News Update

News Update
Oct. 1, 2008

BQA ‘Train the Trainer’ Manual Released

Beef Quality Assurance (BQA) Program trainers now have the tools they need to educate producers.

After months of hard work, the BQA team, which is partially funded by the beef checkoff, has completed a 150-page “Train the Trainer” manual, a comprehensive compilation that gives a formal program definition of BQA and is meant to standardize BQA practices across the United States.

This project was led by BQA advisory board member Dee Griffin, DVM, University of Nebraska, who says, “Cattle producers do their part to ensure product safety each and every day, multiple times a day. That belief is followed throughout the production chain to the final product that our consumers can be confident in purchasing. And, when the integrity of our industry is attacked or questioned as it was a few months back, this manual enables us to have a collective response that shows our dedication to providing consumers with a safe, wholesome beef product.”

The manual, which has been endorsed by the BQA committee and reviewed by outside experts and technical advisors, will be sent to the 100 BQA coordinators for all 50 states. These coordinators will use it to train their trainers, who will then be given a copy of the manual to be prepared to answer questions in the field.

For more information about BQA, visit www.bqa.org or contact your state beef council. For more information about checkoff-funded programs, visit www.MyBeefCheckoff.com.

— Adapted from release provided by the CBB.

USDA Announces $234M to Promote U.S. Food and Ag Products Overseas

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced Sept. 29 that it has funded more than $234 million in fiscal year (FY) 2008 to 70 U.S. trade organizations to help promote American farm products overseas.

“Agricultural trade is absolutely vital to the U.S. economy,” Agriculture Secretary Ed Schafer said. “This funding will help U.S. farmers and ranchers develop overseas consumers who value the United States as an excellent supplier of superior agricultural products.”

The funding announced today has been allocated under the Market Access Program (MAP) and the Foreign Market Development Program, both administered by USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service.

Under the Foreign Market Development program, USDA establishes a partnership with nonprofit U.S. agricultural trade organizations. Funding priority is given to organizations that represent an entire industry or are nationwide in membership and scope. Program activities focus on reducing market impediments, improving the processing capabilities of importers, modifying restrictive regulatory codes and standards in foreign markets, and identifying new markets or uses for U.S. products.

For more information about exports or market development programs, contact the Office of Trade Programs at 202-720-4327, or visit http://www.fas.usda.gov/mos/marketdev.asp.

— Adapted from release provided by USDA.

Making the Most of Manure

Manure from livestock could someday be used as a value-added bioenergy fuel for on-farm heating and power, according to Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists studying this approach. This will be good news to U.S. livestock producers, who need environmentally friendly ways to manage the manure generated by about 96.7 million cattle and 67.7 million hogs and pigs.

ARS agricultural engineer Keri Cantrell, environmental engineer Kyoung Ro, and research leader Patrick Hunt work at the ARS Coastal Plains Soil, Water and Plant Research Center in Florence, S.C. They have teamed up to study how to use a technique called wet gasification to convert wet manure slurry into energy-rich gases while producing relatively clean water.

The team developed a cost-benefit model of a wet gasification technology patented by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to calculate estimated returns. It concluded that liquid swine wastes can generate a net energy potential comparable to brown coal.

The ARS researchers are also investigating methods for producing a type of charcoal, or biochar, called “green coal” from manure. Green coal can be burned on the farm for energy or transported offsite to coal plants for fuel. It can also be added to the soil, a practice that would reduce greenhouse gases by permanently sequestering carbon in the soil in the form of the green coal.

In addition, the scientists are collaborating with the Advanced Fuels Group at the DOE Brookhaven National Laboratory in New York. They are evaluating different catalysts needed to facilitate the conversion of “syngas,” the gas that is produced when animal wastes (and other biomass) are gasified, to liquid fuels.

The Florence scientists want to develop new waste treatment methods and strategies that could be used by almost any farm — from a small family business to a large-scale concentrated animal production facility — to meet all their energy needs.

Read more about this research in the October 2008 issue of Agricultural Research magazine, available online at: http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/AR/archive/oct08/farm1008.htm.

— Release provided by ARS.

Hay supplies up, but not back to normal

Even though the majority of the state is in the midst of a drought, hay supplies are up from last year. However, some livestock producers will still need to find an additional hay source to get through the winter, said Tom Keene, hay marketing specialist with the University of Kentucky (UK) College of Agriculture.

“Overall, we are in decent to fair shape on cattle hay going into the winter,” he said. “Producers who use high-quality hay to feed dairy cattle and horses will likely need to import additional quantities this year to have a sufficient supply.”

The wet spring rejuvenated pastures recovering from last year’s drought. This much-needed moisture helped the forages develop and allowed producers to get in early first and second cuttings.

“With hay being so hard to come by last year, most farmers that had any hay went ahead and made it early to get as much quality hay as they could,” Keene said. “This benefited cattle farmers.”

Since hay supplies on high-quality alfalfa grass mix are low, Keene encouraged producers that need this type of hay to go ahead and line up their sources. Hay prices are up nationwide and producers should be prepared for sticker shock when looking to import hay from other states, he said.

For the second year in a row, livestock producers are dealing with the effects of a drought. Many already are feeding hay to their livestock or considering doing so.

“With some producers already feeding their cattle, it’s going to be [a] long feeding period, he said. “Hay should be used judiciously to ensure supplies last through winter.”

Keene said that since many farmers applied little to no nitrogen to their fields this past year, they should have their hay tested for quality before feeding it to livestock.

– Adapted from release from the UK College of Agriculture.

Pennsylvania Angus Association Plans Educational Meetings

The Pennsylvania Angus Association will host educational meetings throughout the state in late October to interact with its members and other beef producers while arming them with educational resources.

The meetings are set for Oct. 21, 22, 23 and each begins at 6 p.m., with registration and a chance for socializing with fellow beef producers. A meal will be served at 6:30 p.m., and the program begins at 7:15 p.m. The meal cost is just $5 per person, and pre-registration is requested to help plan for meals. Reservations for the three meetings should be called into Emily Landis at 814-280-7736 or 814-692-7759.

The Oct. 21 event will be at the Blue Valley Farm Show, 707 American Bangor Rd., in Bangor.

The Oct. 22 meeting is set for the Veteran’s Club, 1 Veteran Dr., in Troy.

The final meeting is Oct. 23 at Mercer Livestock, one mile north of Mercer on Route 19.

For a meeting schedule and additional information or to register, call the numbers listed above or visit the web site at www.paangus.org.

– Release provided by the American Angus Association.

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