News Update
Feb. 19, 2009

Applications Now Accepted for Second Beef Leaders Institute

Young Angus producers interested in networking with others, learning more about the American Angus Association® and exploring the beef production system should apply to the 2009 Beef Leaders Institute (BLI). The BLI is designed for American Angus Association members, 25-45 years old, as a resource to provide insight to all segments of the beef industry. BLI is set for May 31-June 3, and begins at the Association’s headquarters in Saint Joseph, Mo.

This marks the second year for the BLI, a three-day intensive tour of various segments of the industry, including feeding, packing, marketing and retail outlets. In addition, the attendees, all members of the Association, put themselves into the consumer role to gain added perspective on beef consumption.

“The BLI gives our younger Association members the opportunity to get off the farm or ranch for a few days to network with their peers, while gaining knowledge of the American Angus Association and the entire beef industry,” says Shelia Stannard, director of communications and events for the Association. “With the financial assistance of the Angus Foundation, which supports education, youth and research we can provide BLI to our membership at little cost to them.”

BLI is limited to 20 participants each year to facilitate discussion and tours. Selection is based on application, and all applications are due to the Association by March 2. Once selected, attendees must provide their own round-trip transportation between their home and Kansas City International Airport, or Saint Joseph, Mo., if driving. The Association provides transportation during the BLI, as well as lodging, meals and materials.

— Release provided by American Angus Association.

Weaving a Web for Food Safety

Americans love their meat. Whether it’s ribeyes, pork chops or chicken breasts, the demand for protein is so great in this country that more than 85 billion pounds of meat and poultry are processed here each year.

And we’re not alone. About a quarter of U.S. beef and pork is exported to feed hungry mouths around the world. While China is now the world’s largest consumer of meat, in Mexico, meat consumption has increased by 50% since 1990.

So who’s helping keep all this food safe? It may surprise many people that veterinarians are at or near the top of the list. But are there enough veterinarians to do the job? According to numerous studies, the answer is “no.”

As part of its effort to help address this shortage of food supply veterinarians, the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) recently unveiled a revamped Food Supply Veterinary Medicine web page.

The new page, which can be found at http://www.avma.org/fsvm/default.asp, is loaded with information about careers in food supply veterinary medicine, why it’s such a critical field and which states are being hit harder than others by the shortage.

“When we launched this site back in 2007, we were in the early stages of getting the word out that this is an impending crisis,” said AVMA Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Ron DeHaven, DVM. “Since then, the public’s interest in the shortage has mushroomed. By calling attention to the situation, I believe we have really touched a nerve.”

DeHaven said the AVMA’s decision to update and enhance the web page is partially a result of this growing concern.

“The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that the demand for veterinarians will increase by 35% in the next several years, much faster than the average for all occupations,” DeHaven said. “A recent study commissioned by the AVMA indicates that the demand for veterinarians in food supply veterinary medicine will increase about 13% over that same period, while the supply will fall short of what is needed by about 4% or 5% annually.”

The number of veterinary school graduates entering food supply medicine remains stagnant, and this lack of growth, DeHaven says, has all the makings of a crisis.

“Few jobs are more important when it comes to food safety than that of the veterinarian,” DeHaven said. “They are not only checking the well-being of food animals and maintaining healthy herds and flocks, veterinarians are also first responders on the front lines of disease prevention and outbreak. Their involvement in food safety plays a vital role in public health and national security. Our responsibility as veterinarians is to make sure we cultivate and mentor more veterinarians to fill these roles.”

The new, user-friendly AVMA Food Supply Veterinary Medicine web page is a clearinghouse of information, containing everything from career videos to new studies detailing the shortage, and examples of what veterinary schools and states are doing to attract more students to food supply veterinary medicine.

“There’s no doubt that veterinary educators, state officials and associations like ours are working hard to get more students into the food supply veterinary field,” DeHaven said. “This web site reaches out and spreads the message that there are few things as important to our society as a safe food supply.”

— Release provided by AVMA.

Be Prepared for a Business Disaster

It is just about a guarantee that every business owner will at some time experience a disaster. It may be small, such as a water pipe break, or total business devastation. A disaster recovery plan may be the key to survival if hard times hit your business.

Keys to a disaster recovery are first, to evaluate your business and make a plan on how to get things up and running again, and, second, to ensure that all of the predisaster planning elements are put into place. Make sure crucial files are duplicated and kept at an off-site location; that backup power supplies, if needed, are actually available; and that you know how to get inventory, equipment, etc. back in place so that you are ready to do business.

“Business leaders often fall short of keeping their business recovery plans up-to-date,” said Glenn Muske, Oklahoma State University Cooperative Extension interim associate dean, assistant director, family and consumer sciences. “It is important that a business takes the development and maintenance of the disaster recovery plan seriously. A serious incident could occur at any time.”

Muske said management and staff should not only be informed that a plan is in place to ensure necessary tasks of the organization are able to continue in case of an emergency but their respective roles and responsibilities in the plan.

Muske said the following questions are important for leaders to ask when preparing or updating a disaster-recovery plan.

• Have you made disaster plans? Examples of disasters can be weather, fire, the water pipes leaking or simply a computer crash.
  
• Have you asked others to evaluate your plan to see if there are any gaps? Can you test it to see if it is comprehensive and realistic to a disaster scenario? Make sure an outside observer is watching and documenting the test and note if issues or problems that occurred during the test were tracked and followed up on.
  
• Has technology changed since the last business plan? Make sure new storage and network technologies are in place.
  
• Has the business changed? Evaluate to make sure any new processes have been incorporated into the plan.
  
• What are the threat scenarios? Check to see if the company is in an area of high risk of unrest and the geographical environment.
  
• Is the business positioned for risk mitigation with the insurer? How soon you can be back up and running is a way to lower overall insurance premiums.
  
• When was the last time the plan was updated? Designate a person in the business who is responsible for ensuring the business continuity efforts are current and relevant and that there are frequent updates.
  
• Are plans developed in a vacuum? Have recovery plans for information technology services, facilities and people coordinated so they are not redundant and there are no gaps. Make sure the laws and regulations are followed.
  
• What about the people outside the organization who could have an impact? See if vendors and outsourcing partners have sound business continuity plans in place so your business is not left vulnerable. Check on the supply chain. Are there other businesses with whom you might work to share resources in times of a disaster? Some communities do a broad survey to determine what businesses have excess capacity that might be used by others in times of disaster.
  
• Are the organization’s capabilities leveraged to the best advantage? Be able to provide a recovery potential within the corporate confines.
  

“Disasters can include but are not limited to environmental disasters, loss of utilities and services, equipment failure and organized or deliberate disruption, such as an act of terrorism,” Muske said. “No matter the situation, when a recovery plan is in place, a business will be able to handle these situations if they occur.”

— Release by Katie L. Reim, Oklahoma State University.

— compiled by Mathew Elliott, assistant editor, Angus Productions Inc.