News Update
Dec. 11, 2009

AgWeb.com Features Angus Video

AgDay’s Angus coverage is now being featured on AgWeb.com, a division of Farm Journal Media. The segment airing today features interviews of American Angus Association® leaders discussing the benefits of the breed and its future.

Complete AgDay segments are also available on the American Angus Association’s site, www.angus.org, under “Featured Videos,” as well as the Angus YouTube channel.

AgWeb.com receives more than 350,000 visitors each month, according to Compete.com.

The American Angus Association is the nation’s largest beef organization, serving more than 30,000 members across the United States and Canada. It provides programs and services to farmers, ranchers and others who rely on the power of Angus to produce quality genetics for the beef industry and quality beef for consumers.

For more information about Angus cattle and the American Angus Association’s programs and services, visit www.angus.org.

Positive Breakevens on Retaining Ownership and Opportunities for Cow-Calf Operators

An opportunity to lock in an extra $20-$40 a head on calves being weaned this fall offers cow-calf producers an opportunity not seen in the last two or three years, according to Darrell Mark, an Extension livestock marketing specialist with the University of Nebraska.

Mark said it may make sense for producers to retain ownership of those calves and finish them in Nebraska.

“Feed costs in Nebraska are lower than most places thanks to the ready supply of feed grains and ethanol coproducts like distillers’ grains, plus there are good financing alternatives available in Nebraska feedyards,” Mark said in a news release. “The close proximity to packing plants also results in a savings on transportation costs for most producers.”

Mark is partnering with Galen Erickson, a feedlot specialist with the University of Nebraska, to conduct a webinar on Wednesday, Dec. 16.

The webinar, Retained Ownership Decisions: Advantages of Feeding in Nebraska, will take place at 11:30 a.m. MST (12:30 p.m. CST) and should last a little over an hour.

During the webinar, Erickson and Mark will discuss:

• Evaluating your economic decisions, covering everything from selling, backgrounding to feeding out, and options at a commercial feedyard.
  
• What to consider when selecting a commercial feedyard — from financing to cost of gain to market accessibility.
  
• What you should know about feeding distillers’ grains, including nutrition, performance and cost of gain.

For more information on the webinar, click here or to register in advance, click here.

While preregistration is not required, it will make it easier to join the webinar and allow a reminder e-mail to be sent.

Sponsors include the Nebraska Corn Board and the Nebraska Department of Agriculture, who is coordinating and administering the webinar.

EPA Greenhouse Gas Ruling Could be Devastating to Agriculture

The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) is extremely concerned about the potential impacts that the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) recent greenhouse gas (GHG) ruling could have on agriculture operations. EPA’s decision, announced on Monday, claims that GHG emissions are an endangerment to public health and the environment. This sets the stage for greenhouse regulation under the Clean Air Act (CAA) and would give the EPA unprecedented control over every sector of the U.S. economy.

“It’s premature to issue this kind of finding, especially given the recent controversy surrounding the scientific validity of alleged human contributions to climate change,” said Tamara Thies, NCBA chief environmental counsel. ”Regulation of greenhouse gases should be based on science, and it should be thoughtfully considered and voted on by Congress through a democratic process, not dictated by the EPA.”

The endangerment finding does not itself regulate GHGs; but unless Congress acts, it sets in motion EPA regulation of GHGs from stationary sources and the setting of new source performance standards for GHGs. On Oct. 27, 2009, EPA proposed a rule designed to regulate GHG emissions from sources that emit 25,000 tons per year or more, instead of the statutory 250 tons per year threshold for pollutants which is included in the Clean Air Act. The extent to which EPA can change statutory permitting requirements, however, is unclear. Only time will tell how our federal courts will address citizen suits to force regulation of all sources that emit GHGs in excess of the statutory thresholds. EPA indicated that it also would be developing an approach to regulate GHGs from hundreds of thousands of small operations, including farms and buildings.

While agricultural sources are currently generally not required to obtain permits for greenhouse gas emissions, regulation of GHGs under the CAA may for the first time trigger such regulation. Given the fact that America currently has over 2,000,000 farms, it would be virtually impossible to permit a majority of them. It would also impose massive regulatory compliance costs on producers, which could force many operations out of business.

“Congress never intended for the Clean Air Act to be used for greenhouse gas regulation,” Thies said. “While the Act has done a good job of cleaning up pollutants, it is not adequately equipped to address global climate change. Any attempts to use it for this purpose would be devastating to U.S. agriculture.”

According to the EPA, in 2007, GHG emissions from the entire agriculture sector represented less than 6% of total U.S. GHG emissions in Tg CO2 Eq. At the same time, land use, land use change, and forestry activities resulted in a net carbon soil sequestration of approximately 17.4% of total U.S. CO2 emissions, or 14.9% of total U.S. greenhouse gas emissions.

“Agriculture actually provides a significant net benefit to the climate change equation,” Thies said. “Rather than being subject to overly-burdensome regulations, agriculture should be rewarded for the carbon reductions we provide.”

NCBA submitted comments in opposition to EPA’s proposal in April.

Agriculture Deputy Secretary Merrigan Announces Over 84,000 Rural Families Have Achieved Homeownership Through Recovery Act Funding

Agriculture Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan today announced that 84,021 rural families from throughout the country have become homeowners so far as a result of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) funding provided by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). Merrigan made the announcement while standing on the front porch of a Carlisle, Pa., home that Kelly Hench, a mother of five, purchased in April with ARRA funds.

“Homeownership and access to affordable housing are important to maintaining stable communities, and the Obama administration is committed to ensuring that all Americans have the opportunity for a safe, suitable and affordable place to live,” Merrigan said. “This Recovery Act funding has helped people like Kelly Hench and allowed USDA to meet the overwhelming demand from rural families seeking homeownership.”

Shortly after Hench bought her bi-level house in Carlisle, she converted the lower level into bedrooms for herself and the youngest of her five children. The other children all have their own rooms. Hench is renovating the kitchen and preparing to buy new appliances. She is among more than 2,290 rural Pennsylvania residents who have received home loans as a result of Recovery Act funds during Fiscal Year (FY) 2009.

Earlier in the day, Merrigan attended the Homes Within Reach 2009 Conference, sponsored by the Housing Alliance of Pennsylvania. She highlighted that in fiscal year 2009, USDA Rural Development provided 127,871 loans through its Direct and Guaranteed loan programs, compared to 64,134 loans nationwide in fiscal year 2008. This increase was possible, in part, because of the Recovery Act.

During her remarks to the group, she also underscored the Obama Administration’s commitment to strengthening the nation’s economy through financially responsible housing and homeownership programs, administered through USDA Rural Development. She also discussed the direction of USDA housing policy as well as the challenges and opportunities faced by rural housing providers.

Through Recovery Act funding, USDA Rural Development offers guaranteed and direct single-family-housing loans to eligible rural residents. Down payments are not required for direct and guaranteed loans, and payments for direct loans are based on the borrower’s income. A reasonable credit history is required, and borrowers must have sufficient income to repay the loan. USDA uses strict underwriting standards to assess each borrower’s credit, income and cash flow. As a result, this single-family-housing loan program has a low delinquency and default rate.

USDA received $11 billion through the Recovery Act to provide guaranteed and direct home loans for rural Americans. Funding for direct home loans is still available. For information on how to apply for USDA homeownership or rental housing assistance, contact any Rural Development state or area office. A list of these offices is available at www.rurdev.usda.gov.

USDA Rural Development administers and manages more than 40 housing, business, and community infrastructure and facility programs through a network of 6,100 employees located in 500 national, state and local offices. These programs are designed to improve the economic stability of rural communities, businesses, residents, farmers and ranchers and improve the quality of life in rural America. Rural Development has an existing portfolio of more than $125 billion in loans and loan guarantees.

— Release provided by USDA.

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