News Update
Sept. 8, 2009

DTN: JBS vs. JDB?

Brazilian beef giant JBS SA is set to announce as soon as next week the acquisition of Texas-based Pilgrim’s Pride Corp. for a price of roughly $2.5 billion, say people familiar with the matter. The deal would pull the second-largest chicken company in the U.S. out of bankruptcy court and shake up the global meat business.

If the JBS deal for Pilgrim’s Pride advances, the new company would create a stronger rival to Tyson Foods. Above, the Brazil company called itself ‘The world's largest meat producer’ after it acquired Swift & Co. in 2007.

The deal was in the final stages of negotiation Wednesday and could fall apart. But if it moves ahead as expected, it would create a new U.S. rival to Tyson Foods Inc., the biggest U.S. meat company that produces beef, chicken and pork. Combined, Pilgrim's Pride and JBS's U.S. unit — which includes sales at the JBS business in Australia — would have posted about $20 billion in revenue last year. Tyson's fiscal 2008 revenue was $27 billion. Read more.

Climate Change Report Published

A study published in the online version of the journal Science says human-generated greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) have helped reverse a 2,000-year trend of cooling in the Arctic, prompting warmer average temperatures in the past decade that now rank higher than at any time since 1 B.C. One of the report’s co-authors, David Schneider, a visiting scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research, says, “It’s basically saying greenhouse gas emissions are overwhelming the system.”

Fred Singer, a prominent climate-change skeptic who heads the Science and Environmental Policy Project, questioned the Science study, saying it does not properly reflect other researchers’ findings about the Medieval Warm Period. He says, that period, between A.D. 800 and 1300, had higher temperatures than even the past 30 years. And there was a brief period in the early 5th century in which temperatures in the Arctic came close to being as high as those in the most recent summers. Read more.

— Provided by NAFB News Service and Hoosier Ag Today

AgriLife Extension Program Teaches ‘Marketing Savvy’

Greater price volatility in agricultural markets is demanding producers develop better marketing skills to improve their bottom line, said a Texas AgriLife Extension Service economist.

Dr. Steve Amosson, AgriLife Extension economist in Amarillo, will be leading a group of instructors from within the agency, several universities and private industries to put on the third Master Marketer Program.

Master Marketer is a national award-winning risk-management educational program where students learn how to develop marketing plans, evaluate marketing alternatives, manage production and price risk, and execute a risk management and marketing plan, Amosson said.

A wide range of topics are covered to enhance marketing/risk management skills, he said. Case studies, group discussions and simulation exercises will be used to provide experience with real tools that can be used on individual farm and ranch operations after the class.

The 64-hour curriculum is offered as four, two-day sessions held every two weeks. It is the most intensive marketing/risk management training provided by Extension anywhere in the U.S., Amosson said.

The next Master Marketer Program will be in Amarillo, starting Jan. 13-14, with follow-up dates of Jan. 27-28, Feb. 10-11 and Feb. 24-25. All meetings will be at the Texas AgriLife Research and Extension Service Center of Amarillo, 6500 W. Amarillo Blvd.

A free futures and options leveling workshop will be Jan. 12 before the program begins for anyone who doesn’t feel they are ready for intermediate to advanced level training.

The final date to register is Jan. 4, but Amosson said the class generally fills up fast, and he has never seen interest this high this early. Only 60 participants can be accepted, so those interested shouldn’t wait to register.

The registration fee for the program is $250, which includes noon meals and educational materials. The training in the Amarillo area will focus on cotton, wheat, livestock and feedgrains, Amosson said.

Program costs are partially covered by grants from sponsors, including the Texas Corn Producers Board, Texas Farm Bureau, the Cotton State Support Committee and the Risk Management Program of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).

For more information or to register, call Amosson at 806-677-5600. Fees may be paid by check or money order, made payable to account #222100-60025 and sent with a completed registration form.

For those who want to use a credit card and register online, go to http://agrilifevents.tamu.edu. Registration forms may be obtained at http://mastermarketer.tamu.edu.

— Provided by Texas AgriLife Extension.

Tri-State Cow-Calf Conference Set for Sept. 22 and 23 in Gray, Tenn.

A Tri-State Cow-Calf Conference will take place at the fairgrounds at Gray, Tenn., on Sept. 22-23. A tour of three Tennessee cow-calf operations will take place at 1 p.m. followed by a light supper and brief program on Sept. 22, with an 8:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m. meeting on September 23. 

Topics covered at the meeting will include Beef Cattle Outlook, Utilization of ByProduct Feeds in Beef Cattle Diets, Managing Genetic Defects and Enhancing End Product, What A Cow-Calf Producer Can Expect From a Custom Feedlot, Making the Decision to Market My Calves or Retain Them and Weaning Healthy Calves. There will also be a panel of Virginia cow-calf producers who will share information about their operations. 

Attendees will also have the opportunity to visit a trade show of agribusinesses that support the cattle business.

The meeting is sponsored by the University of Tennessee Extension, Virginia Cooperative Extension and North Carolina State University, A&T State University Cooperative Extension, and a USDA Risk Management Education Grant. Advance registration is requested to plan for materials and a steak lunch. Registration is $10 before Sept., 16 and $15 thereafter.

To register for the conference, download the brochure at http://www.tnbeefcattleinitiative.org/pdf/CowCalfBrochure.pdf, complete the registration and send to the address provided.

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