News Update
June 21, 2010

Statement from NCBA President Steve Foglesong Regarding USDA Proposed Rule on Livestock Marketing

The following is a statement from National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) President Steve Foglesong regarding the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration’s (GIPSA) plans for a proposed rule (as required by the 2008 Farm Bill and through existing authority under the Packers & Stockyards Act) regarding livestock and poultry marketing practices.

“While we’re still looking at the details of the proposal, in general, we have serious concerns with any efforts to increase government intrusion in the marketplace. Cattle producers support free-market principles, and we deserve the right to enter into private negotiations between willing buyers and sellers — just like other sectors of American business. NCBA will fight to protect the use of contract and alternative marketing arrangements in the cattle industry to satisfy the demands of our consumers.

“We rely on federal regulators to ensure that the marketplace is free from anti-trust, collusion, price fixing, and other illegal activities that could damage the viability of the market and interfere with market signals. Multiple studies have shown that the current regulations in place have been successful in achieving these goals in the cattle market. NCBA has been a long-time leader in advocating for full enforcement of the Packers & Stockyards Act and tools, such as mandatory price reporting, that improve the efficiency and transparency of the marketplace.

“At the end of the day, we’re not just cattle producers, we’re beef producers; and the success of our business relies on our ability to meet specific consumer demand at the local retail meatcase, while at the same time get rewarded for the value we add to our cattle.

“We encourage USDA to closely involve producer input throughout every step of the rule-making process to make sure the final rule supports commerce that’s fair, open and transparent without undue government intrusion that would hinder producers’ ability to market cattle when, how and where they want to.”

The proposed rule is expected to be published in the Federal Register on June 22. NCBA plans to submit detailed comments during the 60-day comment period.

— Release by NCBA.

Ag Groups Intervene In EPA Lawsuit

Five agricultural, agribusiness and municipal groups, including the Kansas Livestock Association (KLA), have filed to intervene in the Friends of the Kaw (FOK) nutrient runoff lawsuit against the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). KLA, the League of Kansas Municipalities, Kansas Corn Growers Association, Kansas Agribusiness Retailers Association and Kansas Cooperative Council sent a letter to EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson last week stating their intent and calling the FOK action “groundless.”

On June 2, FOK filed a notice of intent to sue EPA for failing to enforce federal water quality standards for nutrients, such as nitrogen and phosphorus, in Kansas. The concern of the intervening group is EPA would use the FOK action to impose extremely restrictive and scientifically unjustified nutrient regulations on Kansas farmers and ranchers. The letter stated the group’s hope that EPA does not try to impose a one-size-fits-all nutrient criteria, which would be indefensible and inappropriate, as such approaches would squander limited state and local resources and suspend other, more important, habitat restoration efforts.

— Release by KLA.

Stockgrowers Plan Trip to South America

The South Dakota Stockgrowers Association is taking reservations for an exciting trip to travel across Chile and Argentina this fall, from Oct. 12 to Oct. 22. Reservations for the tour can be made no later than July 15 by calling Leslie at 605-341-0744.

“This trip was built specifically for us to see what farming and ranching is really like in another part of the world and it’s a very unique opportunity,” said Silvia Christen of the SD Stockgrowers. “We’ll be traveling with other ranchers from South Dakota, and we have a Spanish speaking tour guide to help us get around the country and the language.”

The tour starts off in Santiago, Chile, with three days of tours to wineries, cattle feeding operations, ranches, the shipping docks at the Port of Valparaiso, and some time to explore the city of Santiago. From there, the tour crosses over the Andes Mountains into Argentina.

Participants will spend four days enjoying tours of grass-fed and conventional beef operations, local wineries, grain elevators, a farming operation, and tour the Cactus Feeders feedlot. The tour ends with a few days around historic Buenos Aires, Argentina, with a Tango dance show, tours of this enormous city, and a trip to the Liniers Cattle Auction, which boasts some of the largest cattle auctions in the world, five days a week.

“The trip is open to anyone, and there’s only a few weeks left to make your reservations,” said Christen. “Our travel agent can make arrangements for anyone from anywhere in the U.S.

For more information about this trip visit www.southdakotastockgrowers.org or call Silvia Christen at 605-342-049.

— Release by South Dakota Stockgrowers Association.

ARS and New Mexico Scientists Take a Long Look at Livestock and Locoweed

Keeping livestock away from poisonous locoweed during seasons when it’s a forage favorite is one way ranchers can protect their animals and their profits, according to a 20-year collaboration by Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists and their university partners.

The ARS researchers teamed up with New Mexico State University (NMSU) scientists to study locoweed poisoning in U.S. livestock and devise ways to minimize or prevent losses. When livestock graze on locoweed, the plant’s toxic alkaloids can sicken and sometimes kill the animals, which can cost U.S. producers millions of dollars every year.

The ARS-NMSU collaboration started in 1990 at the request of New Mexico livestock ranchers. The research involved identifying fungal species that produce locoweed toxins, assessing toxin level variations, finding biomarkers that could help pinpoint toxicity levels in animals that had consumed locoweed, assessing the effect of locoweed toxins on animal reproduction and livestock grazing preferences, and evaluating herbicide and biological control of the weed.

The ARS-NMSU team assembled a set of grazing management guidelines based on the seasonal availability of locoweed and more benign forage options, such as warm-season grasses. The researchers recommended restricting livestock access to locoweed in spring and fall, when it is relatively more palatable than dormant warm-season grasses. During these critical periods, ranchers could preserve locoweed-free pastures for livestock grazing or else create them with appropriate herbicide treatments. Livestock could resume grazing in locoweed-infested pastures in summer, when green grass is abundant.

The scientists also suggested that supplemental nutrients could be used to tempt livestock away from locoweeds when other forage is low in nutrient quality. In some cases, using conditioned food aversion techniques to train cattle and horses to spurn locoweed might be appropriate.

ARS is the principal intramural scientific research agency of the USDA. Results from this research, which were published in the journal Rangelands, support the USDA priority of promoting international food security.

— Release by ARS News Service.

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