News Update
Jan. 20, 2009

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Commercial cattlemen now have access to a new information source from Team Angus. With the help of the American Angus Association® and Certified Angus Beef LLC (CAB), Angus Productions Inc. (API) will distribute its third edition of the Angus Beef Bulletin Extra tonight. Sign up now to get this evening’s edition.

The concept for the “Bulletin Extra” grew from an American Angus Association task force directed to further enhance the commercial programs efforts of the Association and its subsidiaries and API’s desire to increase communication with commercial producers beyond the five published issues of the Angus Beef Bulletin.

The Bulletin Extra provides subscribers with regular monthly news and features covering the latest in market trends, herd management, health and nutrition, and other industry issues; as well as a calendar of events and insight from Angus experts. The free e-mail news service features helpful resources and links to web sites devoted to key topics and industry meetings, and provides updates about programs and services of the American Angus Association and CAB.

To sign up visit www.angusbeefbulletin.com (see upper left corner) or e-mail your request to be signed up to bulletinextra@angusbeefbulletin.com. If you have any questions, topic suggestions or comments about the Bulletin Extra, contact Crystal Albers, API associate editor, at 816-383-5215 or calbers@angusjournal.com.

API and CAB are wholly-owned subsidiaries of the American Angus Association, which is headquartered in Saint Joseph, Mo.

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State Beef Councils Create Alliance

When the national Beef Checkoff Program was established as part of the 1985 Farm Bill, the checkoff was assessed at $1 per head on the sale of live domestic and imported cattle. States retain up to 50¢ of the $1 and forward the other 50¢ per head to the Cattlemen’s Beef Promotion and Research Board (CBB), which oversees the national Beef Checkoff Program.

Checkoff revenues are used for promotion, education, research and public information programs to improve the demand for beef.

More than 20 years since its inception, the beef checkoff is still assessed at $1 per head. In today’s economy, it takes about $1.90 to get the purchasing power, due to inflation, that $1 gave the checkoff when it was initially created.

“A dollar just doesn’t buy what it did two decades ago,” said Bill Dale, executive director of the California Beef Council (CBC). “The decreased buying power of the checkoff dollar, coupled with using the same budget that was established in the 1985 Farm Bill, forces us to become a little more creative with our programs and partnerships.”

State beef councils are faced with the major challenge of funding projects that will increase beef demand, using limited resources. This challenge is causing beef councils to re-evaluate their current programs and budgets.

The Nevada Beef Council (NBC) was faced with this challenge in fall 2008. The acting executive director left the council to pursue other opportunities. Lucy Rechel, chairperson of the NBC, stepped in to assist with the daily duties of the NBC. A major hurdle in hiring an NBC executive director is the fact that beef checkoff dollars in Nevada are in short supply. Decreases in cattle numbers and escalating costs of doing business make running an efficient state beef council increasingly difficult. With an annual budget of $120,000, the tasks of hiring an executive director, renting an office and covering overhead expenses left little money for effective beef promotion projects in Nevada. After much thought, the NBC looked at alternative options.

Rechel decided to pursue an opportunity with the California Beef Council (CBC). The CBC already had results-driven programs she believed could be expanded into Nevada with some effort. In addition, the CBC had an experienced staff of five in program areas such as retail, foodservice and public relations. Partnering with California would significantly help Nevada programs gain efficiency in those areas.

“The NBC is looking forward to the possible opportunities with this partnership. California has very strong programs,” Rechel said. “Contracting with the CBC enables the NBC to do more with our checkoff dollars than is possible as an individual state beef council.”

On Jan. 1, 2009, under contract with the NBC, the CBC started running NBC’s programs. The CBC will use Nevada beef checkoff dollars, in Nevada, to run some additional programs that are similarly structured after California programs. Funds that would have been committed to overhead expenses for the NBC will be used for these new programs. The NBC will still be in the position of overseeing Nevada beef checkoff dollars, and will hire a person in Nevada to represent the NBC at events such as Agriculture in the Classroom, and state and county fairs.

“This is an exciting time for the California and Nevada beef industries, with many opportunities before us. Beef producers can create significant influence when they join together and work to meet the challenges of our industry,” said Rob von der Lieth, chairperson of the CBC. “Partnerships like this allow us to work together to build a stronger beef industry and increase consumer demand for our beef products.”

There is a new toll-free NBC phone number and mailing address for all correspondence: 877-554-2333; Nevada Beef Council, P.O. Box 340310, Sacramento, CA 95834-0310. For more information about the NBC, visit www.nevadabeef.org or e-mail askus@nevadabeef.org. For more information about the California Beef Council, visit www.calbeef.org or call 916-925-2333 or e-mail askus@calbeef.org.

— Release provided by the California Beef Council.

NCBA Applauds USTR Action in Beef Hormones Dispute

The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) applauded the United States Trade Representative (USTR) decision to modify the list of European Union (EU) goods subject to increased tariffs in the ongoing trade dispute over beef treated with growth promotants.

NCBA has been working closely with industry and USTR for the past several years to resolve this dispute to the satisfaction of U.S. beef producers. In comments to USTR, NCBA vigorously advocated this action as a means to promote a resolution of this long-standing trade dispute. “There has been very little progress in removing the EU’s unscientific ban,” explained Andy Groseta, a rancher from Arizona and NCBA president. “NCBA encouraged these tariff modifications in the hopes that renewed pressure would urge a resolution to this dispute. This decision is not meant to erect more barriers to trade — it is meant to remove them.”

As recently as Oct. 16, 2008, the World Trade Organization (WTO) Appellate Body confirmed that the U.S. has the right to continue imposing retaliatory sanctions until the dispute over the EU ban on hormone-treated beef is resolved. The EU has been unable to scientifically justify the reasons for imposing this unfair trade barrier, which has been in place for more than 20 years. The WTO has ruled multiple times that they have failed to satisfy the requirements of the WTO agreement on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures. This was the first case heard by the WTO and it is still unresolved.

Numerous U.S. and international scientific studies have shown that the hormones used in beef production are safe. “The U.S. produces high-quality, safe, wholesome, affordable beef which is in great demand worldwide,” Groseta said. “We follow strict, science-based guidelines for trade, and we expect our trading partners to do the same.” 

The growth promotants used in cattle production are vigorously tested by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for safety — both for the animals’ well-being and for the trace amounts that may be in meat consumed by humans. The hormones, many of which occur naturally in other foods, have all been scientifically proven safe.

“The scientific questions have been asked multiple times and the answer is always the same,” Doud said. “U.S. beef is safe.” He continued, “The EU is the only entity that bans the use of these hormones. Our other trading partners all recognize the safety and quality of our products, which is why we are seeing increased demand for U.S. beef in countries around the world. Without this trade barrier, we would no doubt see similar gains in Europe.”

The full list of EU products subject to tariffs in this dispute is available online at: http://www.ustr.gov/assets/Document_Library/Federal_Register_Notices/2009/January/asset_upload_file64_15289.pdf.

— Release provided by NCBA.

— Compiled by Mathew Elliott, assistant editor, Angus Productions Inc. (API)