News Update
Oct. 30, 2009

Agriculture Secretary Vilsack Responds to Allegations

In response to the events at Bushways Packing Inc. in Grand Isle, Vt., Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said:

“The deplorable scenes recorded in the video released by the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) are unequivocally unacceptable. The callous behavior and attitudes displayed in the video clearly appear to be violations of USDA (U.S. Department of Agriculture) humane handling regulations.

“USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is investigating these alleged violations of the Humane Methods of Slaughter Act (HMSA). FSIS took immediate action with respect to its employee and the establishment upon preliminary verification of the incident. The Department fully supports the investigation of all those involved in these alleged violations of the HMSA. To this end, I have also called on our Inspector General to conduct a criminal investigation of the events in the video.

“FSIS has a rigorous program to train inspection personnel in verifying humane handling and slaughter at establishments. When an FSIS employee observes behaviors that are not in compliance with the HMSA, they are obligated to take immediate action. The behavior of FSIS and establishment personnel witnessed in this video is inexcusable.”

— Release by USDA.

Protect Your Land and Crops from Deer Damage

Get the best solutions for protecting your land and crops from deer damage at an Ohio State University (OSU) Extension deer damage workshop.

“Managing Deer Damage” will take place Nov. 19 from 6 p.m. until 8 p.m. at OSU South Centers, 1864 Shyville Rd., Piketon, Ohio. Cost of the workshop is $5 per person. The workshop is being hosted in partnership with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources-Division of Wildlife.

Specialists in deer biology and control will provide insight on how to exclude deer from land, crop fields, commercial fruit and vegetable fields, and gardens. Visitors will also learn about options available for deer deterrents on both a large and small scale, including deer herd management.

Speakers include representatives from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources-Division of Wildlife and OSU Extension natural resource specialist, Dave Apsley.

The workshop is part of OSU South Centers Third Thursday series.

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

— Release by OSU Extension.

Expert Gives Clues About Beef Quality and Production

Marbling is the No. 1 way to determine quality in a cut of meat, said Louisiana State University (LSU) AgCenter county agent Johnny LeVasseur at the latest monthly Lunch and Ag Discovery program at the AgCenter’s Red River Research Station.

“The finer the white specks and the more you have, the better the quality of the meat,” LeVasseur said. “Marbling adds flavor.”

Beef should be a cherry red, not dark red, LeVasseur added. He also suggested looking for uniformity in paired cuts.

The agent explained yield grades are determined by carcass weight, external fat thickness, ribeye area and kidney, pelvic and heart fat. He said the ribeye runs down the back of the cow and is the most tender, most valuable part of the meat.

The bigger the ribeye is, the bigger the cow’s muscle, LeVasseur said. When the rib-eye area is smaller, the percentage of fat increases, and the yield gets worse.

LeVasseur said 19% of Louisiana’s beef cows are produced in northwest Louisiana, with Natchitoches Parish as one of the leading producers in the state followed closely by Caddo Parish. The total value of the beef cattle industry in Louisiana in 2008 was $381 million.

LeVassuer said the most popular method of beef cattle reproduction in Louisiana is the cow-calf system. Cow-calf herds generally are small, numbering 20 to 50 cows, he said.

The calves are sold at weaning when they weigh between 600 and 700 pounds (lb.) and “go out West” on wheat pastures to graze through the winter, he said. When they are between 850 and 900 lb., they are led to the feedlot to grow and begin conditioning for processing.

— Release by LSU Extension.

Cattle Producers Predicted to See Profitable Outlook in 2010

A weak U.S. dollar has encouraged investment in commodities, resulting in positive activity for agriculture, according to a Texas AgriLife Extension Service economist.

“With regards to index investments, they (investors) buy these as a hedge against inflation, and when you have investment dollars coming out of the closet, many are putting money into commodities and that’s good for agriculture,” said Mark Welch, AgriLife Extension grain marketing economist.

A weak dollar allows foreign investors more purchasing power for U.S. products, and this has led to investment opportunities in commodities such as oil, which hit $78 a barrel recently. Index funds will also seek other commodities outside the energy sector, Welch said.

“This will also include agricultural commodities, which can lead to some positive activity for the agricultural industry as a whole,” said Welch, who recently discussed market implications at the 2009 Brock Faulkner Cattleman’s Clinic in Bryan.

This activity will affect the cattle market, Welch said. Coupled with declining numbers of cattle across the U.S., Welch said, beef producers can likely expect to see higher prices in 2010.

“We’re reducing numbers as a result of drought over the past two years, and that could put us in a very profitable situation in the future,” he said. “We slaughtered a lot of cows last year and this year, which has exceeded 2008 in some cases.”

Heifer retention rates have also been on the decline, down 2.2% compared to 2008 and the fewest in more than 30 years, Welch said.

“We’re not going to have as big of a production beef plant (number of calves produced) in 2010 as we did this year,” he said. “When the economy increases and supports the demand, in general I think we can predict prices are going to increase next year, and especially going into 2011.”

Meanwhile, Welch said, grain demand could increase substantially in the coming months, coinciding with an economic turnaround and increased demand for energy.

Currently, more than 4 billion bushels of corn are being used for ethanol, and growth is expected to approach 5 billion. He said the nation’s corn crop is projected to be the second-largest on record. However, carryover stocks are going down as a result of the demand for corn from ethanol producers returning to profitability.

“What does that mean if we have a disruption in the corn supply?” Welch said. “We’re riding a razor’s edge between supply and demand reflected in current price volatility.”

He said fertilizer prices may play a major role in how many corn acres are planted next year. Last April the national price for anhydrous ammonia averaged $680 a ton. Welch predicts $430 a ton in 2010, which is the cheapest price since 2005.

“Those are the kinds of prices we need to encourage lots of corn production,” he said.

To receive Welch’s grain market reports, e-mail him at jmwelch@ag.tamu.edu.

Author’s note: There is an accompanying video segment for this report at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GTRDuAlvr0s.

— Release by Texas AgriLife Extension Service.

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