News Update
July 2, 2009

USMEF’s Branded Products Promotion Program Funds Available for U.S. Industry

U.S. red meat companies taking advantage of the USDA’s Branded Products Promotion Program, administered through the U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF), rang up $6,920,063 in sales of U.S. beef and pork to international buyers in fiscal year 2008, an increase of nearly 27% over the previous year.

The program has had noteworthy success in helping smaller companies gain entry to targeted export markets and establish their branded products. These companies use their own money, leveraged with matching funds from the program, to develop export markets for U.S. beef, pork or lamb exports.

There are still funds available in the program for the current year to help small U.S. companies attend international and approved domestic shows with large international attendance and to assist with international travel costs.

As a requirement of the program, all participants must set measurable performance goals based on export sales to targeted markets. The companies also must report on the number of business contacts made at trade shows and sales of new products launched with USDA Market Access Program funds. This information is measured against goals that are set by the individual companies when their applications for funding are submitted.

For the purposes of this application, eligible companies must have 500 or fewer employees, or be a producer cooperative or association.

Companies that receive funding from USMEF will be charged a 5% administrative fee for participation in the program. This fee is calculated at 5% of USMEF’s contribution to the activities covered. USMEF also requires a $100 application fee to accompany the company’s request for funding, which will be applied toward the 5% administrative fee.

Companies interested in the program should contact Barbara Watson, Manager, Branded Programs, U.S. Meat Export Federation; 1855 Blake St., Suite 200; Denver, CO 80202; 303-623-6328; bwatson@usmef.org. Information on the program and on exporting is also available at USMEF’s web site www.usmef.org under “Business Tools.”

— Adapted from a release provided by USMEF.

ID INFO EXPO 2009 to Explore Viable Alternatives for Functional Animal ID in the U.S.

As the debate rages about animal identification (ID), ID INFO EXPO 2009 will explore the challenges facing a national animal identification program and ways to move animal ID forward. ID INFO EXPO 2009, presented by the National Institute for Animal Agriculture (NIAA), is set for Aug. 25-27 at the Westin Crown Center, Kansas City, Mo.

“ID INFO EXPO will provide a collaborative atmosphere in which concerns and solutions can be addressed in order to enhance animal identification,” states Glenn Fischer, chairman of the ID INFO EXPO Planning Committee. “Based on comments received at USDA Secretary Vilsack’s listening sessions regarding animal ID, we know what won’t work; this conference will focus on what can work.”

Victor Velez, vice chairman of the Planning Committee, emphasizes that the conference will zero in on four key areas: 1) the current state of, and need for, animal ID in the United States; 2) the obstacles to gaining ID participation; 3) the ID opportunities that exist; and 4) the next crucial steps to developing a functional animal ID program in the United States.

Individuals registering for the EXPO prior to July 17 will receive a $50 discount and can register for $425. Cost of registration for NIAA members registering before July 17 is $375.

The Westin Crown Center has a highly discounted room rate for ID INFO EXPO attendees. Rooms can be reserved online at www.animalagriculture.org or by calling the Westin Crown Center and 816-474-4400 and requesting the ID INFO EXPO group rate.

Complete conference information and online registration is available at www.animalagriculture.org.

— Adapted from a release provided by NIAA.

Organizations Combine Efforts to Meet Industry Needs

A combination of academic, industry and legislative efforts have created a premier research cattle feeding facility at the Texas AgriLife Research and USDA complex near Bushland. The $450,000 facility was dedicated June 29.

With the influx of distillers’ grains into the cattle feeding industry and the regulatory push to monitor greenhouse gases and other air quality contaminants, it was necessary to build some new facilities that included a commodity barn and equipment that can measure gas production in cattle, said John Sweeten, AgriLife Research resident director in Amarillo.

“Projects like this don’t just happen,” Sweeten said, crediting the Cooperative Research, Education and Extension Team (CREET) for being the engine driving the effort.

CREET involves facilities, scientists and administrators of West Texas A&M University in Canyon; AgriLife Research, Amarillo; the Texas AgriLife Extension Service, Amarillo; Texas Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory, Amarillo; and USDA-Agricultural Research Service (ARS), Bushland.

“This research is helping us substantiate there is a difference between Texas and Nebraska and dry-rolled and steam-flaked corn being fed,” said Tony Bryant, chairman of the cattle feeders research committee. “The research is looking at the different grains and protein sources and how to formulate the best diets.”

Dan Upchurch of College Station, the USDA-ARS Southern Plains Area director, said this facility is one of only three in the nation of comparable capabilities.

“When the mixing facility is combined with the feeding pens and then the calorimeter facilities, it makes this the premier site in the nation,” Upchurch said. “This facility will address some of the results that we need — some of which we needed answers to yesterday.”

The research conducted in the facility will improve efficiency in feeding the cattle because it offers researchers more accuracy in their studies, less labor and fewer opportunities for errors as the diets are formulated, he said.

Andy Cole, USDA-ARS animal scientist, said the addition of respiration calorimetry chambers into the metabolism barn will allow the measurement of carbon dioxide and methane, as well as the consumption of oxygen, by the animals.

“Using those numbers, we can calculate the amount of heat the animal produces,” Cole said. “From that, we can determine how efficiently the animal uses calories in the diet so that we can determine the net energy of the dietary ingredients.”

Animal nutritionists can then use those numbers to help formulate the most productive diets, he said.

— Release provided by Texas AgriLife Extension Service and AgriLife Research.

Angus Foundation Extending Golf Tournament Deadline to July 15

The ninth annual Angus Foundation Golf Tournament will be Tuesday, July 21, at Houston Lake Country Club, Perry, Ga., in conjunction with the National Junior Angus Show (NJAS). This event provides an opportunity for Angus enthusiasts of all ages to join together in a day of fun and recreation while raising money to support the Angus Foundation’s education, youth and research programs.

Player entry fees will again be $100 for adults and $75 for junior Angus members. Players now have until July 15 to register for the golf tournament, without incurring the $10 late fee.

Funds raised through team entry fees and event sponsorships support the Foundation's education, youth and research efforts. To sign up your team, call the Angus Foundation at 816-383-5100.

Foundation, Association to Distribute Disaster Funds to Livestock Producers

Thanks to the National Cattlemen’s Foundation (NCF) and generous donors from seven states who built a North Dakota disaster relief fund, the North Dakota Stockmen’s Association (NDSA) and North Dakota Stockmen’s Foundation (NDSF) are offering some financial assistance to livestock producers whose fences, facilities and infrastructure were damaged or destroyed during winter/spring 2009.

The NDSF is now accepting applications for the disaster funds. Application forms are available at www.ndstockmen.org or by calling the NDSA headquarters at 701-223-2522.

— Release provided by NDSA.

Fire Ant Outcompetes Other Species-Even in its Native Habitat

Even in its native Argentina, the fire ant wins in head-to-head competition with other ant species more than three-quarters of the time, according to Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists. Researchers at the South American Biological Control Laboratory (SABCL) in Hurlingham, Argentina, have been studying how different ant species fare against the fire ant as part of an effort to learn more about the behavior of this pest — an invasive species in its non-native United States.

SABCL biologist Luis Calcaterra, working closely with lab director Juan Briano, has been studying interactions between the red imported fire ant, Solenopsis invicta, and other aboveground foraging ants in two habitats in northeastern Argentina — using a combination of pitfall traps and baits to study day-to-day activity in ant communities.

Some 28 ant species coexisted with S. invicta in an open area of forest growing along a watercourse, whereas only 10 species coexisted with S. invicta in the dry forest grassland. The researchers found that the fire ants had the highest numbers in the open forest area along the watercourse.

Prior to these studies, it was thought that the fire ant — now established throughout the Americas — was not dominant in its native land. But the studies showed that the fire ants were the most ecologically dominant, winning 78% of the interactions with other ants, mostly against its most frequent competitor, the South American big-headed ant, Pheidole obscurithorax, an ant of northern Argentina and Paraguay also introduced in the United States. And, in battles with the invasive Argentine ant, Linepithema humile, the fire ants were even more dominant, winning out 80% of the time.

This study was published in Oecologia, a journal that deals with plant and animal ecology.

Read more about the research in the July 2009 issue of Agricultural Research magazine at www.ars.usda.gov/is/AR/archive/jul09/ants0709.htm.

— Adapted from release provided by ARS.

American Angus Association and Angus Productions, Inc. Offices Closed Tomorrow

Have a happy and safe 4th of July!

— Compiled by Linda Robbins, assistant editor, Angus Productions Inc.