News Update
May 25, 2010

NCBA, Federation of State Beef Councils Meet With USDA

Today, Tuesday, May 25, at 2 p.m. EDT, representatives of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) and the Federation of State Beef Councils are meeting with U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) officials to discuss NCBA’s proposed governance structure. In an effort to maintain transparency, a press conference call will be shortly after to review the outcome of the meeting. Illinois cattle producer and NCBA President Steve Foglesong and Scott George, NCBA Federation Division Chair and Wyoming dairy/beef producer, will be the featured speakers during the conference call, the results of which will be available through various media channels.

The previously scheduled meeting is subsequent to a letter from U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack to Foglesong expressing the need for additional clarity regarding the proposed governance structure.

— Adapted from release by NCBA.

USDA Identifies Gaps, Releases Maps Which Detail U.S. Local Meat Processing Facilities

The USDA today released a preliminary study revealing existing gaps in the regional food systems regarding the availability of slaughter facilities to small meat and poultry producers. The study by USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is a first attempt to identify areas in the U.S. where small livestock and poultry producers are concentrated but may not have access to a nearby slaughter facility.

“To support consumer demand for locally produced agricultural products, meat producers need to have access to local or regional slaughter facilities, and the study we are releasing today shows that there is often a shortage of facilities needed to bring food to market,” said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. “The ‘Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food’ initiative is working to address various shortcomings in the food supply chain on behalf of our country’s producers and consumers. If there is a stronger, closer link between production and consumption, there is often an economic benefit.”

The data creates a county-by-county view of the continental United States, indicating the concentration of small farms raising cattle, hogs and pigs, and chicken, and also noting the location of nearby state slaughter facilities and small and very small federal slaughter establishments. The USDA defines “small slaughter establishments” as those having between 10 and 499 employees, and “very small slaughter establishments” as having fewer than 10 employees or less than $2.5 million in annual sales. For the purpose of the study, small livestock and poultry producers are those who have annual sales of $250,000 or less.

The presentation, “Slaughter Availability to Small Livestock and Poultry Producers — Maps,” may be found at: www.fsis.usda.gov/PDF/KYF_maps-050410_FOR_RELEASE.pdf.

— Adapted from release by USDA.

AMI Releases Video Addressing Questions about the Color of Ground Beef

The American Meat Institute (AMI) today unveiled a new educational video about the color of ground beef found in today’s meatcase. The video, featuring Betsy Booren, director of scientific affairs of the AMI Foundation, is the sixth installment of AMI’s new “Ask the Meat Scientist” series.

The diverse choices in today’s meatcase generate many different questions from consumers. Sometimes ground beef may appear red on the outside, but brown on the inside due to packaging methods. Booren explains in the video the simple explanation for this: oxygen.

“Beef comes from the muscle of an animal. In its natural state — when it is not exposed to any oxygen — it appears purple,” she notes. “But when it is exposed to at least a 20% or higher oxygen level of air, the protein responsible for meat color, called ‘myoglobin,’ is forced to bind with the oxygen present and causes the meat color to turn red. Also, when the meat is exposed to no or less than 1% of oxygen gas, the meat color will change to a brownish shade.” 
 

Many retail outlets package their ground beef on a Styrofoam tray covered with plastic wrap, which is known as “overwrap packaging.” Because some oxygen is able to penetrate the plastic wrap it can make the outside of the meat appear bright red.

Booren notes in the video that some consumers ask if beef’s red color comes from food coloring, but this certainly isn’t the case. “The U.S. Department of Agriculture inspects all ground beef and food coloring is not allowed to be added. Color is simply a natural interaction between beef and the oxygen in our everyday environment,” she says.

To watch the short video, visit AMI’s YouTube channel, The Meat News Network, at www.YouTube.com/MeatNewsNetwork.
 

For more questions about beef color, packaging or product dates, visit www.meatmattersinfo.org/ to download AMI’s free brochures.

— Release by AMI.

Inspect Stock Trailers Before Transporting Cattle

With spring work winding down in many areas of the state, beef producers are starting to bring cattle out to summer pastures.

For producers who don’t pasture cattle close to home or don’t herd their cattle cross-country to green grass, a stock trailer is an integral part of this spring ritual.

“Because the safety of the cattle and of the producers is at stake, it is important to take a few minutes to inspect the trailer and look for potential problems before loading cattle,” North Dakota State University (NDSU) Extension Service beef cattle specialist Carl Dahlen says.

Read more in the May Angus Beef Bulletin EXTRA. If you aren’t signed up to receive this electronic newsletter, you can do so at www.angusbeefbulletin.com/extra/about.html. (E-mail shermel@angusjournal.com if you would like to see a sample issue first.)

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