News Update
March 31, 2009

Dameron Selected to Represent Angus at YCC

Jeff Dameron, Normal, Ill., has been selected to represent the American Angus Association at the 2009 National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) Young Cattlemen’s Conference (YCC).

The Angus Foundation will sponsor Dameron’s registration and travel expenses. This is the seventh year the Angus Foundation has funded an Association member to attend YCC.

YCC allows young leaders the chance to see firsthand and further understand all aspects of the beef industry. Attendees participate in a nationwide tour of the beef production chain from ranch to feedlot to packing plant, through marketing and regulatory affairs, and finally ending at consumer foodservice.

“YCC is another outstanding opportunity for the Angus Foundation to invest in the education of our young Angus breeders and members. By investing in education, one of the three priorities in our mission statement, we hope to provide our members with the continuing knowledge they need to succeed in the cattle business,” Milford Jenkins, Angus Foundation president, states.

Dameron, a partner in his family’s registered Angus operation, has excelled in leadership roles throughout his life. He served on the National Junior Angus Association (NJAA) Board of Directors as a youth and received the Association’s 2006 Herdsman of the Year Award.

 “Participating in YCC will help me gain a better understanding of both the current and upcoming issues facing the beef industry. Many times we focus on the challenges we face solely on our own farms, but I think it’s important to understand the bigger issues our industry is facing,” Dameron states.

Recent tours have typically began at NCBA headquarters in Denver, Colo., then traveling to Swift & Co. headquarters, visiting a feedyard in Kansas, a packing plant in South Dakota, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) and seedstock operations in Virginia, before ending the trip in Washington D.C., which includes stops at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the Capitol, the White House and the Department of the Interior.

For more information on YCC, Angus Foundation, or a list of previous Angus YCC representatives, visit www.angusfoundation.org.

— Release provided by the Angus Foundation.

HHS Acting Secretary Declares Public Health Emergency for North Dakota Storms

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Acting Secretary Charles Johnson declared a public health emergency for North Dakota last week in response to severe storms and floods affecting the state. The action ensures beneficiaries of Medicare, Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance program, known as CHIP, continue to receive benefits.

The public health emergency declaration follows President Barack Obama’s declaration of a major disaster for North Dakota and is also retroactive to March 13, 2009.

The public health emergency is declared under section 319 of the Public Health Service Act and, under section 1135 of the Social Security Act, has been invoked to waive or modify certain Medicare, Medicaid and CHIP requirements. The state can submit waiver requests through the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Regional Office.

Under the declaration, the section 1135 waiver provides the flexibility to maintain vital health care services, such as allowing Medicare health plan beneficiaries to go out of network during this emergency. CMS is working with the health insurance industry to ensure there are no barriers to this service for those enrolled in these plans.

The section 1135 waiver also provides the authority to temporarily relax certain operating procedures so health care services can be delivered, such as allowing critical access hospitals to take more than the statutorily mandated limit of 25 patients and not count the expected longer lengths of stay for evacuated patients against the 96-hour average.

HHS agencies continue to work with state agencies and regional networks to monitor the emergency with personnel and equipment ready to assist the state with both health and human service needs wherever needed.

The declaration is available at www.hhs.gov/secretary/phe.html. HHS flood preparedness information is also online at www.hhs.gov/disasters/emergency/naturaldisasters/flood/index.html. North Dakota Flood Preparedness Information can be found at www.nd.gov/des/get/flood-preparedness.

— Release provided by HHS.

U.S. Consumers Could See Cheaper Prices as Result of Mexican Tariffs

Tariffs imposed by Mexico on grapes, onions, tomatoes and other U.S. agricultural commodities could lead to lower demand and cheaper prices for some U.S. food products, according to a Texas AgriLife Extension Service economist.

“There will be opportunities domestically for consumers; people are always looking for bargains,” said Parr Rosson, AgriLife Extension economist and director of the Center for North American Studies at Texas A&M University.

The tariffs result from disputes between Mexico and the U.S. since 1994 when the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) went into effect.

The latest controversy stems from the U.S. halting Mexican trucks from going beyond U.S. commercial zones outside border cities. U.S. opponents of the pilot program allowing cross-border trucking between the two countries cite increased traffic congestion, truck and driver safety issues, and concerns about proper insurance and licensing, Rosson said.

With fewer exports to Mexico, that could lead to larger supplies of certain agricultural food products and lower retail prices, Rosson added. Beef and grains were not included in the Mexico tariffs. However, if the current tariff structure is sustained for a long period, U.S. agricultural producers could see lost revenue continue to mount.

Hardest hit would be grape producers in California, while Texas farmers who raise onions, Christmas trees and peanuts would see tariffs as high as 45% on certain crops.

“If you get hit with a 20% tariff, it’s going to make an impact on how much business you do,” Rosson said.

Texas commodities facing 20% tariffs are onions, wines, Christmas trees, strawberries, potatoes, peanuts, fruit and mixed juices. Also included are soups, broths and mineral waters. Items with 15% tariffs include oil cakes from soybean and dry dog and cat food (10%).

Nationally, according to Rosson, the following commodities affected by the Mexico tariffs (2007 export totals in parenthesis) are:

- Pears, 20% ($72 million);
- Grapes, 45% ($60 million);
- Dog, cat food 10% ($65 million);
- Strawberries, 20% ($29 million);
- Mayonaise, 20% ($16 million).

With H-E-B and Wal-Mart now having a large presence in Mexico with superstores, U.S. exports have been on the rise, Rosson said.

“Some $16 billion in ag products were exported to Mexico, and that rivals Canada ($16.2 billion),” he said. “Just in the last four years, the Mexican market has surged.”

— Release provided by TAMU.

Farmers Market Strategy Meeting

An effective marketing plan is vital to the success of any business, and a farmer’s market is no exception. Ohio State University (OSU) Extension will offer a workshop in April on direct marketing and sales strategies for farmers’ markets.

“Marketing Your Products,” will be April 16 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at OSU South Centers at Piketon, 1864 Shyville Rd., Piketon, Ohio. The cost of the workshop is $5 per person.

The workshop is designed to teach participants cost-effective ways of marketing their products and increasing sales.

Julie Fox, OSU Extension direct marketing specialist, will guide attendees through the process of creating a marketing plan and provide direct marketing strategies. Christie Welch, an OSU Extension farmer’s market specialist, will share information on what is required to sell at farmers’ markets, as well as offer tips on best practices for vendors.

The workshop is part of the Third Thursday Horticulture Business Training series.

For more information, or to register, contact Julie Strawser at 740-289-2071, ext. 223, or e-mail strawser.35@osu.edu, or log on to http://southcenters.osu.edu.

— Release provided by OSU.

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