News Update
June 20, 2012
Angus Representatives Attend Elite Beef Industry Conference
The American Angus Association and the Angus Foundation sponsored two individuals to attend the National Cattlemen's Beef Association (NCBA) 33rd Young Cattlemen's Conference (YCC). John Widdowson, an Angus rancher from Lodgepole, Neb., represented the Angus Foundation. Representing the Association was Chris Stallo, assistant director of information systems in Saint Joseph, Mo.
More than 50 young cattlemen and women joined together May 31 through June 7 to participate in YCC. The program is a comprehensive, nationwide tour of beef industry sectors, created to enhance leadership skills in beef industry professionals.
"YCC is a prestigious and competitive program designed to foster the future leadership of our industry," said Forrest Roberts, NCBA CEO. "The participants selected to attend YCC were chosen because of their exceptional contributions to the beef industry and their potential to be a strong voice in our future development. I look forward to seeing them take an increased leadership role within NCBA and the beef industry."
For more information on YCC, visit www.beefusa.org.
For the full release, click here.
Early Ohio Wheat Harvest Opens Door
for Double-Crop Soybeans
The near-record-warm winter the Midwest experienced this year, combined with the early and unusually warm spring, has caused wheat to mature sooner than normal, which could let farmers plant a second crop like soybeans to increase their profit potential using the same land, an Ohio State University Extension educator said.
Traditionally, wheat in Ohio comes off around July 4 and sometimes as late as July 20, said Ed Lentz, an associate professor who specializes in crop production and agronomy.
For growers to be considering taking wheat off this year around June 20 is highly unusual, he said.
"Ohio typically is too far north to have a growing season long enough to raise two crops before a killing frost," Lentz said "But if you think about it, how often do we get a record-warm winter and early spring such as this with everything two or three weeks ahead of time?
"This year, the entire state can potentially look at double cropping, which is highly unusual."
This is significant, considering the financial boost a double crop could potentially mean for a grower's bottom line, Lentz said.
But there are issues farmers need to consider before they decide to plant a second crop, Lentz said. Those include the potential for rainfall later in the season and how moist their soil is now, he said.
"Growers will have to make a calculated risk to see if they will get enough moisture later in the season to support the soybeans, because if it is too dry, the crop won't make it," Lentz said. "They'll also have to decide whether to spend on the seeds and fuel for the crop in hopes of making a profit."
Growers also need to consider that since they would be planting soybeans later in the season instead of in May, the yield potential is lower, he said.
"A bushel of beans is bringing in a pretty good price on the market, and at current prices, farmers can make money even if yields are lower than other years," Lentz said.
For management tips on late planting and the rest the release, click here.
NCFC Opposes Amendment Targeting
USDA Programs on Export Development
The National Council of Farmer Cooperatives (NCFC) today, June 20, reiterated its opposition to Senate amendment 2289 to S. 3240, the farm bill, that directly targets the USDA Market Access Program (MAP) that has helped individual farmers and ranchers, through their co-ops, develop export markets for U.S. agricultural products.
The amendment, introduced by Senator Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) and sponsored by Senator John McCain (R-Ariz.), would reduce funding for MAP by $40 million per year from current levels and arbitrarily prohibit funds from being used on a range of activities to promote U.S. products in foreign countries.
"NCFC vigorously opposes the Coburn-McCain amendment that would fundamentally weaken the ability of farmers to participate in important USDA programs through their co-ops," said NCFC President and CEO Chuck Conner. "Through their co-ops, individual family farmers are able to do things together that they would never be able to do on their own, including taking advantage of the opportunities provided by a global marketplace."
"The MAP amendment has seen the opponents of the program use half-truths, distortions and outright falsehoods to paint a negative picture of the program," Conner continued.
"The reality is that MAP is a program that delivers tremendous value not only to the producers, co-ops and small businesses who participate, but to the country as a whole. MAP has been shown to return $35 in added agricultural exports for every $1 spent, a 35 to 1 return on investment."
Additional information about NCFC can be found at http://www.ncfc.org.
NCBA Vice President Bob McCan
Regarding Canada's Entry in the TPP
On Tues., June 19, 2012, President Obama announced that the United States and the other countries negotiating the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) have extended an invitation to Canada to join the TPP trade negotiations. This is subsequent to the previous announcement that Mexico has been invited to the negotiations. In addition to the United States, the current TPP countries are Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Chile, Malaysia, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, and Vietnam. National Cattlemen's Beef Association Vice President and Texas cattleman Bob McCan commended the announcement and issued the following statement.
"NCBA welcomes the addition of Canada to the Trans-Pacific Partnership. Canada is the top export market for U.S. beef. Our strong trade relationship with our neighbors to the North has been a win-win for cattlemen and consumers in both countries and Canada's entry into TPP negotiations will only strengthen our trade relationship. Their participation in TPP is absolutely vital to creating a trade environment free from protectionist trade barriers. With American allies like Canada and Mexico at the table, TPP will strengthen bonds between nations and encourage global security in the Pacific Rim."
PLC, NCBA Hail House Passage of Grazing Improvement Act
Tuesday, June 19, 2012, legislation to improve stability and efficiency in the federal lands grazing permit process was approved by the U.S. House of Representatives as part of an omnibus package of lands bills. The bipartisan, 232 to 188, vote signals the strong, broad-based support for the Grazing Improvement Act (H.R. 4234), introduced by Congressman Raúl Labrador (R-Idaho). This legislation, should the Senate choose to pass it, would provide certainty for today's public lands ranching industry and for future generations of ranchers, according to Public Lands Council (PLC) President John Falen.
For more, click here to see the full release in today's edition of the Angus Beef Bulletin EXTRA.
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