News Update
March 21, 2011

Ohio State’s Wheat Production Workshop is March 31 in Custar

Ohio State University will offer its hands-on Wheat Production Workshop from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. March 31 at the Northwest Agricultural Research Station, Custar, Ohio.

“As a result of attending this workshop, participants will be equipped to accurately determine wheat pests and recommend controls,” Alan Sundermeier, OSU Extension educator, said about the benefits of the event. “Also, current fertility, crop production and genetic practices will be discussed.”

The registration fee is $50, which includes lunch and materials. Deadline for registering is March 24; spots are limited, so be sure to register on time.

Further information about the program is available in the API Virtual Library Calendar of Upcoming Events.

— Adapted from a release by the OSU College of Food, Agriculture and Environmental Sciences.

Inflation in Developing Countries Could Have Worldwide Effect

Inflation in the United States has begun to creep higher but is still in the 2% range. However, inflation in countries such as China, India and Brazil is significantly higher — in the 4%-6% range. Does this mean we should be smiling rather than complaining? North Carolina State University (NCSU) economist Mike Walden responds.

“It does put our inflation rate in perspective,” he says. “We are seeing inflation … in these developing countries like China, India and Brazil moving ahead much more rapidly. One of the reasons is that, if you look at what is really going up in price — things like selected food items and energy — those items are much more relatively important in those developing countries. That is, they take up a bigger part of consumers’ budgets there than they do in our country. And so you are going to have a bigger transmission, if you will, of inflation through them.

“But there are other concerns here,” he continues.

Higher inflation rates in other countries can affect the United States in terms of world trade, Walden says. If, for example, inflation is higher in China than in the United States, that makes the value of our dollar more competitive and could help increase sales of our products to China.

“China is actually moving very aggressively in trying to contain inflation,” Walden says. “They are actually imposing price controls. We tried that in the ’70s, and it didn’t work. We will have to see if it does with China.”

— Release by NCSU Extension.

March EXTRA mailing today

The March Angus Beef Bulletin EXTRA, API’s electronic supplement to the Angus Beef Bulletin emails today. If you’re not signed up and want to be, send an email with “subscribe” in the subject line.

World Beef Expo Named a 2011 Super-Point ROV Show

The American Angus Association Board of Directors has added the World Beef Expo to its 2011 Super-Point Roll of Victory (ROV) Angus show roster.

The 19th Annual World Beef Expo will be the first ROV show added to the schedule since the Board voted last year to introduce a sixth, special show to the ROV season. The Board of Directors will determine the sixth additional show every February.

The World Beef Expo is one of the largest cattle shows in the Midwest and takes place Sept. 22-25 at the Wisconsin State Fair Park in West Allis. Visit www.angus.org for more details.

Other Super-Point ROV shows for the 2011 season, which begins June 1, include: American Royal, Kansas City, Mo.; North American International Livestock Exposition (NAILE), Louisville, Ky.; National Western Stock Show (NWSS), Denver, Colo.; Western National Angus Futurity, Reno, NV; and the Atlantic National, Timonium, Md.

Click here for a list of upcoming shows or contact the Activities Department at 816-383-5100 for more information.

— Adapted from a news release by the American Angus Association.

Land and Sea Lecturer: U.S. Wind Energy Future Looks Bright

A recently announced U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) plan sets new goals for tapping the country’s massive wind resource by 2020. Is it realistic? University of Delaware (UD) wind energy expert Willett Kempton told a standing-room-only crowd at the March 11 Land and Sea Lecture why he thinks it is.

The strategy, unveiled in February, calls for the development of 54 gigawatts of wind energy capacity by 2030 at the cost of 7¢ per kilowatt-hour (kwh). For comparison, Delmarva Power currently pays 11¢ for electricity generated by traditional sources. Today’s offshore wind cost is 16¢.

Kempton, a professor of marine policy in UD’s College of Earth, Ocean, and Environment, began by explaining that the East Coast offshore wind resource is more than enough to meet the electricity needs of residents from Cape Hatteras, N.C., all the way to Cape Cod, Mass. Adding up all residents’ electricity needs — including vehicles and heating if electrified — shows they would require 185 gigawatts at most.

“If we use all the resource, it’s 330 gigawatts on average, over time,” he said. “We’ve got more than we need for the whole East Coast, which is surprising. It’s a huge resource.”

The cost of electricity isn’t the market price alone, he said. It’s the market price plus externalities such as added health costs and environmental costs such as air pollution.

“I’m looking at the true costs of electricity that aren’t on your power bill, they’re on your Blue Cross bill,” he said. “But they’re real costs; you’re really paying them now.”

He referenced a recent New York Academy of Sciences study that found the cost of coal-produced electricity to be an additional 17.8¢ per kwh if you take into account health and environmental issues. While the going rate in Delaware for electricity is 8¢-11¢ per kwh, he said it’s much more with externalities included.

Wind, on the other hand, has almost no environmental cost, he said, pointing to a Danish study that looked at a wind farm’s effect on wildlife. The researchers found that birds tended to avoid the turbines by flying above, below or around them, though the birds mostly flew around the whole wind farm. Kempton said the result was about three deaths per year per turbine.

Other factors in price include advancements in technology that could reduce wind energy costs by 20% to 40%. Improvements currently being tested include a new blade that could produce 4% more energy over current blades. A new forward-scanning laser could help yield 10% more energy over today’s designs. The laser senses wind and prompts the turbine to move or pitch the blades toward wind that’s just about to hit.

Add in other aspects, such as the drop in manufacturing costs as demand for turbines increases, and Kempton concluded that DOE’s goal is plausible.

— Adapted from a release by UD Extension.

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