News Update
April 16, 2009

The EXTRA e-mails Monday

Angus Productions Inc. (API) will e-mail the April Angus Beef Bulletin EXTRA Monday morning, April 20. If you are not yet signed up to receive the EXTRA, you can do so at www.angusbeefbulletin.com/extra/2009/mar09/about.html or e-mail us at bulletinextra@angusbeefbulletin.com with “subscribe” in the subject line. Remember to sign up by Sunday evening to receive this month’s edition.

Use Of Antimicrobials In Cattle Production Conference

The use of antimicrobials, which includes antibiotics, in cattle production is an issue that is put before producers and consumers on a daily basis, says Mike Apley, a Kansas State University (K-State) veterinarian and clinical pharmacologist.

Apley is part of a team at K-State’s Beef Cattle Institute that is organizing the International Conference on the Use of Antimicrobials in Cattle Production. The event is set for May 27-29 at the K-State Student Union.

“The conference is designed to educate consumers, producers and veterinarians about the use of antimicrobials in cattle production,” Apley says. “We tend to hear about this issue through sound bites with varying levels of accuracy, so we put together a conference where anyone can become more advanced in their ability to understand and interpret information on the subject.”

The conference will begin with the basic scientific principles related to approving antimicrobials and evaluating their effects. Multiple presenters will provide data and their interpretation of what these data reveal about the effects of antimicrobial use in cattle. Attendees will have the opportunity to listen to and participate in discussions between scientists at the forefront of antimicrobial issues in food animals, Apley says.

“We especially invite consumers, legislative members and their staff, members of the media, and producers to come to the conference,” he says. “This meeting is designed to put scientific principles and findings in the hands of the public.”

More information on the conference is available at www.icuacp.beefcattleinstitute.org.

— Release provided by K-State’s Beef Cattle Institute.

USDA’s Monthly Cattle On Feed Report Will Be Released Friday

It appears that U.S. dairy producers are waiting to see what Cooperative Working Together (CWT) will pay for milk production reductions in its upcoming dairy herd reduction program. There was a sharp drop in dairy cow slaughter in recent weeks as the new retirement round was confirmed and the bid deadline was established for May 1. We have heard two questions above all others: “How is this legal?” and “How many cows will come to market and when?”

The answer to the first question is that this program is legal because CWT is a cooperative of cooperatives. Therefore, CWT enjoys, under the Capper Volstead Act of 1922, limited immunity from antitrust laws in its effort to reduce supplies and increase prices. There are several limitations but the pertinent ones in this case are that they deal only with cooperative members and that they cannot “unduly enhance” prices. The Act does not define how much constitutes an undue enhancement. Any other agricultural cooperative could do the same thing as long as it adheres to the requirements of the Capper Volstead Act. For a good summary of the Capper Volstead Act and its implications, see www.rurdev.usda.gov/rbs/pub/cir35.pdf.

The second question is more difficult. CWT has commitments from members to pay 10¢ per hundredweight (cwt.) into the retirement fund on 67% of the milk they produce for the next two years. But no one yet knows just how many dollars that is in total. In addition, producers have not submitted bids for how much they will accept to remove cows from production. Past bids have been in the $700-per-cow range and similar bid processes (CRP comes to mind) have seen subsequent bids remain close to previously paid amounts.

Total dollars divided by average bid will determine how many cows will be removed, and we know neither of those numbers yet. Analysts think a reduction of 200,000 is needed to get milk supplies back in balance with demand. CWT moved about 50,000 head in January with no major damage to 90% cow beef prices. Doing that four months in a row, though, would be risky. We believe CWT is very aware of the need to be careful so it does not harm cow beef and cow prices too badly in the process of helping milk producers.

The retirement program involves no government funds.

— Release provided by CME.

Non-Ambulatory Cattle Final Rule To Go Into Effect Friday

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) final rule prohibiting the processing of cattle that become non-ambulatory after they pass federal veterinary inspection is scheduled to go into effect Friday, April 17, 2009.

Establishment personnel must notify Food Safety and Inspection (FSIS) inspection personnel when cattle become non-ambulatory disabled after passing antemortem inspection. Non-ambulatory disabled cattle that are offered for slaughter must be condemned and disposed of in accordance with 9 CFR 309.3. The FSIS directive is 6100.1 – Ante-Mortem Livestock Inspection.

AMI (American Meat Institute) has been a vocal supporter of this rule, sending a letter to the Secretary of Agriculture and filing a Citizen Petition with FSIS urging the amendment of the existing rule.

For more information on this rule, visit http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2009/pdf/E9-5987.pdf.

To view the FSIS directive to inspection personnel on condemning cattle that become non-ambulatory disabled after passing antemortem inspection, click here:  www.fsis.usda.gov/OPPDE/rdad/FSISDirectives/6100.1Rev1.pdf.

To view the FSIS directive to Inspectors-In-Charge regarding discussing the rule at the next weekly meeting, click here: www.fsis.usda.gov/OPPDE/rdad/FSISNotices/29-09.pdf.

— Release provided by AMI.

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