News Update
Jan. 21, 2010

National Western Coverage, Videos Online

Did you miss the National Western Stock Show (NWSS) last week? View Angus show results, videos and photos from Denver at www.angus.org.

The American Angus Association web site includes complete results and photos, as well as videos of the super-point Roll of Victory (ROV) bull and female shows, and the junior Angus show.

The Dakota Cow-Calf Clinic Can Be Viewed Online

If subzero temperatures and snowfall prevented cattle producers from participating in the North Dakota State University (NDSU) Extension Service’s Dakota Cow-calf Clinic earlier this month, they can view it online.

Go to http://134.129.203.38/tcs/?a=5981 - page:conferenceList&status:recorded&pageNumber:2 and scroll down to “Cow / Calf Meeting 7 Jan 10 10:30 AM.” Then press the “play” button. The other option is to “download” the session. If the meeting isn’t listed, do a search at the site for “cow calf meeting.” The program lasts about two hours.

The clinic was an interactive videoconference broadcast from several sites throughout the state.

Clinic topics and speakers include:

• Futures Trends in the Beef Industry — John Dhuyvetter, NDSU area Extension livestock systems specialist at the North Central Research Extension Center, Minot. He discusses the direction the cattle industry is headed, cattle numbers, low prices, DNA technology, beef food safety, the increasing age of cow-calf producers and niche marketing (natural, grass-fed, organic).
  
• Controlling Costs for a Beef Cow Herd — Steve Metzger, North Dakota Farm Business Management. He reviews current-year cow-calf budgets and explains where and why cow-calf production costs have increased. He also benchmarks these costs, discusses areas for input cost control and provides producers with advice on fine-tuning financial decisions based on this information.
  
• Market Outlook for Beef Cattle — Tim Petry, NDSU Extension livestock economist. He discusses cattle herd numbers, which are at the lowest point in years; low cattle prices; the poor economy; and what the future holds for the cow-calf producer.
  

— Release by NDSU.

Congressional Leaders Urge Administration to Maintain Pressure on Taiwan to Fix Beef

Ways and Means Chairman Charles Rangel (D-NY), Ranking Member Dave Camp (R-MI), Trade Subcommittee Chairman Sander Levin (D-MI) and Ranking Member Kevin Brady (R-TX) today expressed frustration with Taiwan’s undoing of an October 2009 bilateral protocol regarding market access for U.S. beef and beef product exports and commended the Administration for suspending talks with Taiwan under the U.S.-Taiwan Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA).

On Jan. 5, lawmakers in Taiwan voted to ban some U.S. beef products, a move that reverses the agreement reached between the U.S. and Taiwan in October.

“The January 5, 2010, vote of Legislative Yuan will not only have a significant effect on exports of U.S. beef and beef products to Taiwan, it has broader implications for U.S.-Taiwan trade relations,” the members state in a letter to U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk.

The members also requested consultations before any such discussions reconvened.

“At this time we do not believe that the United States should move forward on these talks until Taiwan is once again compliant with its obligations under the Protocol,” the letter concludes.

To view the letter, click here: http://republicans.waysandmeans.house.gov/UploadedFiles/2009-01-20_Taiwan_Beef.pdf.

— Release by American Meat Institution.

K-State’s Beef Cattle Institute to Host 2010 International Symposium on Beef Cattle Welfare

Amid consumers’ growing interest in how their food is produced, Kansas State University (K-State) Beef Cattle Institute will host the 2010 International Symposium on Beef Cattle Welfare May 19-21 on the K-State campus in Manhattan.

“Beef cattle well-being is the foundation to any beef cattle operation,” said Dan Thomson, K-State associate professor and director of the Beef Cattle Institute. “Ranchers and farmers strive to provide the best care possible for their animals. Today, 97.4% of Americans eat meat. This symposium is an example of how the beef industry and its researchers continue to find new advances in animal well-being for the cattle they raise for beef.”

“The beef industry has nothing to hide from the American public. Nobody cares more for the well-being of cattle than the 700,000 beef producers who spend their lives raising them,” Thomson said. “This symposium will provide everyone who is involved in the beef cattle industry — from producer to veterinarian to feedyard manager and transport specialist to processor — the opportunity to have constructive discussion on well-being issues facing our industry. The speakers we have lined up for this are the leading experts in the field. Their depth, range and unique focus will provide all attendees with networking and problem-solving opportunities.”

Some of those speakers include Temple Grandin, a Colorado State University professor of animal science who has earned a reputation for not only designing livestock handling systems, but for her in-depth understanding of animal behavior. Joseph Stookey, an applied ethologist and sustainable beef systems research expert from the University of Saskatchewan; Mike Siemens, leader, animal welfare and husbandry for Cargill Animal Protein; Janice Swanson, director of animal welfare at Michigan State University (MSU); Glynn Tonsor, assistant professor of agricultural economics at MSU; Ron Gill, professor and Extension livestock specialist for Texas AgriLife Extension Service; Tom Noffsinger, a cattle handling expert and beef cattle veterinarian; and others will speak.

Conference presentations will include such topics as answering public questions about beef production; how to set up and implement an auditing system in beef cattle operations; how can the beef industry better communicate to governmental entities; teaching beef cattle welfare in the field; analgesic pharmacology and management of pain associated with dehorning, castration and lameness; management of culled dairy cows; animal welfare at the beef packing level; how do we benchmark animal welfare progress in our industries; what are the economics associated with welfare; and more.

A similar symposium hosted by K-State in 2008 drew about 700 on-site and webcast participants from 31 states and 4 countries.

For those who are unable to attend in person, a live webcast option is available again this year.

The conference will be preceded by a half-day session on emergency preparedness for those involved in the beef industry. That session, which begins at 1 p.m., May 19, in Weber Arena, will cover such topics as handling loose cattle after an accident; moving downed animals, humane safety and handling fractious animals; humane euthanasia techniques and choices in the field and emergency response techniques for wounded cattle.

The early registration fee of $30 for the half-day Emergency Preparedness Session and $100 for the on-site symposium is due by April 1. Early registration for the live webcast at an individual’s location is $100 and $500 for a live webcast group. The fee covers participation in all symposium sessions, one lunch, refreshment breaks and symposium proceedings.

More information, including online registration, is available on the web: http://www.isbcw.beefcattleinstitute.org/.

— Release by K-State Research and Extension.

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