News Update
November 18, 2011
CAB Launches “The Flavors of Flay Sweepstakes”
As a sunshine break from late-winter calving, you could win a trip to the Florida beach and experience “foodie” culture at the 2012 Food Network South Beach Wine & Food Festival presented by Food & Wine.
To celebrate its presenting sponsorship of the Flavors of Flay event, along with its ongoing partnership with Bobby Flay and Bobby’s Burger Palace restaurants, the Certified Angus Beef® (CAB®) brand is introducing The Flavors of Flay Sweepstakes.
For a chance to win a three-night trip for two to Miami Beach for the festival, you can enter through 11:59 p.m. (EST) Jan. 16, 2012, at www.certifiedangusbeef.com. Other details and official rules are explained, and there is no purchase necessary to enter.
Valued at $4,999, this exclusive culinary adventure takes place Feb. 23-26, 2012, and includes:
- Airfare for two people to Miami International Airport
- Hotel accommodations on Miami Beach for three nights (based on double occupancy)
- Entrance to some of the festival’s hottest events, including:
- Flavors of Flay presented by the CAB brand
- Fontainebleau Miami Beach presents Wine Spectator’s Best of the Best sponsored by Bank of America
- Smithfield presents Paula Deen’s Sunday Brunch
- Whole Foods Market Grand Tasting Village
- Dinner for two at Red, the Steakhouse, a South Beach hotspot
- $500 VISA gift card
- Round-trip airport transfers while in Miami
“Bobby Flay is a culinary icon, a mastermind behind the grill,” says Tracey Erickson, CAB vice president of marketing. “He has been using our quality beef for many years and we are excited to have formalized our partnership by supporting the first-ever Flavors of Flay event and being the exclusive provider for Bobby’s Burger Palace restaurants.”
The Flavors of Flay Sweepstakes is the only opportunity for guests to experience the sold-out Flavors of Flay evening, which is set for The Raleigh Hotel’s pool deck overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. Flay will bring together executive chefs from all of his culinary endeavors for a walk- around tasting. It will feature bold and innovative Southwestern fare from Mesa Grill; American flavors with the energetic fast pace of a European brasserie from Bar Americain; classic protein fare from Bobby Flay Steak; and innovative creations between the buns from Bobby’s Burger Palace.
House, Senate Pass 2012 Agriculture Spending Bill
The House and Senate passed a 2012 federal spending ‘minibus’ bill Thursday, Nov. 17, that included the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration and Related Agencies appropriations bill, which funds the USDA. The House approved the bill in a 298-121 vote while the Senate voted 70-30 in favor of the bill.
The spending measure included the following items:
- Language to prohibit USDA from continuing or finalizing work on certain provisions of the proposed rule on livestock and poultry marketing and procurement that was proposed by the Grain Inspection Packers and Stockyards Administration (GIPSA) in June 2010.
- $1.004 billion for the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), which does not include new user fees for meat, poultry and egg inspection.
- $2.497 billion for the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
- Full funding for both the Market Access Program (MAP) and Foreign Market Development (FMD) at $200 million and $34.5 million, respectively.
The bill now moves to the President for his signature.
“AMI is pleased by the agriculture appropriations bill and commends the Congress for maintaining funding for federal meat and poultry inspection and agriculture export promotion, including the U.S. Meat Export Federation and the U.S. Poultry and Egg Export Council,” American Meat Institute President J. Patrick Boyle said. “We also commend lawmakers’ action to prevent GIPSA from proceeding with the most disruptive and costly provisions contained in its 2010 proposed rule.”
Don’t Delay — Farmer Rancher Grants Due Dec. 2
As you harvest your crops and are thinking of new and innovative ways to reduce inputs while increasing profits, consider putting those ideas into a grant proposal to North Central Region Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (NCR-SARE). NCR-SARE offers farmers and ranchers opportunities to experiment and try sustainable practices on their farms. NCR-SARE has a grant program with approximately $400,000 available this year for these farmer ideas. A farmer/rancher has up to 25 months to complete their projects.
There are 12 states that make up NCR-SARE. Farmers/ranchers from this region can write grants to support and implement their sustainable projects. There are three types of competitive grants:
- Individual grants ($7,500 maximum).
- Partner grants for two farmers/ranchers from separate operations who are working together ($15,000 maximum).
- Group grants for three or more farmers/ranchers from separate operations who are working together ($22,500 maximum).
Projects must be completed in 25 months. Farmer Rancher Grants provide opportunities for farmers/ranchers to use sustainable agriculture practices and their own innovative ideas to solve problems on the farm or ranch and to share their ideas.
Sustainable agriculture is farming and ranching that is ecologically sound, profitable and socially responsible. Sustainable agriculture practices may include, but are not limited to:
- Integrated pest management (IPM)
- Rotational grazing (e.g., management grazing and mob grazing)
- Soil erosion control
- Soil quality improvement
- Water quality improvement and wetlands
- Cover crops
- Crop and landscape diversity
- Nutrient management
- Agroforestry
- Value-added and direct marketing
- Wildlife preservation
- Beneficial insects
- Poultry and small-scale livestock production
- Holistic and systems approaches to farming and ranching
- Organic agriculture
- Proactive weed control (e.g., interseeded cover crops, crop rotations, planting row crops in warm soils)
To qualify for a partner project, there must be two farmer/rancher participants from separate operations. To qualify for a group project, there must be at least three farmer/rancher participants from separate operations. Partners and groups must designate a farmer/rancher project leader who will submit and sign the proposal, be responsible for reporting and assume tax liability associated with the grant, if there is any. Talk with a tax consultant if you have questions.
Grant recipients may participate in one individual grant and one partner or group grant annually. Previous farmer/rancher grant recipients are eligible to apply if reports from previous grant projects are up to date. Proposals from previous grant recipients will be evaluated on a competitive basis with all other proposals. To see farmer/rancher grants that have been funded in the past, go to www.sare.org, put your cursor over the “Project Reports” tab until a drop-down menu shows, then click on “Search the database.”
You cannot delay; these grant proposals are due Dec. 2, 2011. Details on how to apply for the Farmer Rancher Grants can be found on the NCR-SARE website. Scroll down to the bottom of the page and on the right side under “Open Call for Proposals” click on “2011 NCR-SARE Farmer Rancher Grant Call for Proposals.”
You can contact Dale Mutch or Dean Baas if you have any questions.
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