News Update
May 6, 2010

Ford County Yard Joins CAB Team

Like all feedlot managers, Danny Herrmann lives and breathes cattle. From farming and ranching to the sale barn business and the family’s Ford County Feed Yard southeast of Dodge City, Kan., Herrmann understands the beef industry.

It takes time and experience to learn what works, but honest communication with producers is the main key to everyone’s success, he says. “We work closely with our customers, providing as much feedback on their calves as we can.”

The information available has increased recently, thanks to a new level of carcass data the yard now obtains on Angus-type cattle. The 50,000-head feedyard has signed on with the world’s largest beef brand, as a Certified Angus Beef LLC (CAB) partner. Read more.

Secretary Vilsack Reappoints Almanza as FSIS Administrator

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced today the appointment of Alfred Almanza as U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Administrator of Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), overseeing the regulation of meat, poultry and processed egg products. Almanza has been in a limited term appointment as Administrator of FSIS since July 2007. In this position, Almanza leads FSIS and its more than 9,500 employees in their mission of protecting public health through food safety. The appointment is subject to final approval from the Office of Personnel Management.

“During his 30-plus years of service in FSIS, Al Almanza has worked tirelessly to fulfill the agency’s critically important mission — keeping the public safe from foodborne illness,” Vilsack said. “I know he will continue to do an outstanding job managing a large agency and helping USDA meet the food safety challenges of the 21st century.”

Since July 2007, Almanza has made several critical changes to agency policy to better ensure mission success and effective use of agency resources. He has worked hard to foster productive relationships with the National Joint Council of Food Inspection Locals and other public health partners.

— Adapted from a USDA release.

Visiting Korean Team Experiences California Beef Tour

A pair of influential bloggers, a meat buyer for a major Korean retailer and five winners of a contest conducted in cooperation with the retailer constituted a delegation from South Korea that recently experienced a checkoff-sponsored beef industry tour in California. Highlights included a chance to see the ranching operation at Yolo Land and Cattle Co. near Woodland, Calif., and a hands-on evening of culinary education in the heart of California wine country.

Bloggers are an important audience as they carry great influence with Korean consumers. This group’s two “power bloggers” are widely read by Korean consumers, and their coverage of the U.S. tour will greatly enhance its impact and provide very positive publicity for U.S. beef. One of these blogger’s sites, on a typical day, will be visited by up to 20,000 people.

One of the visiting bloggers was also invited to the United States in 2008. When her coverage of that visit was picked up by Naver — Korea’s largest search portal site — the daily viewership surged from 20,000 to more than 60,000.

The five contest winners qualified for the tour by purchasing U.S. beef from Korea’s E-Mart stores in a promotion held earlier this year. They were chosen from more than 4,000 consumers who entered the contest and made a qualifying purchase. The contest began Jan. 14, just one day after E-Mart began featuring U.S. beef items in their main page advertisements.

“E-mart is the largest retailer in Korea, and we had great success working with them on this promotion,” says Min Park, U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF) Korea senior public relations manager. “Customers were very excited to have a chance to visit the United States and learn more about its beef production system, so the contest gave E-Mart exactly the kind of momentum it needed to aggressively market U.S. beef.”

At the Yolo Land and Cattle Co. ranch, the team got a firsthand look at an award-winning black Angus operation that produces both purebred seedstock and a commercial cattle herd. Rancher Casey Stone led the group across much of the operation’s diverse landscape and explained many key aspects of the ranch’s success, including its cattle-handling methods and marketing strategies, rotational grazing system, vegetation management plan and habitat preservation practices.

Along with his wife, Angela, and father, Hank, a founding partner of the ranch, Stone prepared a delicious ribeye steak lunch for the group and answered many questions about managing a successful cattle operation. Yolo Land and Cattle Co. is widely recognized for its conservation practices and commitment to the environment. The ranch won the National Cattlemen’s Foundation’s 2007 Environmental Stewardship Award. The ranch also hosts many youth groups and educational tours, offering visitors an opportunity to learn about cattle production and rangeland management.

Observing the Stone family’s commitment to raising cattle in a humane and environmentally responsible manner was an eye-opening experience for the Korean consumer team. It also made a strong impression on Sang Kyu Kim, the E-Mart meat buyer who accompanied the group.

“I am so impressed with the care these owners provide for their cattle,” he said. “This is something we (Koreans) don’t often get to see. But when we see this for ourselves, it gives us a very good feeling about U.S. beef.”

Prior to the ranch tour, the consumer team visited Ramekins Culinary School in Sonoma, Calif. Chef Seth Thornton led the group in a hands-on cooking exercise in which they prepared a four-course meal that included a seared beef tenderloin appetizer and a main course of stuffed roasted flank steak. The menu also incorporated many fresh vegetables and cheeses produced in the area and local wine pairings. The event was a great opportunity for the team to see — and taste — the unique characteristics of high-quality U.S. beef that make for an unforgettable dining experience.

The group concluded its U.S. tour in San Francisco, visiting several retail outlets and restaurants to observe the domestic merchandising and marketing of U.S. beef. Both bloggers will be posting feature articles recapping the trip, while USMEF and E-Mart are planning to utilize the visitors’ observations and experiences in support of future U.S. beef promotions.

Park noted that the tour — funded with support from the Beef Checkoff Program — is an extension of the U.S. beef industry’s “To Trust” campaign, which has greatly improved the image of U.S. beef in Korea and helped regain consumer interest and confidence. She said that while some lingering doubts and misperceptions about U.S. beef remain, the industry has made great strides in this market in recent months. Recent export data show the U.S. share of Korea’s imported beef market has risen above 33% — more than double the market share from two years ago — with the U.S. gaining significant ground on market share leader Australia.

For more information about foreign marketing efforts funded by your beef checkoff investment, visit MyBeefCheckoff.com.

— Release by the Cattlemen’s Beef Board.

Greenhouse-gas Legislation Concerns U.S. Farmers

The theme of the 2010 Breimyer Seminar will be “Greenhouse Gas Regulation: Boom or Bust for Agriculture?” It will be May 27 on the Columbia campus of the University of Missouri (MU).

“ ‘Cap-and-trade,’ the common name for the legislation to control greenhouse gas, may have a big impact on farming,” said Ron Plain, MU Extension economist and seminar organizer. “Farms can be a source and a potential sink for greenhouse gases.”

The House of Representatives has passed a bill containing major regulations of greenhouse gases. However, the Senate has not acted on its bill.

If Congress does not act, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is poised to implement restrictions. “This adds urgency to the debate,” Plain said.

The program in the Reynolds Alumni Center opens with an “Overview of Greenhouse Gas Issues in Agriculture” by Ray Massey, extension economist with the MU Commercial Agriculture Program. He will be followed by Seth Meyer, research assistant professor at the MU Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute (FAPRI). He will present the FAPRI bioenergy baseline.

After lunch, David Miller, director of research at the Iowa Farm Bureau Federation, will explain “Ag Carbon Credits: The AgraGate Experience and Lessons Learned.”

Pat Westhoff, co-director of MU FAPRI, will update the legislative options being debated in Congress. Westhoff has analyzed options for congressional committees.

Plain wraps up the program with “Pros and Cons of Accounting for Indirect Land Use Change.”

“Agriculture produces about 8% of the U.S. greenhouse gases. Half of that comes from soil management and half from livestock,” Plain said. “Growing plants sequester carbon dioxide, one of the greenhouse gases. This may offer farmers an opportunity for payments.”

The $30 seminar fee includes lunch and parking. Details and registration are available from Joyce White at whitej@missouri.edu or 573-882-6533. Pre-registration deadline is May 20.

The Breimyer Seminar, an MU tradition in policy analysis, provides a forum for discussion of vital issues. The series was founded by Harold Breimyer, professor of agricultural economics. He served in the USDA during the New Deal before teaching at the MU College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources. He left an endowment for the annual seminars.

The program has time for attendees to ask questions and offer ideas.

— Release by MU Cooperative Media Group.

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