News Update
July 11, 2012
Deadline for Fan Favorite Photo Contest Today
Today, July 11, is the last day to visit the Angus Journal's Facebook page and participate in the Fan Favorite Photo Contest. Go cast your vote now! www.facebook.com/AngusJournal
JBS to host Summer Cow-Calf/Stocker Producer Meeting
JBS is offering an open invitation for cow-calf and stocker producers to visit Loveland, Colo., this summer and spend a day discussing key industry trends in the cattle and beef business. The event will feature JBS's divisional leaders speaking on cattle procurement, domestic and international beef sales and worldwide meat protein conditions. A market outlook presentation and review of branded beef programs and cattle supply chains will also be provided.
The meeting will begin on the evening of Aug. 7, with a reception and hors d'oeuvres. An 8 a.m. start is planned on Aug. 8, with speakers scheduled through early afternoon. Lunch will be provided for all attendees. The final hour of the meeting is blocked for a question/answer session with the audience and speakers. Adjournment is scheduled for 3 p.m.
A block of rooms at the Embassy Suites Hotel (meeting location) has been reserved at the corporate rate of $94 per night. Please call 970-593-6200 and indicate that you are with JBS Five Rivers Cattle Feeding. Other lodging opportunities in the immediate area include Holiday Inn Express and Candlewood Suites.
Please RSVP as soon as possible, as we expect large meeting attendance. Cow-calf and stocker producers won't want to miss this informative and educational event!
RSVP info: Melissa Clinton, 970-506-8363 or email at melissa.clinton@jbssa.com.
Greenley Research Center Field Day Set for Aug. 7
With each season, new challenges emerge in Missouri's fields and pastures. Researchers at the University of Missouri (MU) Greenley Research Center will provide up-to-date, scientifically tested field data to help producers address those challenges and maximize their operations at the center's annual field day, Aug. 7.
The center, located just east of Novelty, Mo., is part of a network of research centers across Missouri, extending the MU College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources' (CAFNR) research to nearly 14,000 acres to meet the regional research and demonstration needs of agricultural producers and natural resource managers.
The Missouri Corn Growers Association will sponsor a free lunch at noon. Field day tours run from 8 a.m. to noon and will feature the following topics:
Crop tour:
- Deep lime and gypsum placement demonstration.
- Tillage radish for cover and grazing.
- Managed drainage and water quality.
- Biofuel crop production and nutrient removal.
Beef and forage tour:
- Utilizing high-nitrate forages.
- Early weaning of calves.
- Alternative feed sources.
- Measuring forage availability.
Pest tour:
- Large weeds and soybean yield loss.
- Insect management challenges.
- Controlling marestail.
The field day is free and open to the public. Lunch is provided and attendees are invited to continue to explore the research plots throughout the day.
For more information, contact Randall Smoot at SmootR@missouri.edu or 660-739-4410, or visit the center's website, click here.
House Vote to Repeal ACA is a Waste of Time
National Farmers Union (NFU) President Roger Johnson issued the following statement in response to the floor debate and planned vote in the U.S. House of Representatives to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA):
"The House has already voted 30 times in the past 18 months to repeal, defund or dismantle the health care law, and each time it has gone nowhere.
It is time for the House to look forward to passing new legislation that might actually become law. The farm bill already passed the Senate with votes from both parties and is an excellent opportunity for the members of Congress to work together on a bipartisan, bicameral basis."
For more information and the full release, click here.
Range, Livestock Workshop Set for July 31 in Ozona
A Texas AgriLife Extension Service range and wildlife management workshop has been set from 8:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m. July 31 in the Crockett County Convention Center in Ozona.
Five Texas Department of Agriculture continuing education units — one laws and regulations, one integrated pest management and three general — will be available for those with a valid private pesticide applicator's license.
"This program will center on the drought we are still very much in here in Crockett County," said Chase McPhaul, AgriLife Extension agent in Crockett County. "We've had more moisture this year than last, but times are still hard out here in West Texas.
"During this workshop, we'll be discussing drought management strategies, how the dry weather has affected livestock, supplemental feeding regimes and range and pasture issues. We'll also hear how the dry weather hasn't slowed the influx of feral hogs to our area and what's being done about it."
For more information and the full release, click here.
Second National Symposium on Antibiotic Use in Food Animals Scheduled for Nov. 13-15
When the topic of antibiotic use in food animals comes up in a conversation, most individuals have a point of view, and many of the discussions are based on emotion rather than facts. After all, we all have a vested concern in the food we eat and our health.
One way to become fully informed about the facts related to antibiotics use and resistance is to participate in "A One Health Approach to Antimicrobial Use and Resistance: A Dialogue for a Common Purpose" symposium Nov. 13-15, 2012, in Columbus, Ohio. Hosted by the National Institute for Animal Agriculture, the symposium is open to all who have a stake in engaging in meaningful dialogue and creating successful strategies to preserve antibiotic efficacy.
"There is a need for sharing of relevant, scientific information and ongoing dialogue among experts within animal agriculture and those within public health," states symposium co-chair Leah Dorman, director of food programs, Center for Food and Animal Issues, Ohio Farm Bureau Federation.
For more information, click here.
Coalition Urges White House to Reject USDA's Animal ID Rule
A coalition of agriculture and consumer organizations from across the nation is fighting back against the USDA's complicated and expensive animal identification program. In a letter to the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB), 38 organizations urged the Administration to recognize the high costs the new rule will impose on family farmers, ranchers, related businesses and other citizens who own animals.
"The USDA's cost analysis is riddled with flawed assumptions," asserted Judith McGeary, executive director of the Farm and Ranch Freedom Alliance, who serves as vice-chair of the Secretary's Advisory Committee on Animal Health. "One of the most egregious flaws is that the agency completely disregarded the costs that will be imposed, in both out-of-pocket expenses and paperwork burdens, on tens of thousands of people who own poultry, from small diversified farmers to backyard poultry enthusiasts."
While USDA already has traceability requirements as part of existing animal disease control programs, the new program would greatly expand which animals must be identified, including feeder cattle, which are processed at a young age and never enter the breeding herd.
"The USDA's cost analysis makes it sound as if it would be cheap and easy to tag all of the feeder cattle, but the reality for family farmers and western ranchers is very different. The new rule will impose significant costs in both time and labor that USDA has simply ignored," stated Gilles Stockton, a Montana rancher and member of the Western Organization of Resource Councils.
The coalition also notes that the agency failed to address the increased costs to livestock-related businesses, such as veterinarians and sale barns.
For more information and the full release, click here.
First Gallons of 15% Ethanol Sold in Kansas
Comments from Fuel Retailer, Kansas Corn Growers and RFA:
The nation's first E15 gallons were pumped at the Zarco 66 "Oasis" station in Lawrence, Kan., on Tuesday, July 10. The following report includes comments from Jere White, executive director of the Kansas Corn Commission; Zarco 66 owner Scott Zaremba; and Renewable Fuels Association president and CEO Bob Dinneen.
For more information and the radio commentary, click here.
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