgia, $99,999
University of Illinois, $100,000
Purdue University, Indiana, $99,718
University of Kentucky, $100,000
University of Nebraska, $99,981
Rutgers University, New Jersey, $100,000
Cornell University, New York, $99,109
North Carolina State University, $100,000
Western Carolina University, North Carolina, $99,612
The Ohio State University, $99,979
Pennsylvania State University, $100,000
University of Pennsylvania, $100,000
South Dakota State University, $99,988
University of Tennessee, $99,602
University of Tennessee at Martin, $99,999
Sam Houston State University, Texas,  $100,000
Virginia Tech University, $98,281
Washington State University, $98,955
University of Wisconsin, $66,788

Through federal funding and leadership for research, education and Extension programs, CSREES focuses on investing in science and solving critical issues affecting people’s daily lives and the nation’s future. For more information, visit www.csrees.usda.gov.

— Release provided by USDA.

— compiled by Tosha Powell, assistant editor, Angus Productions Inc.