News Update
March 5, 2010

2010 National Junior Angus Show Set for Denver

Angus enthusiasts will head to Denver, Colo., July 11-17 for the world’s largest single-breed beef cattle show — the 2010 National Junior Angus Show (NJAS). The Colorado, Kansas and Nebraska Angus and junior Angus associations will sponsor the summer highlight, themed “Rush to the Rockies.”

Read the news release from the American Angus Association, which includes a tentative schedule, on www.angus.org.

World Ag Expo Seminars Now Available Online

A sample of the more than 60 ag seminars held at World Ag Expo are now available online at WorldAgExpo.com courtesy of CaliforniaAgNet.com, the official webcast provider of the Expo.

Each year, the three-day Expo shares information with attendees on its 2.6 million square feet of show grounds. Attendees visit the expo to learn about new products and technologies shaping the agricultural industry. Eight categories of seminars were hosted at the Expo in 2010, including irrigation, general agriculture, international trade, beef production, world ag women, hay and forage, dairy and education.

Planning for World Ag Expo 2011 is already in the works. The 44th annual expo, scheduled for Feb. 8-10 and themed Tools for Agri-Business, will introduce innovative and interesting agricultural products to the global community in an effort to provide solutions for farmers and ranchers looking for new technologies. 

— Adapted from news release provided by the World Ag Expo.

FDA Survey Finds More Americans Read Information on Food Labels

A majority of consumers read food labels and are increasingly aware of the link between good nutrition and reducing the risk of disease, according to the latest survey of dietary habits released March 2 by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

The 2008 U.S. Health and Diet Survey of more than 2,500 adults from all 50 states and the District of Columbia found that, for the first time, more than half of those surveyed “often” read a label the first time they buy a product. Yet, while the number of consumers reading a food label the first time they buy a product has risen, consumers are skeptical of industry claims such as “low fat,” “high fiber” or “cholesterol free” on the front of packages.

The 2008 survey is the 10th such survey since 1982. It was based on a random-digit-dialing telephone survey weighted for the number of phone lines and adults in a household, gender, race/ethnicity and education. Calls for the survey were made between Sept. 6, 2008, and Dec. 7, 2008. The overall 95% confidence level is plus or minus 2 percentage points.

For more information:

• Fact Sheet: Key Findings from 2002 and 2008 U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Health and Diet Survey
  
• Consumer Updates: Survey Shows Gains in Food-Label Use, Health/Diet Awareness
  
• 2008 Health and Diet Survey

Promising New Research Shared at Annual Beef Safety Summit

The essential oils in orange peel and pulp kill E. coli O157:H7 and salmonella, according to research presented at the 2010 Beef Industry Safety Summit. This ongoing study is looking at these natural byproducts, created by making juice, as a potential feed ingredient for cattle. More than 200 experts from every sector of the beef industry met in Dallas this week to share research and identify farm-to-fork solutions for improving beef safety.

Developing on-farm safety solutions is one area of focus at the eighth annual Safety Summit, hosted by the Beef Industry Food Safety Council (BIFSCo). Since its founding in 1997, BIFSCo has led the implementation of important postharvest safety innovations. Adding safety hurdles at the preharvest level is the next step in advancing U.S. beef safety.

“Research continues to find new ways beef producers can make the food chain even safer and reduce the risk of foodborne illnesses. This is important work, and it’s why leaders from all segments of beef production gather at this Summit each year to discuss the latest research, share their best practices and set goals for the future,” said James Reagan, chairman of BIFSCo and senior vice president of research, education and innovation for the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA), a contractor to the Beef Checkoff Program.

The citrus research is one of 13 safety studies funded by cattle farmers and ranchers in 2009. Lead researcher Todd Callaway with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Agricultural Research Service (ARS) found that dietary orange peel and pulp reduced salmonella populations in the intestinal tract of sheep. Callaway expects the next phase of the study to yield similar results for reducing E. coli O157:H7.

This year’s summit also included sessions about traceability, recall lessons and subprimal interventions. First held in 2003, the Beef Industry Safety Summit has emerged as the most important meeting of the year for collaboratively discussing solutions to existing and emerging beef safety issues.

“We know that the number of beef recalls has declined in recent years, but the folks at this meeting remain committed to eliminating E. coli O157:H7 from the food supply,” said Reagan.

— News release provided by the Cattlemen’s Beef Promotion and Research Board.

K-State Beef Cattle Institute Hosts International Symposium on Beef Cattle Welfare

Amid consumers’ growing interest in how their food is produced, Kansas State University’s (K-State’s) 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. 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,” said Dan Thomson, K-State associate professor and director of the Beef Cattle Institute.

“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,” Thomson said. “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 overall 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;
  
• Glynn Tonsor, assistant professor of agricultural economics at Michigan State;
  
• Ron Gill, professor and Extension livestock specialist for Texas AgriLife Extension Service; and
  
• Tom Noffsinger, a cattle handling expert and beef cattle veterinarian.
  

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 the beef industry can 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 to benchmark animal welfare progress in our industries; and the economics associated with welfare.

A similar symposium hosted by K-State in 2008 drew about 700 on-site and webcast participants from 31 states and four 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 at www.isbcw.beefcattleinstitute.org/.

— Adapted from news release provided by the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association.

— Compiled by Shauna Rose Hermel, editor, Angus Productions Inc.