News Update
Dec. 6, 2010

2011 Kansas Angus Futurity Schedule Changes

The date for the Kansas Angus Association (KAA) annual meeting and banquet has changed to Saturday, Jan. 22, 2011. The KAA will not hold a Futurity Show & Sale in 2011. The meetings, educational presentations and banquet will take place Saturday, Jan. 22. The judging contest and junior show will take place as previously announced on Sunday, Jan. 23. Watch for for the new schedule and information in upcoming E-Updates, online at www.kansasangus.org and in the January 2011 Kansas Angus News on the featured educational presentations planned for all Angus producers.

— Release by KAA.

Statement from NCBA Chief Economist Gregg Doud on U.S., Korea Trade Deal 

“It is encouraging to see the United States and Korea one step closer to a working free trade agreement that will create jobs and increase the profitability of America’s cattlemen and women. For too long, we have missed opportunities to obtain a competitive advantage in Korea by sitting on the sidelines while our competitors complete deals.

“First and foremost, we thank Senator Max Baucus for his unwavering efforts to reopen the Korean marketplace to U.S. beef in 2008. Because of his commitment, the market potential for U.S. beef is nothing short of phenomenal. Since the market reopened, sales have grown rapidly and should exceed $500 million this year, making Korea the fourth largest buyer of U.S. beef. Without his commitment, I am confident we would not be nearing the passage of this free trade agreement. While we support continuing efforts to obtain full market access, it is imperative we act quickly to prevent our competitors from having the upper hand. 

We must remember that this is not over. Congress must ratify this agreement and should do so quickly. If Australia beats us to the signing table, they would have a 2.67% tariff advantage over U.S. beef for the next 15 years. When this agreement is finally signed, sealed and delivered, it would phase out Korea’s 40% tariff on beef imports. We are talking about $325 million in tariff reductions annually once fully implemented. We thank the President and his administration for their efforts and we look forward to working with them to urge Congress to ratify this free trade agreement. This is the beef industry’s stimulus package.” 

— Release by the National Cattlemen’s Beef Assocaiton (NCBA).

USMEF Statement on U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement

Friday’s announcement by President Obama that negotiators for the United States and South Korea have reached consensus on their free trade agreement (FTA) is very welcome news for U.S. red meat producers, processors and exporters. The U.S. red meat industry will reap significant benefits under the FTA from the gradual elimination of duties on pork and beef exports to Korea. 

“I would like to take this opportunity to personally congratulate the U.S. negotiators for their dedication and commitment to pursuing these discussions to a successful conclusion,” said U.S. Meat and Export Federation (USMEF) President and CEO Philip Seng. 

Seng also acknowledged the leadership of Montana Sen. Max Baucus in achieving the resumption of beef exports to Korea in 2008. Noting the strong recovery that has occurred in beef exports since 2008, Seng said that Senator Baucus’s continued commitment to expanding access to the Korean market has been critical to the success the beef industry has experienced there during the past two years. 

USMEF looks forward to working closely with Korean importers, foodservice and retailers as well as consumers to provide the high-quality products they enjoy from the United States. This agreement provides a good opportunity for U.S. agriculture and is great news for Korea’s consumers.

Through the first nine months of 2010, the United States has exported 81,866 metric tons (180.5 million pounds) of beef valued at $383.8 million to South Korea — an increase of 136% in volume and 181% in value vs. the same period in 2009. Pork exports to Korea are down about 17% year-over-year, but still total 64,209 metric tons (141.6 million pounds) valued at $136.5 million.

— Release by USMEF.

OSU Extension Offers New Farm Finance Workshop for Women

An intensive farm finance workshop for women will be offered by Ohio State University (OSU) Extension in Knox, Ross, Wood and Erie counties in early 2011.

The “Farm Finance for Women” workshop addresses cash flow, balance sheet and income statement development, Quicken basics for farm recordkeeping, and benchmarking. The goals of the workshop are to help participants:

• Become more aware of resources available to assist farmers with financial analysis and recordkeeping.
• Gain a better understanding of their farm business’s financial position, increasing their ability to assist in making educated management decisions.
• Use recordkeeping as a resource for their whole farm decision-making process instead of solely for tax purposes.
• Increase their knowledge of using Quicken to organize farm records.
• Prepare and analyze balance sheets.
• Improve their recordkeeping system.

“This workshop is designed to be a ‘next step’ for women who have participated in Annie’s Project,” a risk-management program for farm women, said Julia Woodruff, OSU Extension educator and co-coordinator of the workshops. “But you don’t have to be an Annie’s Project graduate to participate.” The Farm Finance for Women workshop will provide a more in-depth study of the financial risk related to agriculture and teach tools to increase women’s risk-management skills. The program includes hands-on activities and homework.

The program is a pilot project funded by the North Central Risk Management Education Center, which is supported by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture.

The fee to participate is $50 per person. Participants will receive “Money Talk: A Financial Guide for Women,” a 192-page manual published by Rutgers Cooperative Extension, as well as “Computerized Farm Record Keeping with Quicken,” a bulletin from OSU Extension, and other materials.

Seating is limited; those interested in participating are encouraged to sign up soon. The workshops are scheduled for 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. in:

• Knox County on Wednesday evenings, Jan. 19-Feb. 9, 2011. Contact John Barker at 740-397-0401 or barker.41@osu.edu.
• Ross County on Tuesday evenings, Feb. 1-22. Contact Dave Mangione at 740-702-3209 or mangione.1@osu.edu.
• Wood County on Wednesday evenings, Feb. 9-23 (workshop will be completed in three classes). Contact Doris Herringshaw at 419-345-9050 or herringshaw.1@osu.edu.
• Erie County on Thursday evenings, Feb. 17-March 10. Contact Julia Nolan Woodruff at 419-627-7631 or woodruff.94@osu.edu.

— Release by OSU Extension.

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